Whatever you may think, workplace accidents can, and do happen every day. Our aim from this article is to help employers think about the workplace and safety to prevent accidents before any employee has to file a claim.

Offices

Are offices dangerous? Yes. Do they need to be dangerous? No, but all too often we take safety as someone else’s responsibility and fail to act to prevent accidents happening today. Another bad excuse is that safety is always a problem for tomorrow and not for today. If we act in a safe manner today then we will prevent accidents rather than encourage them.

What sorts of dangers exist in your office? The temptation is to rush to this meeting and then to the next and you fall over something carelessly left lying around. Bad posture or trying to lift something too heavy can result in back strain or pulled muscles. RSI injury faces those who are not careful about how they organize their workspace. Regular breaks away from the computer monitor can help prevent eye strain and stiff necks. As you see there are many ways we can get injuries and we all face these days every day at the office.

Where do the employers need to be extra vigilant? Fire exits need to be clearly marked even when they are being obscured by smoke. Fire exit routes must never be blocked or constricted. Fire doors should always open, even for the smallest and weakest member of staff. Smoke doors should close behind people to prevent the spread of smoke. When was the last time you had a fire drill in your offices and how long did it take to clear your office? People in the twin towers were unsure of what to do and where to go. A full evacuation of your area of the building can familiarize your employees, and help them survive.

Shops

It does not matter if you sell food and drink or clothes and games, shops are dangerous. What could be dangerous about food? Anything hot or cold that spills onto you may cause pain and damage to clothing. In all shops there is a demand by management to change the layout and the look of the sales area. If the employees do not or cannot create a protected working environment, making sure that nothing falls onto someone, you will find there is a danger for shoppers and workers alike. I don’t know about your shop but most of the time the managers and supervisors disappear when work has to be done. We need to be careful for our fellow employees as well as the general public. When anything is happening that is out of the ordinary (such as early morning opening on Black Friday, be safe not sorry – we must never forget the young man who was trampled when the doors opened) think before the time comes so that everyone is safe.

Factories and work sites

Maintenance, new equipment, erection and demolition often are major parts of the work at factories and work sites. It doesn’t matter how new or old the factory is preventative maintenance and day-to-day repairs and renewals are part of every day life. We must take care of ourselves, our fellow workers and other bystanders. If something looks or feels unsafe then put it in writing to the management before someone gets hurt. Work sites could be construction or demolition. Keep your hard hat on. Be careful with chemicals like propane, and oxyacetylene. Electricity can kill if used unwisely. We must never get blasé about our safety.

Finally

A culture of safety must start from the directors and owners of a business and go right down to the most junior employee and even the cleaners. Remember that each employee contributes to the effective running of the organization. Each one has received training and investment of time in the particular task they are responsible for. “An ounce of prevention is far better than a pound of cure” (is a quote from an ancient proverb first recorded in Latin in Henry de Bracton’s “De Legibus” (c. 1240)) but remember that the pound of cure for a work injury may involve a trip to court to settle a claim by one of your employees.

Never have the words “Be careful out there” been more apt in our daily lives.

Some States allow the plaintiff to rely on their memory for the identification of the products they used decades ago. Other States allow for some serious cases of asbestosis to be bundled with other cases that are not so serious in order to get a larger settlement for the less serious cases. Judge MacQueen from West Virginia noted that allowing for mass trials and consolidation of asbestos lawsuits actually encouraged more cases to be filed rather than diminishing them.

Let’s consider the practical side of asbestos tort processing. Imagine a judge having to schedule 5,000 asbestos trials for a 1 week trial. The resultant backlog would mean trials still proceeding until almost 2100. The only way is to take mass trials and deal with the claims speedily. If the claims are not dealt with speedily then the whole procedure becomes ridiculous.

Questions need to be asked about the suitability of having a claim processed by a court where the exposure to asbestos did not happen in the court’s jurisdiction. Also, a question needs to be asked if the defendants should be put before a court in a State where the company is not located or individual is not resident. It may be that only when the asbestos exposure happened in that jurisdiction that the court needs to hear the case, or are we simply being too simplistic as we look at the problem?

There are mass torts. Civil trials where a number of people who are either suffering or have been diagnosed as potentially suffering from the results of asbestos inhalation take up a combined case against those who are “responsible” for their “suffering”. We can say that manufacturers of a product must be responsible for its careful use, but sometimes there is little proof of an individual’s contact with the particular manufacturer’s product. However, the cases go ahead and when one source of damages is exhausted then the same group of people reapply for the next manufacturer or user of asbestos they can sue.

