Workers' Compensation is based on the concept of a
verifiable injury. An employee went to the job site and became a damaged
working unit. A broken leg, or missing body parts are easily verifiable
injuries. However, when this issue involves an infectious
disease-verifying that the infection occurred while at work is another
issue. A worker does not immediately have symptoms or some other
verifiable proof that this infection occurred at the work site. The
burden of proof generally rests upon the claimant. (S)he will have to
prove that this infection occurred during the process of working-because
a virus does not a specific identifiable markings other than the type of
disease. Proving that this infection occurred at this specific point in
time with this specific type of injury is an impossible task to perform.
If the claimant has any 'abnormal' behavior or physical traits, proving
the occurrence of this injury at work will be impossible. Primarily, the
claimant will have to prove his/her sexual preference, number of
lifelong sexual relationships, possible personal tattooing, if (s)he has
ever used any type of IV drugs and previous surgical procedures.
The real question is regards to coverage is the work place is not
whether there is adequate coverage for exposure/infection in the work
area but RATHER how many claims have been awarded to claimants.
"The following figures were calculated based on 1996 EPINet data. We
do not know to what degree new HIV treatments have affected health care
worker risk of HIV infection. They have probably reduced the risk
somewhat since there are now fewer AIDS patients in hospitals.
We estimated percutaneous injuries and blood and body fluid exposures
in one year, based on: 30 injuries per 100 occupied hospital beds
reported (from our national EPINet data for 1996) 600,000 occupied
hospital beds in the U.S. 180,000 injuries in one year reported in
hospitals (.3 x 600,000) 39% of incidents not reported (according to
surveys conducted in 6 EPINet hospitals in 1996-1997) = 295,082 injuries
occurred in hospitals double this figure because 50% of health care
workers work outside of hospital settings (total =590,164 percutaneous
injuries) according to EPINet data for 1996, an additional 1/3 of
reported exposures (total = 196,721 mucocutaneous exposures) involve
skin/non-intact skin or mucous membrane contact with blood or at-risk
biological substances with can also transmit HIV, HBV, Hepatitis C Virus Total annual
percutaneous and mucocutaneous exposures to blood or at-risk biological
substances in the U.S. in 1996 = 786,885" March 2000 national
estimates of annual percutaneous injuries, using combined data from the
CDC's NaSH database and the Center's EPINet network
Workers often
sustain an injury or contract a disease arising out of their
employment for which the employer and worker’s compensation insurer
deny worker’s compensation benefits, on the grounds that the worker
cannot identify a specific traumatic event that caused or
precipitated the injury or disease. Such a denial may be contrary
to fact and law.
The real irony of
infectious diseases in the work environment is that how do you prove
that you became infected in the work area. There are no outward
signs to the body that someone is now infected. How does one prove
this claim?
Workers’
Occupational Insurance is based on verifiable injuries. I went to
the work area as a complete worker and left as a damaged employee.
So…How does someone demonstrate to some unknown person that 1) have
they have ever used IV drugs, 2) what is their personal sexual
preference, 3) have they been monogamous, or 4) do they possess a
tattoo.
This group is to
help support those infected in the work area and to give support on
challenging the system for a change to it.
|
71st OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2001 Regular Session |
Requires workers'
compensation plans of certain cities to provide coverage for
hepatitis C for city firefighters, law enforcement officers,
emergency medical technicians and corrections officers. Creates
presumption of compensability for hepatitis C for { career + }
firefighters, law enforcement officers, { + career + } emergency
medical technicians and corrections officers in certain
circumstances. Requires certain cities to provide equivalent
workers' compensation coverage |
|
|
A coalition of lawmakers wants to classify the infection as an
occupational disease. Affected firefighters would benefit.
|
Pennsylvania
lawmakers have launched an effort to help Philadelphia firefighters
infected with hepatitis C, in ways that City Hall officials have
resisted. |
|
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Actuarial Aspects of Dread Disease Products
|
Report to
insurance industry |
526 kb pdf |
|
Annual Number of Occupational Percutaneous Injuries and
Mucocutaneous Exposures to Blood or Potentially Infective Biological
Substance |
The following
figures were calculated based on 1996 EPINet data. We do not know to
what degree new HIV treatments have affected health care worker risk
of HIV infection. They have probably reduced the risk somewhat since
there are now fewer AIDS patients in hospitals. 600,000 occupied
hospital beds in the U.S. |
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Appeals Court Rejects Sick Firefighters' Lawsuit......
