Medical provider's failure to pursue an administrative remedy barred a subsequent common law action for indemnification. A "hold harmless" stipulation contained in a Section 20 disposition requires the respondentto reimburse the petitioner's attorney for defense costs resulting from asubsequent suit seeking reimbursement of medical expenses.

Late Wednesday night, April 9th, 2003, Senator Kennedy and White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card reached an agreement on a smallpox compensation bill that, while not perfect, meets many of the objectives that the coalition of labor and the Workplace Injury Litigation Group (WILG) sought to achieve.

 LOZANO v. FRANK DE LUCA CONSTRUCTION,--Appellate Division, A-2730- 01TI, March 27, 2003, not approved for publication. Denial of the petitioner mason's motion for medical and temporary disability benefits for injuries that he sustained while driving a go-cart when he was working for the respondent construction company affirmed; the petitioner was not entitled to workers' compensation benefits because he was "engaged in a recreational activity that did not arise out of or in the course of his employment"; moreover, the findings of the judge of compensation were supported by substantial and credible evidence.

The HIPAA Privacy Rule does not apply to entities that are either workers’ compensation insurers, workers’ compensation administrative agencies, or employers, except to the extent they may otherwise be covered entities. However, these entities need access to the health information of individuals who are injured on the job or who have a work-related illness to process or adjudicate claims, or to coordinate care under workers’ compensation systems. Generally, this health information is obtained from health care providers who treat these individuals and who may be covered by the Privacy Rule. The Privacy Rule recognizes the legitimate need of insurers and other entities involved in the workers’ compensation systems to have access to individuals’ health information as authorized by State or other law. Due to the significant variability among such laws, the Privacy Rule permits disclosures of health information for workers’ compensation purposes in a number of different ways.

 ** NJ Unpublished decisions HUDAK v. SCHULLER INTERNATIONAL, INC., Appellate Division, A-2661-01T3, March 25, 2003, not approved for publicati...

Taxability of Social Security / Workers' Compensation Reduction:--Social Security disability may be reduced for workers' compensation and other public disability benefits. Oddly, the amounts deducted are included as benefits received for purposes of income tax. In effect, state workers' 
compensation is rendered taxable in an amount equal to the Social Security reduction, but only to the extent that Social Security is taxable for the year. [I.R. Code §86(d)(3)]

An action for retaliatory discharge is allowed when an employee has been discharged for filing a workers’ compensation claim: Nebraska Supreme Court has recognized a public policy exception to the at-will employment doctrine to allow an action for retaliatory discharge when 
an employee has been terminated for filing a workers’ compensation claim. 

 Workers can inadvertently carry hazardous materials home from work on their clothes, skin, hair, tools, and in their vehicles. As a result, families of these workers have been exposed to hazardous substances and have developed various health effects. Health effects have also occurred when the home and the workplace are not distinct -- such as on farms or in homes that involve cottage industries.

A unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court decided that firefighters, whether paid or volunteer, may receive Workers’ Compensation benefits for developing respiratory illness and lung disease as a result of exposure to asbestos, fumes and other toxic substances encountered on the job. Decided February 11, 2002, the case of Culbert vs. City of Jersey City and its companion Lindquist vs. City of Jersey City, reversed the Judgment of the Appellate Division, which threw out the firefighter’s claims.

 Many occupations and lifestyles have a history of exposure to high levels of asbestos fiber. If you have engaged in one or more of the following...

Pennsylvania: Defense Denied Medical Expert Evaluation When a Latex-Free Environment Cannot be Guaranteed

Temporary Disability--When out of work and under authorized medical care for more than 7 days (retroactive), you are entitled to receive temporary disability benefits not to exceed 70% of the State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW).

The current system faces endless medical costs and 
an expanding perimeter of liability.

As the US and its allies prepare for war, the workers' compensation system faces a massive threat to its existence, the adverse consequences of vaccinating healthy workers with smallpox vaccine.

The purpose of this publication is to provide an overview of current research projects that are conducted or funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) that focus on reducing work-related hazards in the health care industry.

The Legislature will consider a bill this fall that could increase worker's compensation benefits to dependents after an employee's death and make it easier for workers suffering from occupational diseases, such as asbestosis, to obtain benefits.

The sole issue to be determined is whether the petitioner should pay any portion of the legal, medical, or other expenses incurred to prosecute his workers' compensation claim.

Will the Federal Victims Compensation Fund be the Model National Workers’ Compensation Act replacing State Systems?

 A summary of State causation elements.

 This rule implements select provisions of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 ("EEOICPA" or "Act"). The Act requires the promulgation of methods, in the form of regulations, for estimating the dose levels of ionizing radiation incurred by workers in the performance of duty for nuclear weapons production programs of the Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies. These "dose reconstruction" methods will be applied by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is responsible for producing the radiation dose estimates that the U.S. Department of Labor will use in adjudicating certain cancer claims under the Act.