Tag: Workers Comp

The U.S. Department of Labor on Monday announced it filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit against a Tyler, Texas-based company over allegations it fired a worker who had requested to use a respirator to protect against workplace smoke and fumes.

The DOL’s lawsuit against Tyler Pipe Co. alleges that the worker was illegally fired in October 2022 after exercising their protected rights to request personal protective equipment.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, seeks back wages and reinstatement for the terminated employee.

The suit comes after the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation into the company into the details surrounding the worker’s firing.

Tyler Pipe Co. manufactures pipes and related plumbing products. It operates an iron foundry in Tyler, a coupling and gasket manufacturing plant in Marshfield, Missouri, and has distribution centers in California and New Jersey.

The company is a subsidiary of Birmingham, Alabama-based McWane Inc. 

 

 

 

A Pennsylvania appellate court ruled the City of Philadelphia can recover, through subrogation, benefits paid through the Heart and Lung Act to an injured city police officer.  

Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court on Thursday ruled for the city in an appeal brought by Barbara Tiano, who was hurt in October 2016 after falling into a utility pole owned by PECO Energy Co.

Ms. Tiano reached a $450,000 settlement with PECO, and the city asserted it was entitled to third-party recovery for benefits already paid.

A comp judge later denied the city’s petition for subrogation, saying recovery could only be related to workers comp benefits paid after the settlement agreement was reached, not Heart and Lung Act benefits.

A comp review board reversed the comp judge on the subrogation issue, saying because the third-party settlement arose from a non-motor vehicle action, the city had a subrogation right to any benefits paid from the date of the work injury.

Ms. Tiano appealed, arguing that even if the city was entitled to subrogation, it is barred from recovery because the claimant is a government employee.

The appeals court determined the city is entitled to subrogation regardless of whether benefits were paid through comp or the Heart and Lung Act.

It also said Ms. Tiano’s argument regarding immunity “lacks legal support.”    

 

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Thursday announced it cited a Pennsylvania cement manufacturer after a worker drowned in February.

OSHA cited Bethlehem-based Buzzi Unicem USA, which operates as River Cement Sales Co., for five serious violations after an employee died after falling from a barge into the Mississippi River.

The agency said the company failed to ensure workers wore personal flotation devices when exposed to drowning hazards, failed to install guardrails to protect workers from falling overboard, and failed to train employees in first aid.

The worker died after climbing onto a second deck on the barge to repair a blocked valve. He fell head-first into the river. Co-workers were unsuccessful in their attempts to retrieve the employee from the river and the worker’s remains weren’t recovered until about a month after the incident, according to OSHA.

OSHA proposed $62,500 in penalties. The company has 15 business days to contest the citation and fines. 

 

 

 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has again cited a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania-based roofing contractor for exposing employees to falls from heights of up to 27 feet without fall protection, fining the company $328,143.

Avila’s Roofing LLC is also alleged to have not provided employees with effective training on fall hazards and allowed them to work without eye and face protection when potential risks of eye and face injury existed, according to a statement issued Wednesday.

OSHA cited Avila’s Roofing for two willful and two serious safety violations and one other-than-serious violation.

In five previous inspections of Avila’s Roofing worksites, OSHA has proposed $178,649 in penalties for repeated failures to comply with federal requirements for fall protection.

The company has 15 business days to contest the latest citations.

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A Florida appellate court on Wednesday overturned a workers compensation judge’s decision allowing comp benefits for a rental car company employee who was shot during a shift.

The District Court of Appeal of Florida said a comp judge improperly found Mohammed Bouayad’s injuries compensable because Mr. Bouayad failed to prove his injuries arose out of his employment.

“At most, the work he performed for Value placed Bouayad in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the court wrote. “This is not enough to establish occupational causation.”

Mr. Bouayad, an employee of Value Car Rental LLC in Orlando, was shot in June 2019, while walking along a covered walkway from a kiosk desk inside a hotel to a neighboring office.

Evidence in the case pointed to a possible personal reason behind the attack and Normandy Insurance Co., Value’s comp insurer, appealed the comp judge’s decision allowing the claim.  

Mr. Bouayad argued his job put him at a higher risk of being attacked.

In overturning benefits, the appeals court found Mr. Bouayad failed to prove occupational causation of his injuries.

The court also certified a question to the Florida Supreme Court over whether injuries sustained by third-party individuals entitle a worker to comp benefits if the injuries occurred while a claimant is at work.  

 

 

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday it cited an Arkansas sawmill operator following a February workplace fatality.

OSHA cited Beirne-based Anthony Timberlands Inc. for four serious violations and proposed $218,759 in penalties after an employee was crushed by a component of a lumber stacking machine at the company’s Bearden sawmill.

Inspectors said the company’s lumber stacking system was installed in July 2022 without any barrier devices designed to prevent workers from entering the area beneath the stacker hoist.

The company also failed to provide lockout/tagout procedures to prevent machines from activating during maintenance, and it failed to ensure guards were placed beneath the stacking system, OSHA said.

The company, which has 15 business days to contest the citation and penalties, was also cited in August 2022 after another worker was killed by an unguarded sharp chain that improperly activated at another one of its sawmills.   

 

 

Six percent of workers with compensation claims for COVID-19 developed long COVID, according to a study released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.

At an average of 18 months of post-infection experience, these workers received more than 20 weeks of temporary disability benefits and received an average of $29,000 in medical care, 10 times that which was spent on workers who were not treated for long–term health issues, according to researchers with the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based institute.

Workers who were in an intensive care unit for their initial COVID infection were more likely to have long COVID symptoms, with 74% receiving medical services for symptoms that included a long list of ailments, including chronic cough, chest pain, fatigue and anxiety. Among those who were hospitalized but not in the ICU, 46% had post-infection health issues. Those with limited hospital treatment fared better: 20% of workers with two days of medical care and 5% of workers with just one day of services had long COVID symptoms, according to the study.

For its analysis, WCRI looked at COVID-19 cases reported with a date of infection between March 2020 and September 2021, and collected information on medical care and income benefits that were provided through the end of March 2022 across 31 states.