|
Now the city of
Orlando is going after the firefighters and their attorneys to pick
up the city's legal bills. The city's legal expenses have added up
to more than $210,000. |
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Australia Occupational Exposure |
The data on occupational injuries and diseases contained in the
National Workers' Compensation Statistics database have been
compiled by the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC)
from information supplied by Commonwealth, State and Territory
workers' compensation authorities. These agencies processed workers'
compensation claims received from insurance companies, self-insurers
and some government departments |
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|
California-occupational exposure case-law example |
Workers’
Compensation claimant sought benefits for alleged occupational
disease…the commission’s award of benefits, and employer appealed. |
1198 kb pdf
|
|
Case-Control Study of HIV Seroconversion in Health-Care Workers
After Percutaneous Exposure to HIV-Infected Blood |
Health-care
workers (HCWs) are potentially at risk for human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) infection through occupational exposures to blood.
Although prospective studies indicate that the estimated risk for
HIV infection after a percutaneous exposure to HIV-infected blood is
approximately 0.3% (1,2), factors that influence this risk have not
been determined. |
|
|
Colorado HCV
exposure law |
AN ACT-
CONCERNING WORKERS' COMPENSATION COVERAGE FOR PUBLIC
SAFETY PERSONNEL EXPOSED TO HEPATITIS C. |
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Colorado passes Hepatitis C Virus law
|
Law about the
occupational exposure and later infection for first responders
|
|
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Connecticut-Occupational Diseases, 2001 |
Occupational
diseases are a potentially under-recognized source of disability
given the wide disparity in reporting requirements and procedures
that exist in various jurisdictions. Nonetheless, an occupational
disease could have major impacts on worker health, ability to work,
and employer cost. |
205 kb pdf |
|
Connecticut-court rules HIV can be
hazardous to correctional officers |
The Connecticut
Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that the
high rate of HIV infection among prisoners creates a unique and
hazardous job environment for certain prison guards, clearing the
way for them to receive workers' compensation if they become
infected. |
|
|
Delaware Workers' Compensation |
Gives the rules
and regulations for the State of Delaware |
|
|
Dental Transmission
(Large report-increased down-load time) |
GAO report
concerning the possibility of exposure/infection from a dentist
|
5,150 kb pdf |
|
Direct cost of follow-up for percutaneous and mucocutaneous
exposures to at-risk body fluids |
Published by the
International Health Care Worker Safety Center at the University of
Virginia |
40 kb pdf |
|
Dirty Needles Blames for HIV
|
Children in
South Africa are being infected with HIV through dirty needles,
experts have claimed. |
|
|
Estimating Future Hepatitis C Morbidity, Mortality, and costs in the
United States |
Our results
confirm prior Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projections
and suggest that Hepatitis C Virus may lead to a substantial health and economic
burden over the next 10 to 20 years |
133 kb pdf |
|
Exposure in the Work Area
|
Employees are
exposed to poisons, toxins, and infectious diseases in the work area
|
471 kb pdf |
|
Fiery firefighter battles hepatitis C, Workers’ Compensation
|
A decade ago, he
learned that he had contracted hepatitis C while helping an accident
victim in 1988. Denied Workers’ Compensation coverage, he went to
court and ultimately was denied again. So, he decided to take his
cause to another branch of government. |
|
|
Financial and Risk Considerations for Successful Disease Management
Programs |
Report for the
insurance industry |
211 kb pdf |
|
Fire Chief's Brother Has Hepatitis C The continuing saga of Of
Orlando's Finest!......... |
Hepatitis C is
an infectious disease that firefighters and other emergency crews
can get when they respond to serious accidents. |
|
|
Guidance on the investigation and management of occupational
exposure to hepatitis C |
This document
updates previous PHLS guidance on the risks and management of
occupational exposure to hepatitis C. In line with recent guidance
from the UK Health Departments, the PHLS now recommends that all
source patients, subject to appropriate consent, should be tested
for evidence of hepatitis C infection. A baseline serum should be
obtained from the exposed health care worker and stored for at least
two years. Health care workers exposed to known infected sources
should be followed up at six, 12, and 24 weeks after exposure.
