Articles Posted in Workers’ Compensation

An appeals court ruled that a Morris County, NJ woman will receive workers’ comp benefits because she was hit by a car when she was walking in the employer-controlled parking lot to the county administration building where she worked.

The woman was out of work for 11 months after being hit by a car that ran a red light. She suffered multiple torn ligaments in her ankle as well as post-concussion injuries from her head hitting the pavement.

It was determined that her employer, Morris County, paid for 65 spots in a private garage about two blocks from the administration building, with one of the spots being designated for the female employee, She was hit while walking across the street to the entrance of the administration building. When she applied for workers’ comp benefits, the county denied that the accident arose out of her employment. They argued that the garage was not adjacent to the workplace and that they neither owned nor operated the lot.

However, the workers’ comp judge and appeals court concluded that by parking in her job-designated area, she “had entered the realm of her employer’s control…and thus had effectively arrived at the employer’s premises.”

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Genova Products, manufacturers of plastics, vine pipe, and rain gutters, will close its location in the Humboldt Industrial Park in Hazel Township by the end of the year. That will leave 60 Genova workers without jobs.

According to an article on the RepublicanHerald.com, the plant opened in 1975 and employed as many as 240 people during its height in the mid-1990s.

It is reported that employees will not receive a severance package, but the company has agreed to bring its pension fund “up to par”. In addition, employees will be paid for unused vacation time before the plant closes.

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The Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) of Cambridge, MA has issued a new study that says doctors are filling more prescriptions for workers’ comp patients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. And in some cases they are getting paid more per pill than a pharmacy.

In an article on Philly.com, the research group, which is funded by insurers and state governments, studied almost 5.7 million prescriptions paid under workers’ comp for nearly 758,000 claims from 2007 to 2011 in 23 states.

But not all doctors fill the prescriptions that he or she writes. For example. New York, Massachusetts, and Texas do not allow this practice.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Trio Foundry Inc. of Sandwich, IL, an aluminum castings producer, with 20 health and safety violations, including one willful and one repeat violation.

OSHA defines a willful safety violation as one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plan indifference to worker safety and health. The willful violoation involved at the Trio Foundry involved they had failed to protect th operator of a belt sander from “caught-on” hazards and rotating parts.

A repeat violation exists when an employer has been previously cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five year. The repeat violation found at the Trio Foundry involved a lack of guarding on an abrasive grinder wheel for which the company had been cited for in 2009.

Serious safety violations included a lack of machine guarding, lack of proper electrical equipment maintenance, and lack of personal protective equipment and safety training for maintenance workers handling electrical equipment. Serious health violations included using an unsecured propane tank as fuel for heat, failing to provide personal protective equipment against exposure and contact to molten metal, and ensuring adequate housekeeping to prevent aluminum dust accumulation on surfaces and floors.

In a press release from the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA’s area director in North Aurora, IL, Kathy Webb, said, “Trio Foundry Inc. is responsible for ensuring that workers are properly protected from inherent hazards in the metal casting industry, such as amputations. Employers cited with repeat violations demonstrate a disregard for workplace safety and health laws. OSHA is committed to protecting workers, especially when employers fail to do so.”

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In an effort to recover from the city’s budget deficit, the mayor of Scranton has slashed the pay of approximately 400 employees to federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 per hour.

According to an article by the Associated Press, three unions that represent firefighters and police, expect to file several legal actions against the mayor.

The mayor said this was the only way to pay the city’s bills and has promised to restore pay once finances are stabilized.

The Labor Department has reported that only 80,000 jobs were added in June and the unemployment rate remains at 8.2%. According to an article on CNN.com, economists had hoped to see 95,000 jobs added.

Although jobs started out strong in the first few months of this year, a slowdown in the spring has many wondering whether the recovery is taking a turn for the worse. According to reports, the economy needs to add at least 125,000 jobs each month to keep up with population growth. Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is 7.4%, making it 29 in the nation.

The industries adding jobs included manufacturing, which hired 14,000 workers; professional and business services, which added 47,000 jobs, and food services, which added 15,100 jobs. Those cutting jobs included retailers, which slashed 5,400 jobs and the government, which cut 4,000 jobs.

According to a report by NCCI Holdings, Inc., a workers’ comp ratings and research organization, the duration of benefits paid to obese workers who injury themselves is five times greater than those paid to claimants who are not obese, but who filed comparable claims.

An article on Workforce.com states that the report analyzed claims from insurance companies in 40 states and controlled for issues like primary ICD-9 code, injury year, the state where the claimant resided, industry, gender, and age.

The NCCI report said, “The study shows that, based on temporary total and permanent total indemnity benefit payments, the duration of obese claimants is more than five times the duration of nonobese claimants.”

A drum technician for the band Radiohead was killed when an overhanging metalwork fell onto the stage just before the concert in Toronto park.

According to an article on CNN.com, a number of crew members were on the stage preparing for the concert at the time of collapse. The scaffold-like structure fell about 50 feet, killing one man and injuring 3 others. The concert that evening was cancelled.

Less than a year ago, stage lights fell onto a crowd of fans at the Indiana State Fair just before the country band Sugarland was to take the stage. Seven people were killed and more than 40 were injured when a storm swept through the area, causing the stage lights to fall. The Indiana Department of Labor issued $80,800 in penalties following a worker safety investigation into the collapse.

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A fatal accident that happened this past week in Schuylkill County is a tragic reminder to all drivers: pay particular attention for work crews during warm-weather months.

According to an article on the RepublicanHerald.com, a Pine Grove Township road worker was killed on Thursday morning when he was struck by a vehicle. An investigation into the accident is continuing, but initial reports say the truck was following a right curve when the driver first saw the road worker, who was either standing or walking in the middle of the road.

PennDOT urges drivers to pay attention for work crews during construction season, particularly the warm-weather months. Traffic often increases on rural roads since many drivers prefer to stay off major roads and highways when construction is under way.

A recent report shows that high school employment is the lowest it has been since 1990. But that doesn’t seem to have detered teenagers here in Schuylkill County.

“We probably hired three or four less this year, only because we’re trying to cut costs in certain areas,” said Pottsville City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar. He said the city hired 85 students to work at the swimming pool and the street department.

According to an article on the RepublicanHerald.com, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that only 16 percent of high school students were employed in 2010 comparent to 32 percent in 1990. The report also said that fewer high school students are working, although there has been no change in the leven of extracurricular activities.