The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) in Ireland recently issued clarification in relation to work activity at graveyards and cemeteries under the control of Local Authorities.
Contrary to some recent reports, the Health and Safety Authority has not prohibited in any way the traditional custom of family members assisting with the digging of a loved ones grave. The digging of graves by family members and friends is clearly not done as employees and does not come under the remit of the HSA. The HSA has not issued any new guidance which could restrict this practice. (WCxKit)
The HSA has recently developed, in conjunction with the Local Authority Safety Advisors Group (LASAG), a safe system of work plan for employers and employees when working in graveyards and cemeteries. This primarily deals with construction work which often takes place in these locations. The system was developed solely for employers and employees and not for any other parties, including relatives and loved ones of the deceased.
According to Paula Gough, program manager with the HSA, “In working with the local authorities, our aim is to support them in having safe places of work for their employees. We are surprised that any local authority would take what are designed to be workplace safety measures for employees and apply them to members of the public. The Health and Safety Authority has had no role to play in these developments.”
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact:Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
Workers Comp: Ripe For Cost-Cutting – Two Places To Check
Despite devotion to corporate cost cutting, there is one expense that still gets very little attention: workers compensation.
And the cost is very high.
According to the 2010 RIMS Benchmark Survey, the average Cost Per Full-time Equivalent Employee for all industries combined is $701 Cost Per FTE for workers compensation. The Cost Per Employee is normally lower for companies with greater than 1 Billion in revenue and higher for companies with less than 1Billion in revenue. The 2010 RIMS Benchmark Survey contains tons of useful information. It's definitely an excellent resource — either online or in print and companies that contribute their data get a huge discount, so that's something to consider. The 2011 RIMS Benchmark Survey should be published soon. I get the print version, and keep it handy, on my desk, from the past 8 years.
Both the 2009 and 2010 RIMS Benchmark Surveys contain workers compensation best practices, indicating which best practices employers have implemented. This is excellent information to compare your company's performance and build management committment for programs such as transtitional duty, employee communication, cost allocation, post injury response procedures and many more operational best practices. It's well worth spending some time reviewing this information to see what your company can do better. For example, the RTW Ratio is closely tied to the mod and how much a company pays for their workers compensation, a fact that we have been waiting years to learn.
Many signs point to larger workers compensation tabs in the future. A good cost reduction goal for companies is half national average or half industry average.
As with other outlays, employers can trim with some thought and effort.
Costs need not be this high. Insurers, unions, workers, lawyers and doctors are all contributing to the current waste and the employers who finance workers compensation must bear much of the fault, too.
Why is this?
Employers are unwittingly encouraging employees to remain on workers compensation much longer than necessary.
When executives at a large publishing company were pondering their burgeoning workers compensation costs last year for example, they found a fairly convincing explanation.
Their employees who were getting such compensation were effectively receiving 10% of their salaries.
This company is not alone.
Here are some of the main reasons why workers compensation is often needlessly expensive:
Double Dipping
Like many other employers, a national construction company had a group disability insurance policy. Thus, one employee was receiving workers compensation following back surgery and, after 26 weeks, began receiving disability payments too.
Combined with some personal insurance policies, this double income meant the worker’s at-home pay exceeded his at-work pay. Naturally, in 1993, when the company offered him a job with light duties but at his full salary during his recuperation, he turned it down
The lesson: Eliminate double dipping. While workers personal insurance is their own, employers should deduct workers compensation from other duplicative company payments. To do otherwise encourages malingering.
Idle Income
In Massachusetts and a few other states, employees on workers compensation can qualify for unemployment benefits under certain circumstances.(WCxKit)
To prevent this outrageous form of double dipping, companies should offer all injured workers transitional jobs they can perform even with their physical restrictions. Under the eligibility rules, workers who refuse such offers will not be deemed unemployed.
Double Dipping and Idle Income are two ways your out-of-work employees may be milking the system. Find out more #WorkersComp.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
©2010 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
Nearly one in five of the construction sites visited in East Lancashire, Great Britain recently were ordered to stop work due to health and safety concerns.
Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out checks at 38 sites in Blackburn, Rossendale and Hyndburn, as part of a month-long initiative. (WCxKit)
A total of seven sites were found not to meet legally-required health and safety standards, and received prohibition notices as a result. Six of the notices stopped unsafe work being carried out at height.
