Sacks & Zolonz Employer Workers' Compensation Defense Attorneys Blog

As an employer, you expect your employees to be both safe and lucid while on the job. This means that employees must understand that intoxication of any kind -- whether from drugs or alcohol -- will not be tolerated and can perhaps lead to disqualification for work comp benefits in the event of a workplace accident. Interestingly enough, a recent workers' compensation defense case out of Louisiana actually awarded work comp benefits to an injured employee who tested positive for drugs.

According to the facts of the case, Dolores K. was working as a restaurant server at Louisiana seafood restaurant back in 2008 when she fell over a box of potatoes located on the floor in the food preparation area. She was taken to the emergency room after the fall, where she was diagnosed with a broken wrist.

However, she was also administered a drug test -- as mandated by the seafood restaurant's work comp carrier -- and tested positive for the presence of both marijuana and the prescription drug Xanax.

Consequently, the work comp carrier denied benefits, covering only the emergency room visit, and Dolores K. appealed the decision.

In 1991, a new occupational safety program designed to drastically reduce the number of work injuries/accidents went into effect here in the Golden State. Called the California Injury and Illness Prevention Program (CIIPP), the groundbreaking program called for employers to do some of the following:

• Convey workplace risks to employees
• Investigate work injuries
• Implement safety training
• Reduce/eliminate workplace risks
• Execute workplace surveys
• Create a written policy on workplace safety

Interestingly, a new study by the Santa Monica-based RAND Corp. found that while CIIPP has proven successful in reducing work injuries, accidents and hazards, this success has been limited to those businesses that have been cited for violating particular work safety mandates.

Specifically, RAND researchers found that inspectors with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) -- the agency in charge of enforcing CIIPP -- are mainly checking to see if employers have the required written policy and often not delving any deeper. However, when they do delve deeper and cite an employer for a specific CIIPP violation, real change occurs.

There is no question that a strong workers' compensation defense requires an assertive, even aggressive approach. When evaluating a work comp claim, attorneys must be prepared to examine every aspect of the alleged accident, including dissecting the medical file and deciphering how the accident occurred. Such an approach can ultimately help save employers both time and money.

In fact, a recent case out of New Jersey illustrates how strong case preparation by work comp defense attorneys helped uncover an otherwise undeserving claim.

In the case, an account executive with a Garden State information technology consulting company was claiming that he suffered work-related injuries in a carjacking and was therefore entitled to work comp benefits.

As an employer, you are likely familiar with the litany of work injuries that commonly befall your employees, including wrist injuries, foot sprains and, the most common of all, back pain.

While this large number of back injuries in the workforce may be alarming and perhaps even frustrating, it should actually come as no surprise given the gradual shift of many Americans toward a more inactive lifestyle.

"A lot of back pain is due to the fact that we're a sedentary culture," said Matt Pressman, a certified instructor who helps clients with an alternative treatment for back pain. "People sit an average of 14 hours a day ... and the cumulative effect is compressing the vertebrae and putting extra weight [on the spine and neck]."

In fact, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has identified back pain as one of the nation's most common medical maladies. Specifically, the NIH estimates that eight out of every ten Americans are afflicted with back pain.

A recently released study sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and performed by a University of California-Davis public health science professor has made headlines in legal circles for its rather startling revelations concerning the true costs of work injuries and illnesses.

According to Professor J. Paul Leigh -- whose study is published in the latest edition of the Milbank Quarterly -- the true cost of work-related injuries and illnesses is approximately $250 billion per year. While this number is shocking on its own, consider that Leigh also determined that this is approximately $76 billion more than the annual costs associated with diabetes and $31 billion more than the annual costs associated with cancer.

He arrived at these findings by analyzing over 40 datasets provided by various agencies and institutions, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Council on Compensation Insurance, and the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, to name only a few.

Recent reports in the area of workers' compensation defense law reveal a good news/bad scenario for California employers. The bad news? The cost of work comp premiums is going to rise in 2012. The good news? The amount of this rate increase is relatively minor.

According to a released statement by the California Department of Insurance, the top 100 workers' compensation insurance carriers, which together comprise 96.7 percent of the state's work comp insurance market, are increasing their pure premium/base rates by 2.8 percent.

What makes this development significant is that in 2012 the Department of Insurance officially launched a new practice whereby the Insurance Commissioner announces an advisory benchmark for annual work comp rates that insurers can either abide by or disregard.

Specifically, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones advised work comp carriers to consider charging a premium rate equivalent to $2.30 per $100 of employer payroll back in November.

Based on the 2.8 percent increase in premium rates, the bulk of work comp carriers chose to follow Jones' recommendation.

Employers here in California, and across the nation know full well the toll that repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) can have on a bottom line. They also know that RSIs not only affect productivity, but can also result in widespread absenteeism and increased workers' compensation defense costs.

Consequently, it's important for employers in any and all industries to take the necessary step to prevent RSIs among their workforce.

Today's post will continue the previous discussion, focusing specifically on some potential warning signs of RSIs in the office setting and some simple solutions offered by health experts.

What can you do for employees who are on the phone for extended periods of time and who frequently hunch their shoulders while talking?

Health experts recommend that employers consider purchasing headsets for these employees or allowing them to use the speakerphone option. Either of these steps can eliminate excess strain on the shoulders and neck.

What can you do for employees whose positions require them to place their palms and/or wrists on a hard surface for extended periods of time?

Health experts recommend that employers consider installing wrist guards or other protective padding that can keep pressure off the wrists.

Employers here in California, and across the nation know full well the toll that repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) can have on a bottom line. They also know that RSIs not only affect productivity, but can also result in widespread absenteeism and increased workers' compensation defense costs.

Consequently, it's important for employers in any and all industries to take the necessary step to prevent RSIs among their workforce.

What is an RSI?

A publication from the United States Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines an RSI as follows:

"[R]epetitive stress injuries, comprise more than one hundred different types of job-induced injuries and illnesses resulting from wear and tear on the body. RSIs ... can result any time there is a mismatch between the physical requirements of the job and the physical capacity of the human body. Specific risk factors that can cause RSIs include repetitive motion, force, awkward posture, heavy lifting, or a combination of these factors."