Tag Archives: occupational disease

MSHA improves mine safety in Nebraska. (Yes we have mining in Nebraska)

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Sand mines are a common site along I-80 in Nebraska

When you think about mining and work injuries, you probably think about coal miners in West Virginia and Kentucky.

But sand mines line the Platte River valley in Nebraska. Workers in these mines are vulnerable to silicosis, a lung disease, which would be covered under workers’ compensation as an occupational disease in Nebraska. (See Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-151(3))

So what lead me to post about sand mining in Nebraska?

Last month I was staying in Lexington, Nebraska for an early morning workers’ compensation trial against Tyson. The case was a prototypical packinghouse case involving an immigrant with an overuse injury. To the extent that workers’ compensation in Nebraska merits any media discussion, it’s usually in the context of the immigrant packinghouse workers.

I took a break from my final pre-trial prep to get coffee in the breakfast room. Among the din of business travelers and Fox and Friends on the big screen, I noticed investigators from the federal MSHA or Mine Safety and Health Administration.

I identified the crew as MSHA employees from the logos on their binders. If not for that, they were indistinguishable from the mostly blue collar and agribusiness types who frequent the hotel.

I struck up a conversation with one of the investigators.  As I suspected they were in central Nebraska looking at sand mining. I told them I was in town trying a workers’ compensation case. I gave them some encouraging words about their work. One of the agribusiness types shot me a dirty look.

Workers’ compensation laws pay workers for work injuries. This helps encourage workplace safety as employers bear the cost of workplace injuries. Government regulators do the same thing through the threat of civil penalties and sometimes criminal prosecution.

Anti-retaliation protections for miners in Nebraska

The Mining Safety and Health Administration was created by the Mining Safety and Health Act. The MSHA has a whistleblower provision for miners reporting unsafe or hazardous conditions. Nebraska also has a general whistleblower law which would protect mining employees in Nebraska. Sand mining is considered environmentally hazardous and it poses a risk to groundwater. In some circumstances, complaints about the environmental impact of sand mining could be protected activity as well.

The MSHA, separation of powers and the “deep state”

On my way to trial, I felt good knowing that federal workplace safety laws were still being enforced. I’ve written a lot about the role of executive branch in interpreting and enforcing laws. Executive agencies have a lot of leeway in how they enforce laws. But Executive agencies still have to follow the laws passed by Congress. Federal employees who are enforcing federal workplace safety laws aren’t acting as a deep state. They are obeying the dictates of a co-ordinate branch of government – Congress. Congress passes laws and the courts fine tune the laws.  Like the judicial branch, the Executive Branch fine tunes laws through guidance and regulation. Executive agencies have discretion about how to enforce laws as well. But on some level the executive branch has to enforce the laws written by Congress. It doesn’t matter if Gene Scalia or Tom Perez is the Secretary of Labor, if an employer is disregarding safety standards or wage laws they may have to contend with enforcement from the Department of Labor.

Regardless of who is enforcing labor laws, citizens and non-citizens alike have a right to access the judicial system with the help of their lawyer if their employer is violating their rights.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Nebraska, Workers' Compensation and tagged , , , .

EPA, USDA rule change proposals could impact workplace safety

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Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts (left) with former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt (center) at a meeting in Lincoln last month

Regular readers of this blog know that workplace safety is regulated by the state and federal governments  But even within the federal government, agencies besides OSHA regulate workplace safety. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have proposed rule and procedure changes that could have an impact on workplace safety.

The USDA has proposed relaxing rules about line speeds in pork plants. Employee advocates have opposed the change because of the well-known link between line speed and musculo-skeletal injuries. In a relatively rare bit of good news, under public pressure the USDA rejected proposed rule changes that would have speed up lines in poultry plants. Public pressure for workers can be effective even in the Trump administration.

The EPA has proposed delaying implementation of two Obama era-rules regarding the prevention of chemical plant explosions  and rules on training workers who are exposed to agricultural chemicals. (5)

The rules concerning exposure to farm chemicals are particularly concerning from a workplace safety perspective. Chemical exposure injuries can take years to manifest and that delayed manifestation can make it more difficult for employees to collect workers’ compensation benefits.

The delays in implementation of the chemical plant and chemical handling training rules have both been subject to court challenges. If the USDA approved an increase in line speed for pork plants, that change would likely be challenged in court as well. Though the Supreme Court is viewed as friendly to business, the court is open to arguments that the actions of administrative agencies can violate the constitutionally-mandated separation of powers between the executive and legislative branch.  In other words court challenges to changes in USDA and EPA rules could succeed. 