The inspections are taking place across the North West after eight construction workers lost their lives and more than 1,000 were injured in the region between April 2009 and March 2010.
Half of the deaths occurred during refurbishment, repair and maintenance activities, which are the main focus of the latest HSE inspections being carried out up until Friday, March 11.
Inspectors are making unannounced visits to sites to ensure that work at height is being managed safely, sites are in good order, and the risk of exposure to asbestos is being properly managed.
Allen Shute, HSE Inspector for Construction, noted, "Workers lives were potentially being put at risk on nearly a fifth of the sites we visited in just two days. That is a sobering statistic.
"Falls from height are one of the main causes of workplace deaths in the UK so its both disappointing and worrying that the majority of the prohibition notices we issued were because companies were found not to be taking this risk seriously enough.
"We will continue to visit small construction sites, where refurbishment work is taking place, during the rest of the initiative. The safety of workers must be a top priority and we will not hesitate to take action when necessary."
Inspectors spoke to 45 contractors during their visits in East Lancashire. A health and safety awareness officer also visited small domestic refurbishment sites to offer free advice and guidance.
This year, as part of ensuring risks from asbestos are properly managed, HSE is checking that asbestos surveys have been carried out, when appropriate, before refurbishment work starts. (WCxKit)
Many workers believe that, because asbestos has been banned as a building material, it is no longer a threat to them. But any premises built or refurbished before 2000 could still contain asbestos.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
A new report is hinting the air at many Quebec construction sites contains levels of asbestos at or higher than provincial norms, raising new questions regarding whether the substance can be properly managed in Canada, according to The Canadian Press.
The study, released by Quebecs Public Health Department, examined 3,000 air samples taken from worksites that were thought to be at elevated risk for asbestos exposure. (WCxKit)
It discovered that 43 percent of the sites had concentrations of the minerals cancer-causing fibers that met or exceeded the limit.
The study highlights that Quebecs occupational asbestos exposure limit permits for 10 times more airborne fibers than other Canadian provinces — and 100 times more than some European countries.
The report includes data on asbestos exposure taken between 2003 and 2009, a number of which had previously been published. (WCxKit)
Asbestos has been linked to cancer although many claim the product can be used safely, even in developing countries.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact:Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
A New Jersey man who claims he suffered permanent heart damage after drinking the alcohol- and caffeine-laced Four Loko beverage has in turn sued the manufacturer.
According to the Associated Press, tire salesman Michael Mustica of Knowlton Township filed the lawsuit recently against Phusion Projects. (WCxKit)
The lawsuit, first noted by The Press of Atlantic City, states that during a visit to Atlantic City in October, Mustica consumed 2 1/2 cans of Four Loko, leading to heart arrhythmia.
Each can of Four Loko has 12 percent alcohol – the equivalent of three cans of beer.
A Phusion spokesman reports the company still maintains mixing alcohol and caffeine is safe.
Phusion agreed to remove caffeine from the drink in November following complaints from the Food and Drug Administration.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact:Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
“Don't ask, don't tell” could be the motto for employees in paint manufacturing and related industries, when it comes to seeking safety information and voicing concerns, a new study in Risk Analysis reports.
The report, “Workers Perception of Chemical Risks: A Focus Group Study” notes paint workers are resigned to silence regarding the daily chemical risks they face; due to the fact managers ignore their input when developing safety programs. (WCxKit)
Just as bad, workers rarely ask managers for safety information because they fear—sometimes correctly—being punished or looking incompetent.
“Workers perceptions with respect to health and safety at work are rarely taken into account when considering the development of prevention programs,” report the authors, a group of Belgian public health researchers.
Although workers “are concerned about the long-term health consequences” of their jobs and “perceive the threat of chemical risks as high,” the researchers report, “they are resigned to accepting the risks.”
The study, conducted with Belgium’s External Occupational Health Services, is based on detailed questioning of seven focus groups of blue-collar workers. The participants face daily chemical exposure risks in their work for large and medium-sized paint production plants, as well as plants that make cleaning agents and surfactants.
The findings raise several red flags regarding safety.
Millions of workers in coatings and related industries are exposed to chemicals daily and thus play critical roles in safety decisions and practices, the study says. Yet, “[workers’] perceptions of chemical risks at work are rarely taken into account while considering the development of workplace prevention programs.”