For the manufacturers and users of asbestos there is very little they can do when presented with medical evidence supporting the dangers of asbestos being so clear. They also face medical reports of the individuals in question where a doctor makes his deposition to the court of the damage caused by the inhaling of asbestos fibers is pointed out. This has recently come under a great deal of criticism. A doctor made a series of diagnosis based, not on a personal interview with a patient but solely on the basis of x-rays conducted in a “mass screening” for potential clients to sue for asbestos damage. It seems like a don’t call us, we’ll call you situation where many people could jump on the bandwagon and those who genuinely suffer from the results of the asbestos are missing out on their fair share of the claims.

It is interesting to note that the doctor at the center of this controversy has gone into hiding and could now be outside the USA in order to avoid any questions as to his behavior.

The whole system of “mass” has to come under scrutiny. The need for someone who is genuinely suffering from the results of inhaling asbestos fibers is not in question. The idea that a doctor who practices (i.e. is not perfect yet) can accurately diagnose the results of inhaling asbestos fibers, and also predict the outcome of the results he can see on an X-ray with 100% accuracy must come under some scrutiny. Finally, the ability of an individual to successfully pursue a court action to be compensated for the effects of inhaling asbestos fibers manufactured by company “A” and then goes on to sue company “B” who used the products from company “A” would seem to be “getting two bites at the cherry”. Is this justice or a mass of people getting on the bandwagon?

One final danger of the “mass” system is that someone who has a lung complaint can be substituted for someone who is perfectly healthy for the purpose of the x-ray.

Some judges have now become aware of the dangers of the “mass” system and are seeking to make sure that justice is seen to be done and that those who really need to receive the awards get what they need.

One final danger with the “mass” processing of the claims is when someone comes up with a new slant of the dangers of asbestos. A number of claimants alleged that they suffered from anxiety due to the danger of the asbestos fibers in the work that they were employed to do. It is very difficult to measure how much fear can be caused by close proximity to asbestos and asbestos products, but how can you compensate for that? How much compensation should be sought from the media who sometimes seek to hype up the dangers more that is really necessary? I wonder if newspapers and magazines would be happy to join the “mass” of organizations sued for asbestos exposure.

How do we really get justice for those who are suffering or have suffered from the effects of breathing in asbestos fibers? This is not the point of the legal system. The point of the legal system is for the plaintiff to extract as much money as possible from the person or organization he or she is suing. The only way to prevent the successful claim by the plaintiff is to refute the idea that the plaintiff’s medical conditions were caused by exposure to the products made, supplied, or used by the defendant or their company.

One useful side effect will be for those companies who are still using Asbestos in any way, shape, or form to look for alternative materials and use those so future generations will not face the same medical bills. The unfortunate side effect is that the companies using the new alternative materials will be legally separate from those that used Asbestos and the Asbestos making companies will be made bankrupt.

In our modern society there are always alternative products on the market and it only takes a change in safety or litigation to make people aware that expensive changes to their production will be cheaper in the long run that continuing with the long-held use of Asbestos in building and manufacture.

All offices have a certain amount of banter and that is good, and only to be expected when there are friends working together. The problem comes when the banter becomes innuendo or overtly sexual. This can be the case when a woman comes into a workplace that previously had been an all-male preserve, or equally where a man comes into an all-female office or shop. The existing relationships and the banter that come out of them can easily be sexual until the rest of the employees are shown that they should consider what they are saying and why.

In many ways today’s alternate lifestyles add to the mix. Employing a heterosexual male to work with a group of homosexual males or a heterosexual female in a workplace of mainly Lesbian females creates friction and the attitude where one must change the other. In some places friction helps people to understand one another, but where the individual is strong in their resolution it can result in some relationship issues.

Where does Sexual Harassment start and end? There are three distinct areas of sexual harassment that need to be addressed in the workplace.

• Sexual Conduct. An employer who makes direct sexual approaches to an employee. Often this happens away from the employee’s work space near the photocopier or drinks machine or in an area away from other employees.
• Quid pro quo seems an odd term it simply means an employer offering the employee advancement in return for sexual favors. In the short term that may seem attractive but in the long term it is unhelpful and demeaning.
• Hostile work environment. An employer is responsible for the work environment. It may seem acceptable when out with the boys to make suggestive remarks and your friends may applaud it, but in a work environment it is unhelpful and inappropriate. For an employer to accept and condone sexually-charged banter in the workplace can render them liable to court action.

The bottom line is that for sexual conduct, quid pro quo or a hostile work environment the company renders itself liable for damages for sexual harassment. A company needs to review its own employee contracts, and “At Will” statement, to make sure this is understood by all. A manager or supervisor needs to make sure when a new employee starts there is no unnecessary sexual banter or actions. We live in a world where sexuality is flaunted but when it is forced on someone the result can be a sexual harassment lawsuit.

The Insurance Company Drags Their Feet in Accepting Liability for the Accident

This can and does happen all of the time. Your phone call isn’t returned. Your FAX is lost. Nothing can happen in reference to you getting compensated by the at-fault party’s insurance company until they accept liability.

