Articles Posted in Workers’ Compensation

It’s hard to believe that this Sunday is the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our country. But so many of us remember all too clearly that tragic day when nearly 3,000 lives were lost in the destruction of the Twin Towers, the attack on the Pentagon, and the plane crash in Western Pennsylvania. And we remember the heroic efforts of the firefighters, police officers, and emergency responders who sacrificed their own lives to save others. The heart-wrenching stories of loss and survival are ones that we still remember and must never forget.

So this Sunday, we join with all those across our country and around the world as we watch the National September 11 Memorial rise from the ashes of the World Trade Center site. And we ask you to join with the staff of O’Connor Law as we remember those who perished on 9/11/2001, as well as their families.

United we stand, together in memory. We must never forget!

In August, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry reported that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in July, up from 7.6 percent in June. PA’s unemployment rate was below the U.S. rate of 9.1 percent in July and has been below the U.S. rate for 39 consecutive months, as well as at or below the U.S. rate for 57 consecutive months.

In a press release by the PA Dept. of L&I, they reported that July’s unemployment rate was down 0.8 percentage points from July 2010.

What caught our attention was the report that Mining & Logging jobs were up 300 to a record high of 31,600.

This Labor Day, the law offices of O’Connor Law salute the hard-working men and women of our country. We believe so much in the efforts and sacrifices of the working class that we’ve built our reputation on protecting the rights of all those who are injured on the job. So Labor Day has a significant meaning to us, especially when we look back to its origins.

The website for the United States Department of Labor explains that the federal holiday known as Labor Day was created by the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It is a national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

It’s believed that a machinist by the name of Matthew Maguire proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. Maguire was also the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, NJ.

According to a report released by the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), there’s been a decline in workers’ compensation coverage and costs to employers that seems to be related to the nation’s unemployment rate.

An article on EHSToday.com published some of the results of the report titled, “Workers’ Compensation: Benefits, Coverage and Costs, 2009”. Some interesting statistics include:

• The number of employees covered by workers’ comp decreased 4.4 percent in 2009
• Employer costs for workers’ comp benefits dropped by 7.6 percent, the largest decline in the last 30 years
• An estimated 124.9 million workers were covered by workers’ comp in 2009
• Nationwide, workers’ comp programs paid $58.3 billion in benefits in 2009, which was a .4 percent increase from the previous year
• Payments for medical care decreased by 1.1 percent for the first time in a decade. Case benefits increased by 1.9 percent
• 4,551 occupational injuries were fatal in 2009, which was a 12.7 percent decrease from the previous year

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On Thursday, hundreds of guestworkers from around the world walked off the job at the Hershey Company-affiliated warehouse in North Londonderry Township, in protest of their working conditions.

According to The Lebanon Daily News, the students paid $3000-$6000 each to come to the United States this summer for the opportunity to immerse themselves in American culture by working in a job for three months. Instead, they found themselves packaging boxes of chocolate in what has been described as “deeply exploitative conditions.”

Other reports on this situation say that the students have been charged exorbitant rates for housing and transportation, and that after work-related deductions, many barely make more than $100 a week. They claim their exploitation is a result of The Hershey Company’s efforts to arrange for cheap labor instead of providing good paying jobs to local workers.

Our local paper, the Republican Herald, has reported that a local mining company has been fined more than $900,000 for an accident in 2006 that killed a miner.

The Department of Labor said the penalties were a result of “flagrant” safety violations. Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health is quoted in the article as saying, “Mine operators must be held accountable for their failure to keep miners safe.”

This is the first time the department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) cited a mining company for flagrant violations under the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006.

MSHA’s investigation discovered that when an unconfined shot was detonated at the face of the mine, methane gas exploded in an inadequately ventilated area. The mine has been sealed and permanently closed since the accident.

In 2007, MSHA fined the mining company $874,500 for failure to comply with approved ventilation and roof control plans, poor blasting practices, assigning unqualified personnel to blasting work, and conducting improper preshift examinations.

MSHA said six of the 10 violations that contributed to the accident were flagrant. The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act defines flagrant as “a reckless or repeated failure to make reasonable efforts to eliminate a known violation of a mandatory safety and health standard that substantially and proximately caused, or reasonable could have been expected to cause, death or serious bodily injury.”

