The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is a federal agency mandated to conduct research to prevent illnesses and injuries in the workplace. NIOSH notifies workers and other stakeholders about the findings of these research studies. The new web site contains a list of NIOSH studies and notification materials. 

 Dependency rates were raise to a uniform 70%, not 100% so the "death penalty" continues. NJSA 34:15-33 was repealed. This effects all occupational claims and eliminates the requirement of notice in all occupational disease claims. This eliminates the conservative case law, ie. Brock.

 FREE CHOICE OF MEDICAL CARE. Ten Years' Experience Using an Integrated Workers' Compensation Management System to Control Workers' Compensation Costs. Study indicates that COSTS would be lower in such a system. Edward J. Bernacki, MD, MPH, Shan P. Tsai, PhD JOEM 45:5 pp 508-516

 Insurance companies are reporting that 2003 was the fattest year on record, while they push to cut meager benefits to injured workers. Many of the insurers writing worker’s compensation policies in California reported “record net income and underwriting income in 2003,” figures in line with other companies’ banner profits.

New Drug Helps Asbestos-Linked Cancer. First Treatment for Rare Lung Cancer. It's not a cure. But a new drug offers precious extra months of life to people with a rare, asbestos-linked cancer.. The drug, Alimta, from Eli Lilly and Company, today received FDA approval for use in combination with cisplatin chemotherapy. It will be used to treat malignant mesothelioma. It strikes some 2,000 Americans each year, mostly due to asbestos exposure. Worldwide, as many as 15,000 people each year are told they will die of mesothelioma.

 A 33-year-old right-handed male presented complaining of a 2-year history of progressive cognitive slowing, rigidity, tremors, slowing of movements, and gait instability leading to falls. On examination, he had a Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score of 29, slowed saccadic eye pursuit, hypomimia, cogwheel rigidity, a 3- to 4-Hz tremor, and a "cock-walk" gait. His symptoms and signs were similar to idiopathic Parkinson's disease; however, he was young, inattention and forgetfulness occurred early in the course of the disorder, levodopa was unhelpful, and his gait was atypical.

 Adopting the recommendations of the recently released report on PD and Wage Loss issued by the RAND Institute, organized Labor proposes to implement a series of substantive reforms to California’s PD and RTW components within the workers’ compensation system. These proposals will promote efficiency, consistency and cost-savings within the system, without diminishing benefits for injured workers. Additionally, these proposals create incentives to return injured workers to work by dismantling current system components which serve to keep workers in the system too long without going back to work.

 The Supreme Court of North Carolina held that a truck driver' who while traveling exited his truck an assualted anothe driver in a fit of road rage was not within the course of his employmnt and therefor his dependents were not permitted to collect benenfit.

WORKER AWARDED $12 MILLION - WC BAD FAITH. Court awards $12 million in workers' compensation case. A former nursing home worker has been awarded more than $12 million in a judgment against three insurance companies that denied her workers' compensation claim. The Rapid City jury returned its verdict - $60,000 in compensatory damages and $12 million in punitive damages - last week after a a four-day trial in federal court.''An insurance adjuster is supposed to be like a judge, fair and impartial. ... If you bribe a judge, you get thrown in jail. But they bribe these claims adjusters with bounties that are tied directly to their performance in paying claims.'' 

Manganese, which enters the body primarily via inhalation, can damage the nervous system and respiratory tract, as well as have other adverse effects. Occupational exposures occur mainly in mining, alloy production, processing, ferro-manganese operations, welding, and work with agrochemicals.

 Manganese, an essential trace element, is one of the most used metals in the industry. Recently, several new manganese compounds have been introduced as fungicide, as antiknock agent in petrol and as contrasting agent in nuclear magnetic resonance tomography. Manganese displays a somewhat unique behaviour with regard to its toxicity. It is relatively non-toxic to the adult organism except to the brain where it causes Parkinson-like symptoms when inhaled even at moderate amounts over longer periods of time.

 Manganese, an essential trace metal, is supplied to the brain via both the blood-brain and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barriers. There are some mechanisms in this process and transferrin may be involved in manganese transport into the brain. A large portion of manganese is bound to manganese metalloproteins, especially glutamine synthetase in astrocytes.

 A Madison County jury awarded him $1 million in what may be a foreboding verdict for makers of welding rods. Elam claimed fumes from welding caused his disease or caused him to get it at an early age.

S1522 Concerns workers' compensation for occupational disease claims and workers' compensation benefits rates for surviving dependents.Bills and Joint Resolutions Signed by the Governor

 The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends in a new NIOSH Alert that employers take measures to limit employees occupational respiratory exposures to food flavorings and flavoring ingredients in workplaces where flavorings are made or used. These steps provide practical ways to reduce potential risks of occupational lung disease, NIOSH said.

 The cost of Federal workplace injuries, when measured by workers' compensation losses, is more than $2 billion and 2 million lost production days annually. In fiscal year 2003, the Federal workforce of almost 2.7 million filed more than 168,000 injury claims. Behind these numbers lie pain and suffering by workers and their families. Clearly, Government agencies should strive to do more to improve workplace safety and health and reduce the costs of injury to workers and taxpayers. Many workplace injuries are preventable. 

LITERATURE--The Downsizing, then Supersizing of Medicare's Super Lien by Fred Johnson*
A year ago, a federal fifth circuit ruling cut Medicare's super lien down to size, arguably providing that the government's subrogation interest did not attach to numerous settlement proceeds. But later rulings challenged that reasoning, and the Medicare reform law passed last month apparently gives the government broader power than before.

HEARING LOSS AMONG CARPENTERS--A carpenter uses a Skilsaw to cut wood to build a concrete form. Photo by Rick Neitzel. By age 50, two out of three carpenters have lost so much hearing from occupational noise exposure that they need hearing aids. Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are studying ways to prevent occupational hearing loss and how to teach carpenters to value good hearing .