Your car will not get repaired. You will not get a rental car. You will not be compensated for your pain and suffering.

Sometimes the adjuster will tell you they can’t get in touch with their driver to obtain a statement. Other times they will have to wait for the accident report. They will have to speak with a key witness. Or maybe the car will have to be appraised and pictures taken. It is always something. Why? It is only a few thousand dollars that they owe you. Well time is money. The longer the insurance company holds onto your money the longer they can collect interest. You might think that interest for a few weeks on a few thousand dollars is not that much. And you would be right if you were the only person that these delay tactics were being used on, but there are thousands and thousands of claims across the country. That is a lot of interest and therefore a lot of extra money in the profit column of the insurance company.

Your Own Insurance Company Denies Reimbursement of Your Medical Bills

Unfortunately this is becoming more and more common. You have paid for the insurance coverage and purchased PIP benefits. Yet your own insurance company may still deny payment of your medical bills. This usually happens when your treatment consists of exclusively chiropractic care. If your insurance company believes that you really weren’t injured in the accident and you don’t need any treatment they sometimes will try to get your doctor to accept a reduced payment on their bill.

Other times they will deny payment out right and request that your records be reviewed by a peer review doctor. A peer review doctor is a doctor that the insurance company hires to review your records to see if the treatment given by your doctor conforms to Kentucky standards. The report from this doctor, who is a hired gun, is usually that you should have been recovered after 10 or 12 visits and any treatment given after that time is excessive and should not be paid. I think you can see what is going on.

Other times there is a request for an Independent Medical Exam (IME) where the insurance company hires a doctor to examine you to give an opinion as to whether further treatment is necessary. The result is the same as the above. Both of these procedures are authorized under the Kentucky No-Fault Statute. The exams are really not independent. In my opinion the “I” stands for insurance.

If payment is denied you are responsible for paying your doctor. Your only option that I am aware of is to sue your own insurance company. This process can take several years. If you are successful your medical bills will be paid.

It is my hope that once you are aware of these attempts to delay the progress you will be better armed to fight for your case and receive a fair settlement.

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About The Author
Michael A. Schafer is an attorney who concentrates his law practice in personal injury litigation in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of “7 Potholes That Can Wreck Your Kentucky Accident Case” and “What You Don’t Know About Buying Car Insurance Can Hurt You”. For additional information about Mike Schafer visit http://www.mikeschaferlaw.com

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The plan was straightforward. The aim was to produce hydroelectric power. The result would be cheap and effective electrical generation. To create the power, they first dug a tunnel from Hawks Nest to Gauley Bridge. This was to divert the flow of the New River under the Gauley Mountain. The construction would need to have a dam built at the Hawks Nest end of the tunnel and the water would then flow through the new tunnel. It all sounds like one of those dream-come-true projects.

Then it got even better. While the tunnel was being cut it was found that there was silica in the rock which could be mined and used in the electro processing of steel. All this was a bonus as now instead of throwing away everything which was dug from the ground, the rock and everything else could be sent for processing and would help to pay for the work to make the hydroelectricity.

What went wrong? Out of 3,000 workers employed at the site there were 109 admitted deaths but a congressional committee placed the death toll at 476. Other sources have put the death toll at 700 to 1,000. The situation is complicated by the fact that many of the workers on the site had migrated from the southern USA when they started to work there. These migrant workers returned south when the job was complete and so there was no accurate count of the number of deaths which could be made.

How did this happen? Exposure to Silica dust causes Silicosis, a lung disease where the sufferer cannot breathe properly. The miners were not provided with masks or breathing apparatus despite the fact, when management of the company involved visited the tunnel to inspect the work they wore protection.

The principle of American law now is the employer has a responsibility to create a safe environment for the employees he has working for him. Yes, there are times when risks are unavoidable but to have safety equipment which could keep the workers healthy and not make it available makes the company liable.

The same company faced another enormous accident when its subsidiary on the Indian subcontinent has a gas leak and then over 3,000 were filled and 100,000 injured. The place where the leak happened is called Bhopal.

Industrial accidents are common but not on the scale of the two which have already been quoted. On the other hand the problems of asbestos exposure don’t become obvious in a year or even two years, but the problems only come to the fore after 30 or 40 years. Claimants are rushing to get their claims in today for illness that they may or may not suffer from in a few years time. They could die of a car accident or get shot, before they suffer at all. Yet in order to avoid being caught by the statute of limitations they must submit a claim. Some States are allowing claims of healthy people to be submitted, but to then be held until they suffer some health problems related to asbestos exposure. This may be a fairer way to deal with injury, rather than take a doctor’s opinion on the likelihood of asbestos-related health issues. After all will the doctor be alive or the practice the doctor is part of be open and be sued for the fact that some patients did not exhibit any form of asbestos-related illness and yet they were compensated for the possibility of it.

