Workers' compensation, implemented in California in 1913, is a no-fault system, entitling workers to compensation for illness or injury arising out of and in the course of work duties, regardless of the blame which might otherwise be placed on the employer or the employee. The workers' compensation system is premised on a bargain between employers and employees: employees are supposed to receive benefits for on-the-job injuries and, in return, the benefits are the exclusive remedy for injured employees against their employer, even when the employer negligently caused the injury.

njured cops and firefighters, their advocates and union leaders today blasted a reported proposal on cutting benefits to injured workers. The injured workers, their advocates and consumer advocates said the proposal would harm those who could least afford it, the injured workers whom the system is supposed to protect.

 During the period from 1980 through 1995, at least 93,338 workers in the U.S. died as a result of trauma suffered on the job, for an average of about 16 deaths per day (NIOSH). The Bureau of Labor Statistics (Department of Labor) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) has identified 5,915 workplace deaths from acute traumatic injury in 2000. BLS also estimates that 5.7 million injuries to workers occurred in 1997 alone; while NIOSH estimates that about 3.6 million occupational injuries were serious enough to be treated in hospital emergency rooms in 1998. 

From 1992 through 2001, roadway crashes were the leading cause of occupational fatalities in the U.S., accounting for 13,337 civilian worker deaths (22% of all injury-related deaths).

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE COVERAGE. Firms watch health-care fight - California battle on insurance fans fear of mandates.  A battle under way in California may foreshadow whether businesses in Illinois and around the country will be forced to offer employee health insurance.

The delivery of medical benefits to injured workers  is becoming more costly and difficult to administer.The purpose of this article is to report developing trends in the United States in the delivery of medical benefits for injured workers.

Injured workers told a State Capitol news conference today that workers’ compensation insurers unreasonably delayed undisputed medical and disability payments that cost the workers their cars, homes, personal assets, and their dignity. The injured workers and their advocates called upon the Legislature and the governor to reject the insurance companies demand that penalties for unreasonable delays be reduced as part of a legislative compromise.

 CANCER RISKS IN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING FACILITIES. A chipmaking trade group said on Thursday that it would sponsor a far-reaching study on cancer risks in semiconductor manufacturing facilities, after years of calls for such an effort by industry critics. 

 United Farm Workers' President, Arturo Rodriquez, strongly objects to the proposal offered by the Governor of California to reform workers' compensation in that State.

NJ RULE PROPOSALS - DEADLINE TO COMMENT Public Hearing: Tues April 6, 2004 Deadline to Comment: May 14, 2004 Topics: Camera & Audio Coverage; M...

 HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the awarding of eight grants to fund an $81 million, five-year health screening program of New York City firefighters and other workers and volunteers who provided rescue, recovery, and restoration services at the World Trade Center disaster site. The grants will allow the recipients to conduct three, free, standardized clinical examinations for each eligible individual over the next five years.

 FORMER DIRECTOR OF NJ DIVISION OF WORKERS COMPENSATION INDICTED Harry Parkin, formerly one of Mercer County's highest-ranking officials, was in...

 Comparing the outcomes of workplace injuries in three states—California, Washington, and Wisconsin—suggests that older workers are more likely than their younger counterparts to have permanent disabilities as a result of those injuries. This is true even though older workers have fewer workplace accidents.

WHO WILL MANAGE SSA - CMS (The people who enforce Medicare Secondary Payment laws) HHS Secretary Thompson Criticizes Opposition to Nomination of FDA ...

 Injured Workers & Advocates: Regulate Workers’ Comp Insurance, Protect Choice of Doctor, Right to 2nd Opinion. Injured workers and their advocates called for regulation of workers’ compensation insurance rate, protecting injured workers’ rights to choose their own doctors, and the right to a 2nd medial opinion. The injured workers’ advocates gave their proposals for reforming California’s workers’ compensation insurance system, including prohibiting excessive insurance rates, and criticized Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposal, saying it “would harm thousands of injured workers.” 

 Stress is a well known culprit in disease, but now researchers have shown that stress can intensify the effects of relatively safe chemicals, making them very harmful to the brain and liver in animals and likely in humans, as well. 

Jury Awards $5M in Anti-Smoking Suit

 This Alert describes health effects that may occur because of workplace exposure to some flavorings or their ingredients, gives examples of workplace settings in which illness has occurred, and recommends steps that companies and workers should take to prevent hazardous exposures.

 Disease keeps him home, man says Larry Elam first noticed the tremors in the late 1980s or early 1990s, while he was out for dinner with his wife.

NJ LEGISLATION ATTEMPTS TO ELIMINATE BENEFITS --WC: NJ Is About to Take A Backward Step By Adopting a Policy of Burning the Houses Down--Senator Anthony R. Bucco has reintroduced a bill to eliminate entitlement to workers' compensation cash benefits during imprisonment. The bill has advanced out of committee and is scheduled for a floor vote next week.