In many workplaces, when workers do not use personal protective equipment or take other appropriate safety measures, “the management is prone to interpret this as a lack of discipline and to rely on sanctions to change the behavior of individuals.”
This leads to distrust of managers and unwillingness to ask questions or raise issues, the authors said.
They recommend that management address safety by first understanding “why people behave the way they do.” For example, are workers noncompliant because they do not know the rules, do not have the proper equipment, do not understand the risks, or another reason?
“After all,” they note, “understanding how workers perceive risks may have important implications—not only for their health and safety, but also for the development of strategies for health protection and safety at the workplace.” (WCxKit)
The researchers state a number of repeated themes among workers, including misperceptions of hazards, lack of information, acceptance of risks, and distrust of safety and management personnel. These themes have been confirmed a number of times in other studies of workplace safety, they add.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact:Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
The death of mine worker Vincent Mitton is under a coroner's inquest, presided over by Gregory Forestell, with a five-member jury.The jury has the task of determining the facts of Mitton's death and making recommendations to prevent similar accidents from occurring again. (WCxKit)
According to the Canadian Press, Mitton was struck by a pipe he was installing with such force he was tossed into a wall three meters away at PotashCorp's mine in Penobsquis. Jurors learned the emergency vehicle was kept at the underground elevator entrance, a 10 to 15-minute drive away for the accident site. (WCxKit)
Crown prosecutor Chris Titus, coroner’s counsel, questioned nine PotashCorp employees; most who were underground when the fatal accident happened. Employees reported they did everything as quickly and safely as possible but by the time Mitton was brought to the surface, about 50 minutes after the accident, his eyes were fixed and he wasn't responding.
The underground production shift supervisor and others testified there were many changes made at the mine after Mitton's death. The supervisor reported people are trained more specifically for tasks such as installing pipe, and if they are doing an infrequent job, they must get a safe work permit.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact:Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
A study recently published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information and also published in the medical journal Spine reflects what experience workers compensation adjusters already knew – lumbar fusion surgery often does not work. The study, from January 1, 1999 to January 31, 2006, was completed by researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine came to the following conclusions: lumbar fusion for the diagnoses of disc degeneration, disc herniation, and/or radiculopathy in a workers compensation setting is associated with significant increase in disability, opiate use, prolonged work loss and poor return to work results.
In 2007, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), estimated 27 million adults in the USA have back problems and spend $30 billion annually on medical treatments including physical therapy, pain management, chiropractor visits, other non-invasive therapies and spine surgeries.
Back pain can be excruciating and unrelenting. For an employee who is in constant pain, the appeal of relief from the pain through back surgery is often incentive enough to opt for lumbar fusion. According to a second (different) study published in the Spine journal, lumbar fusion of two or more vertebrae has had an eight-fold increase in the last 15 years. There is a definite concern among some orthopedics that the use of spinal surgery has gone beyond what is necessary or reasonable. Approximately 600,000 Americans have back surgeries each year.
The researchers reviewed the medical records of 1,450 workers compensation claims in the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation database. The three medical conditions involving back surgery included in the study were disc degeneration, disc herniation, and radiculopathy. Half of the employee claimants had surgery to fuse two or more vertebrae. The other half of the employee claimants did not have surgery even though their diagnoses were comparable.
Of the 725 employee claimants who had elected to have a lumbar fusion, only 188 (26%) of the employee claimants had returned to work within two years of the surgery. Among the 725 employee claimants who chose not to have the back surgery, 483 (67%) had returned to work within two years.
It should also be noted that of the 725 employee claimants who elected to have surgery, 194 (27%) of them had to have a second back surgery due to the poor results of the first back surgery. Also, of the other employee claimants who had back surgery, 264 (36%) had complications to develop.
Of the employees claimants who had the lumbar surgery, 82 (11%) were deemed to be totally and permanently disabled, while only 11 (2%) of the employee claimants who did not have back surgery were determined to be totally disabled.
The primary reason given for having the back surgery was to mitigate or control the pain associated with the back injury. Prior to surgery many employee claimants are taking opiates to relieve the pain. Among the employee claimants who had back surgery, 550 (76%) continued the use of opiates after the surgery. Another aspect of the study (that experienced work comp adjusters already knew) is that back surgery results not in a decrease in the use of opiates, but an increase in the use of painkillers. The researchers found that back surgeries result in a 41% increase in the use of painkillers, specifically opiates.