We may be taking things to the extreme here but if the courts recognize the liability of current and former employers to care for their staff, then the courts should look at the liability of doctors who get the diagnosis wrong in a litigation case.

Recently, the American Public Health Association (APHA) adopted a resolution asking Congress to consider legislation prohibiting the manufacture, sale, import, or export of asbestos-containing products, including products in which asbestos could be or is known to be a contaminant. In a statement, the Chair of APHA’s Occupational Health and Safety section, Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH, said, “With this new policy, APHA is joining the World Federation of Public Health Associations and other international organizations calling for a global ban on asbestos mining, and manufacturing, and the dangerous practice of exporting asbestos containing products.” The APHA hopes to completely eliminate all threat of industrial and commercial asbestos exposure and subsequently reduce the number of deaths from asbestos-related illnesses. Some estimations put the annual American death toll from asbestos at more than 10,000.

This is not the first time legislation has been brought to the table in an attempt to remove asbestos from manufacture and production entirely. In 1989, the EPA effectively banned most asbestos containing products with their Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule. However, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned this regulation in 1991. This new regulation would prohibit targeted products from containing any asbestos, though there are many more products in which trace amounts of asbestos are tolerated.

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A. West Virginia is the best State.

Q. Will I always receive compensation?

A. You might be awarded compensation, but if the company goes out of business and bankrupt, you will find there is no money to pay you. You may need to check if the company has been taken over or bought out. It may mean tracing a number of company takeovers and find who is now liable for your asbestosis. Also, some companies have gone out of business but have left a trust fund to pay for asbestosis claims. Unfortunately due to some of the mass torts being filed there is little left for those with proven cases of asbestosis.

Q. Are any lawyers interested in dealing with the facts?

A. Yes, many lawyers are prepared to deal with the facts and not assumptions. You need to ask questions of the lawyer you hire, to find out what they are prepared to do for your situation.

Q. What are mass torts?

A. In simple terms, this is where a number of people with similar health issues, all make a combined claim.

Q. Are mass torts good news for sufferers?

A. Not necessarily, because many people are making combined claims, without having seen a doctor to diagnose their disease.

Q. How do I make a claim if I have asbestosis?

A. The first thing you need to do is contact an excellent lawyer, who will want to find out all the facts, and also get the medical proof to go with your claim.

Q. How long before the affects of asbestosis is seen?

A. It normally takes about 20 years for the results of asbestosis to be seen in a person.

Q. I’m an employer, but I haven’t dealt with asbestos could I be sued?

A. Yes you could, if it was proven that the building you used had asbestos in it.

Q. As an employer how can I protect myself?

A. Find a good defense lawyer who will examine the evidence and then act on your behalf.

What are the aims? West Virginia Code 22 aims to restore and protect the environment. The environment is seen as fundamental to the health and welfare of the individual citizens of West Virginia. The government is ultimately responsible for the healthful environment for the citizens. The aims are set out clearly, and although the ideals may slip, there is a benchmark for those who build and use production facilities and homes in the West Virginia Area. There is an acknowledgment by the West Virginia government that they are responsible for the environment. The difficulty for so many businessmen is that we must pay for what we do wrong, even if we had the best advice possible when we built the factory, or the production process was devised.

The state has a primary responsibility for environmental protection assisted by the citizens of West Virginia, other government organizations together with public and private entities. This is a task that no-one can complete on their own. Every one of us must work together and in some ways the whistleblowers are the last line of defense. A whistleblower is someone who knows an organization is bending or breaking the environmental laws and is prepared to inform the authorities.

The public of West Virginia must be involved by participation and public hearings of any changes relating to the environment.

West Virginia looks for efficiency in the approach to the environment and its support. The whole range of responsibilities for the environment come into play looking at its wise use, enhancement and conservation as well as preservation and protection. It is great to hold on to what we have, but we must take steps to make the best use of our entire natural environment. The view of the West Virginia senate is to coordinate, consolidate and integrate all the Federal and state programs concerned with the environment. There is no point in duplication of effort when it comes to the environment. The programs should be cost effective and efficient. It is not always easy to combine these two when concerned with the environment as so much of the land area of West Virginia is farm, forest, mountain and lakes. All the programs should aim to prevent injury to animals, plants and aquatic life. The programs must also support and enhance the quality of life enjoyed by the citizens of West Virginia. One last proviso does, however, strike a note of caution. West Virginia wants to promote economic development consistent with its environmental goals and standards. What happens if the development is not according to the goals and standards, and employment is needed in that area?

Our environment can be the cause of great joy for those that live and vacation in West Virginia. Only by working with the governmental and non-governmental agencies can we keep this place for our children and grandchildren to enjoy.