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An article this week in the Harford Business Journal online warned that summer is the peak season for workers’ compensation claims at small businesses. According to Travelers Cos. Inc., those 30 and under are most prone to injury.

Most common are trips and falls with workers under 30 making up almost one-third of those with on-the-job injuries.

But there are some things you can do to avoid an on-the-job injury:

Pennsylvania firefighters who risk their lives to protect their communities now have another reason to be commended: their persistence has helped to expand the Workers’ Compensation Act to include coverage to fellow firefighters who suffer from a cancer caused by exposure to certain known carcinogens
Gov. Tom Corbitt signed House Bill No. 797 into law, designating cancer caused by Group 1 carcinogens as an occupational disease for firefighters. In order to receive compensation, firefighters must: 1) have served four or more years in continuous firefighting duties, 2) establish direct exposure to a Group 1 carcinogen, and 3) have passed a physical exam prior to asserting a claim, or prior to engaging in firefighting, and the exam failed to reveal any evidence of cancer.

The legislation also allows a claim to be made within 600 weeks after the last date of employment to which a claimant was exposed to the hazards of the disease.

On Firehouse.com, Republican Representative Frank Farry of Bucks County, who introduced the bill, is quoted as saying, “There is no greater tragedy that we could have than a firefighter that develops cancer post retirement.”

Farry believes it is important to give firefighters proper insurance coverage so health care and wages are covered.

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An article on BusinessInsurance.com reported on a recent ruling by Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court: an injured worker’s voicemail and other communications showed that she adequately notified her employer her injury, which entitles her to workers’ comp benefits.

The employee was responsible for inspecting helmets made for the U.S Air Force. Over the course of a 2 year period, she experienced swelling in her hands and was forced to leave work due to the pain. She notified her employer of her condition as was required, and she applied for short-term disability. She also indicated to the employer that she believed the injury was not work related. However, a specialist diagnosed her with carpal tunnel syndrome and concluded that her injuries were a result of her work. She notified her employer of the doctor’s diagnosis by leaving voicemails with the human resources department because she was not able to speak directly with anyone at the employer.

When her doctor released her back to work with restrictions, her employer said she they did not have a position that met her restrictions and she was terminated.

A few months later, she filed a workers’ comp claim and a workers’ comp judge found that she did suffer a work-related injury. He also ruled that her complaints of pain, her short-term disability claim, and her voicemail messages acted as sufficient notification to her employer of her injury. Although a workers’ compensation board agreed, a Commonwealth Court judge overturned the decision, saying she failed to sufficiently describe her injuries to her employer.

The case was taken to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, who reversed the lower court’s order and ruled that the employer was aware that the employee suffered a work-related injury. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that although her notice to the employer was not “letter perfect”, Pennsylvania’s workers’ comp law states that “a meritorious claim ought not, if possible, be defeated for technical reasons.”

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As workers’ comp attorneys, we try to stay on top of the latest news regarding workers’ comp cases not only in our own state of Pennsylvania, but throughout the world. That’s why we took notice to an article posted on CNN.com that reported that a health study on the working conditions at Samsung’s Electronics’ semiconductor factories in South Korea posted no health risks to workers.

The study was conducted by a U.S.-based firm, but was commissioned by Samsung. It found no link to the diagnosis of leukemia of several ex-plant workers. However, they would not release data backing the conclusion, due to sensitivity over trade secrets.

A number of Samsung plant workers and their families have been fighting for work injury compensation since 2009, accusing Samsung of using substances for manufacturing semiconductor parts that has led to leukemia and rare forms of cancer.

Kong Jeong-ok, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Labor Safety and Health and a supporter of the former Samsung workers’ group, is quoted in the article as saying, “They [Samsung] have not address any of the controversial issues and continues to lay out abstract answers. It seems like it was all a huge show.”

So far, only 2 ex-employers who died of leukemia after working at the same production line have been successful in winning a suit filed against the country’s workers’ compensation agency in June. Korea’s Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service filed an appeal after Samsung announced the results of its study.

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