The chemical safety rules are also an example of how delay of a rule or implementation of a rule can effectively kill a rule.  EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has been the target of well-deserved criticism of his administration of the agency. But, as pointed out by Mike Elk of Payday Report, the Obama administration slow-walked some chemical safety rules which them vulnerable to repeal and delay by the Trump administration.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in EPA, Nebraska, OSHA, USDA, Workers Compensation and tagged , , , , , , .

How First Responders Would Be Treated if 9/11 Happened in Nebraska

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Sept. 11 was tragic for the victims who died at ground zero after the attacks on the World Trade Center. But, the lasting effects of the dust and particulates that filled the air after the collapse of the towers have caused ongoing health issues for numerous other victims: first responders who were not killed in the initial collapse of the buildings.

Fortunately, the federal government came to the aid of these first responders by enacting the James Zadroga Act, which provides free testing and treatment for first responders of the 9/11 attacks. However, had this act not been enacted, how would these workers, who have developed health problems from working at ground zero, have been treated under the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act?

First, the ailments developed by the first responders would be treated as occupational diseases under Nebraska law. If the disease or ailment of the first responder is shown to be a result of the exposure while working at ground zero, the treatment and indemnity would be covered like any other Nebraska Workers’ Compensation claim.

If the first responder died as a result of the occupational disease, under Nebraska law, the surviving spouse would be entitled to death benefits under the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act.

The biggest gap in workers’ compensation coverage under Nebraska law for occupational diseases occurs when the injured worker (or in this case, the first responder) does not develop symptoms or the disease until later in life. In a situation like that, if the occupational disease first manifests (or becomes an injury) after the injured worker has retired for unrelated reasons, the injured worker would be left without indemnity benefits. In other words, the injured worker could get no workers’ compensation money if he or she was retired when the disease showed up. Further, if the injured worker dies as a result of the occupational disease, but is retired at the time the disease becomes an injury, his or her surviving spouse would not be entitled to any money either.  See Olivotto v. DeMarco Bros. Co., 273 Neb. 672 (2007): the widow whose husband died from asbestos exposure was not entitled to indemnity because her husband had been retired for 23 years when mesothelioma manifested.

Thus, if 9/11 happened in Nebraska, first responders who develop an occupational disease later in life might not be fully covered under workers’ compensation laws without some sort further government intervention like the James Zadroga Act.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in employment law, Workers' Compensation and tagged , , , , .

Workers’ Compensation for Occupational Disease Differs between Nebraska, Iowa

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chimney sweepWorkers’ compensation is designed to cover occupational diseases, whether they are chemically induced or triggered by one’s job over the course of time. The difficulty in dealing with these occupational exposures as they relates to workers’ compensation claims and benefits is inherently in the diseases themselves. In most cases, the disease conditions do not develop until years later.

Such occupational diseases include, but are not limited to, the following. The information below also includes the time it may take to develop these diseases, according to this article from The Center for Public Integrity:

Mesothelioma, a cancer triggered by asbestos: Typically 30 years or more

Bladder cancer, associated with coal tar, metalworking fluids and other workplace hazards: Typically 15 to 40 years

Lung cancer, linked to chromium, nickel, asbestos and other workplace hazards: Typically 10 to 30 years

Asbestosis, an asbestos-caused scarring of the lungs: Typically 10 to 20 years

Silicosis, a lung disease triggered by silica dust: Typically 10 years or more

Parkinson’s syndrome, associated with pesticides, trichloroethylene, manganese and other workplace hazards: Unclear latency period, but while it can come on quickly, the lag time is likely more than a decade; average age of onset is 60”

Others: “… Trichloroethylene is a known human carcinogen; methylene chloride is considered a likely cancer-causing agent. Trichloroethylene in particular is associated with a variety of ailments — Parkinson’s, liver and other cancers, neurological problems and kidney damage among them.”

Workers have to suspect they were exposed to such things at work and ultimately need to demonstrate the exposure they encountered and have medical evidence supporting the relationship between the exposure and the disease they suffer from. Usually, one must show the work exposure was more likely than not to blame as opposed to all possible outside causes.

However, workers face deadlines to filing a claim for occupational diseases based on the amount of time elapsed since the last exposure to the hazard. Nebraska typically favors that such deadlines don’t begin to run until workers know or should have known that they have an occupational disease that is related to an exposure where they worked. This is typically known as a latent and progressive claim.

Unfortunately, Iowa is not one of the states favorable to exposed workers, according to The Center for Public Integrity article.