The average number of work days missed by the employee claimants who had lumber fusion was 1,140 days per employee. Among the employee claimants who elected not to have back surgery, the average number of days missed per employee was 316.
Dr. Trang Nguyen, the lead researcher of the study, concluded that there is no easy solution for employees with bad backs. With proper treatment, the back pain can be eased, and the employee can learn to live with the bad back, but that a complete cure is unlikely.
While many workers compensation adjuster could say “I could have told the researchers that and save them a lot of time”, the documentation by independent medical researchers moves it from subjective opinion to objective fact. While some spinal fusions are necessary, the employee claimant should always be encouraged to get a second opinion before having the back surgery.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact:RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
A little advice about how employers can prevent comp fraud in NY. "Tips from Ted," a workers comp defense attorney with 30 years helping employers (and a few employees) reduce their workers comp exposure.
This is about a little advice. Not for the employer, but advice that employers can give their employees – to prevent comp fraud.
Most people, employers and employees alike, are not familiar with partial disability payments and work comp in NY. It is often assumed that “disability” in comp means “total disability” and that being able to perform light or part time work will render a worker unable to collect comp. Or, it is wrongly assumed, trying to allege a total disability will produce higher settlements. (WCxKit)
After a period of initial total disability, many workers become active, leave the house and begin to perform light chores – all perfectly legal. Some, however, are tempted to take occasional light, part-time work and fail to report the activity to the treating doctor, the Board, the IRS, the carrier or their own lawyer – all quite illegal. And foolish.
Every so often, the NY Workers Compensation Board publishes a list of person who have been arrested for comp fraud – usually persons receiving comp working at undisclosed jobs. The jobs, however, are usually minimum wage activity. Perhaps more than half of those arrested would have improved their claims if they simply disclosed the work and what it paid. Why? Because a person working remains eligible for comp – if the wages are less than the pre-injury wages. The worker continues to receive 2/3 of the difference.
It may seem that the worker is reducing the comp payments. That is true, often, but the true measure is what the net weekly income is when comp is added to after tax income. Since comp is tax free, a part time worker on comp is materially far better off with reduced comp payments and some earned wages than they are with “total disability”. And a valid work effort is presumed to be the correct measure of disability – it is difficult to contest, unlike total disability.
An employer is wise to suggest to workers on comp for more than a few weeks that they call the Board, if they do not have an attorney, and get the facts about partial disability payments. Persons experienced in NY comp, reading the reports of comp fraud arrests usually shake their heads and ask, “Why didn’t they just report the work effort?”
Author: Attorney Theodore Ronca is a practicing lawyer from Aquebogue, New York. He is a frequent writer and speaker, and has represented employers in the areas of workers' compensation, Social Security disability, employee disability plans, and subrogation for over 30 years. Attorney Ronca can be reached at 631-722-2100.
FREE TOOLS
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
Some 2,453 workers were killed and 1,841 critically injured last year in Bangladesh as result of different occupational accidents, workplace violence, road accident, natural disaster /extreme bad weathers conditions and violation of different other labor rights. Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation (OSHE) revealed recently.
Of the total, highest number of causalities was in the transport sector (1,217) followed by ready-made garments sector (743), day labor (356), fishery and agriculture sector (300) and construction sector (248).
Statistical analysis showed that, out of total recorded figure – 891 workers were killed and 874 critically injured at workplaces with different occupational accidents caused by fire, explosion, fall from height, electrocution, stampede, unsafe handling and storage of toxic chemicals/chemical products, underground work etc. Meantime,
464 workers were killed and 155 injured in incidents while traveling to and from the workplaces.
The monitoring result also showed that, 302 workers were killed and 521 injured in relation to different labor rights violations (i.e. police action, physical assault by employers/management, workplace violence, killed by miscreants etc). (WCxKit)
Low enforcement of existing labor law (BLA-2006) at workplaces level, weak labor inspections, lack of awareness, sensitization and health and safety training among workers, absence of OSH committee at workplaces level, lack of decent wage, were the key causes for growing occupational accidents, workers rights violations and labor unrests in the country.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact:RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com or 860-553-6604.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@WorkersCompKit.com.
Posted in
