Reading Room

The International  Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO) classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer. 

The 2009 influenza pandemic has created a new framework of acts and regulations to respond to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) phase 6 pandemic alert. Governmentally imposed employment disruptions resulting from regulatory work disruptions to prevent the spread of disease maybe massive.

While workers’ compensation was envisioned as a summary and remedial social insurance program, the challenges facing the workers’ compensation system to deliver benefits as promised may be seriously burdened.

A licensed practical nurse who suffered from preexisting pulmonary disability was permitted to recover benefits against her employer when a co-employee sprayed perfume at work. The NJ Appellate Division ruled that a licensed practical nurse was allowed to seek benefits when exposed to an employee's perfume even though the injured worker came to the employment with severe pre-existing obstructive lung disease.

Workers' compensation insurance companies have a long history of guarding themselves from liability from asbestos exposure issues. Recently the NJ courts have ruled that workers' compensation insurance companies are shielded from liability when the insurance company performs hygiene studies and does not take action to protect the employees that it has insured under the policy.

Occupational lead exposure, especially to lead paint, has been a well-known hazard in the workplace you decades. Recent epidemiological studies demonstrate the causal relationship between exposure to impaired brain function, over time, in adults resulting in early aging. Employers and insurance carriers should brace themselves for a wave of claims.

Asbestos is still used in certain industries and workplaces, despite the known health hazards associated with its use. Workers in shipbuilding, automotive, and industrial settings are particularly at risk of exposure to asbestos fibers. To protect workers from the dangers of asbestos, it is essential to follow proper safety protocols and regulations and to phase out the use of asbestos in these industries as soon as possible.

An estimated 1.3 million employees in construction and general industry face significant asbestos exposure on the job. Heaviest exposures occur in the construction industry, particularly during the removal of asbestos during renovation or demolition. Employees are also likely to be exposed during the manufacture of asbestos products (such as textiles, friction products, insulation, and other building materials) and during automotive brake and clutch repair work.

Workers who take home toxic substances and infectious diseases can pose a significant risk to their households and other family members. These workers may come into contact with harmful chemicals, pesticides, and other pollutants on the job, and without proper precautions, they can bring these toxins into their homes and expose their loved ones to dangerous health hazards.

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.

The New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Act [WCA] provides for the awarding of benefits to those individuals who have contracted an illness as a result of their exposure to toxic substances at work.

One of the most pressing challenges in the reformation of New Jersey's Workmen's Compensation system is in the area of occupational disease.