“If workers there do not become disabled or die within one year of the last ‘injurious’ exposure, or three years if the hazard causes one of the lung diseases categorized as pneumoconiosis, they’re out of luck.” There are some rare exceptions involving “radiation, in which case workers are allowed to actually find out that they have a disabling occupational illness before the clock starts ticking.

“Paul J. McAndrew Jr., an Iowa lawyer who has represented employees in workers’ compensation cases for 25 years, called the state’s deadline rule ‘a patent injustice’ that requires him to tell very sick people that they have no legal remedy against their former employer.”

If you or a loved one believe or are suspected to be suffering from an occupational exposure disease, please contact an experienced attorney.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Health, Work Injury, Worker safety, Workers' Compensation and tagged , , , , , , .

Workers’ Compensation Basics: What is a Workers’ Compensation Accident?

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injured workerThis blog post is the third in a series that examines the basics of workers’ compensation.

To be a covered workers’ compensation claim, an employee’s personal injury must be caused by an accident or occupational disease, but what does that mean?

The Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act defines accident as: “an unexpected or unforeseen injury happening suddenly and violently, with or without human fault, and producing at the time objective symptoms of an injury. The claimant shall have a burden of proof to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that such unexpected or unforeseen injury was in fact caused by the employment. There shall be no presumption from the mere occurrence of such unexpected or unforeseen injury that the injury was in fact caused by the employment. …” Nebraska Revised Statute 48-151 (2)

Of course, many workers’ compensation injuries are not as simple or as clear as a broken arm that was the result of a fall. Some injuries are caused by repetitive motion or cumulative trauma on the job. In those cases, the injuries are still considered workers’ compensation “accidents” under the definition above, even though the injuries did not truly occur “suddenly and violently” as required by the statute.

As for an occupational disease, the Workers’ Compensation Act defines it as “a disease which is due to causes and conditions which are characteristic of and peculiar to a particular trade, occupation, process, or employment and shall exclude all ordinary diseases of life to which the general public is exposed.” Nebraska Revised Statute 48-151 (3) Examples to think about would be mesothelioma for asbestos workers or black lung for coal miners.

In sum, pretty much any injury or illness that an employee receives from work can fit into the definition of “accident” under the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act. However, proving the injury is much more difficult and may require the help of a lawyer.

Read the previous blog posts in the series by clicking on these links: Workers’ Compensation Basics: Are You an Employee? and What is Workers’ Compensation?

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Injury Reporting, Work Injury, Worker safety, Workers' Comp' Basics, Workers' Compensation, Workplace Injury, Workplace Safety and tagged , , , , .

Does Workers’ Compensation Cover Ebola?

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The recent news of Ebola in the United States has given me pause to think whether the nurses in Texas who contracted the Ebola virus are covered under the workers’ compensation system.

Here in Nebraska, the nurses with Ebola would almost certainly be covered. In Nebraska, occupational diseases are covered as long as the illness or injury was peculiar to the particular trade or employment. Generally, regular diseases that the general public is exposed to are not covered occupational diseases. For example, influenza, colds, or even MRSA (a type of antibiotic-resistant infection) would probably not be covered for a healthcare worker. Those diseases could be contracted in limitless places or circumstances. However unlike those diseases, I would think that Ebola coming from one single, easily identifiable source would be covered and would easily be proven to have come from the job of being that patient’s nurse.

Let’s just hope we never get to a point where Ebola becomes widespread enough that it would not be a covered occupational disease. If it does, we will have more problems than the compensability of a workers’ compensation claim. 

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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Are Firefighter Cancer Deaths an Occupational Disease?

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Workers’ compensation has provided benefits or coverage for occupational diseases for generations. Occupational disease is defined by Nebraska law as: “a disease which is due to causes and conditions which are characteristic of and peculiar to a particular trade, occupation, process, or employment and excludes all ordinary diseases of life to which the general public is exposed.” This is a typical definition of an occupational disease. Some examples of recognized occupational diseases are black lung disease for miners, mesothelioma for asbestos workers, lung disease for rubber workers, and leukemia for workers exposed to benzene.  

More studies are done to determine the cause of diseases as medical science advances. A recent study concludes that smoke and chemical exposure by firefighters may cause higher rates of cancer among firefighters. Firefighters, while usually healthier than the general population, have a higher incidence of cancer. More studies need to be done to determine if the peculiar exposure to smoke causes or aggravates cancer.

As medicine and science evolve, there may be more recognized “occupational diseases” and more workers and their families compensated for harm caused by the workplace.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Workers' Compensation and tagged , , , , .