|
|
|
Hazards of Needle Sticks
|
Needlestick
injuries are up there with slips, trips and falls as one of the top
accident risks in UK hospitals. |
144 kb pdf |
|
Hepatitis B virus infected physicians and
disclosure of transmission risks to patients: A critical analysis |
The potential for transmission of blood-borne pathogens such as
hepatitis B virus from infected healthcare workers to patients is an
important and difficult issue facing healthcare policymakers
internationally. Law and policy on the subject is still in its
infancy, and subject to a great degree of uncertainty and
controversy. Policymakers have made few recommendations regarding
the specifics of practice restriction for health care workers who
are hepatitis B seropositive. Generally, they have deferred this
work to vaguely defined "expert panels" which will have the power to
dictate the conditions under which infected health care workers may
continue to practice |
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Hepatitis C Virus Testing
|
Most Hepatitis C Virus
transmission is associated with direct percutaneous exposure to
blood, which means healthcare workers are at occupational risk for
acquiring the disease. |
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Health Care Workers and Hepatitis C
|
Report from the
American Family Physician |
223 kb pdf |
|
HEALTH CARE WORKERS AND HEPATITIS C VIRUS
|
The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with the Hospital
Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, has issued
recommendations for follow-up of health care workers after
occupational exposure to hepatitis C virus (Hepatitis C Virus).
|
|
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Health care workers with AIDS |
Report from CDC
on the numbers and types of positions within healthcare who have
become infected with AIDS |
PDF / 42 KB |
|
Health Care Workers-AIDS Brief
|
The report
describes how the AIDS epidemic is redefining the context of care
and the challenges which it is presenting to health care workers
|
431 kb pdf |
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HEALTHCARE WORKERS SORE OVER NEEDLES FDA WON’T BAN KIND THAT CAUSE
MOST INJURIES
|
A nursing safety
expert asked how many hundreds of medical workers need to die from
contaminated needle sticks before the agency bans standard needles
and syringes that are causing the injuries. |
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Hep C infected firefighters battle on 2 fronts
|
Philadelphia firefighters and paramedics
infected with hepatitis C virus are fighting two battles -- one against
the
virus, and the other against the mayor.
|
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Hep C Infected Firefighters, Paramedics Battle on Two Fronts
|
Philadelphia
firefighters and paramedics infected with hepatitis C virus are
fighting two battles -- one against the virus, and the other against
the mayor. These "first responder" emergency workers contend their
disease is work-related and the city should provide sick leave for
it. The mayor says the city can not afford such a policy.
|
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Hepatitis Bill May Be Costly For City
|
The PA House
will vote today on classifying hepatitis C as work-related for
firefighters, police and prison guards.
|
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Hepatitis C a Greater Threat to Healthcare Workers Than HIV
|
The risk that
healthcare workers will become infected with hepatitis C virus (Hepatitis C Virus)
following an accidental needlestick is 20 to 40 times greater than
their risk of HIV infection, according to data presented here at the
International Conference on Emerging Infectious Disease.
|
|
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Hepatitis C & Police Work
|
Police officers have also been known to use physical force to
restrain and/or arrest. It is common to come in to contact with
blood and bodily fluids, either through direct contact with
individuals or through gathering evidence in the course of an
investigation. |
|
|
Hepatitis C Proposed Law for Washington State
|
The department
shall develop and offer a training course for persons providing
hepatitis C counseling. The training course must include information
relating to the special needs of persons with positive hepatitis C
test results, including the importance of early intervention and
treatment and recognition of psychosocial needs. |
|
|
Hepatitis C Virus Infection Among Firefighters, Emergency Medical
Technicians, and Paramedics --- Selected Locations, United States,
1991—2000 |
First responders
(e.g., firefighters, emergency medical technicians [EMTs], and
paramedics) are at risk for occupational exposure to bloodborne
pathogens. Recently, CDC has received inquiries from state and local
health departments and occupational health services about the
prevalence of hepatitis C virus (Hepatitis C Virus) infection among first
responders and the need for routine Hepatitis C Virus testing among these workers.
|
|
|
Hepatitis-C virus test to be made mandatory in hospitals soon
|
Even as the
world has entered a new millennium, there seems to be a growing
global burden of blood-borne diseases, particularly in the third
world countries. Lack of proper screening for the hepatitis viruses
could spell doom. |
|
|
High prevalence of hepatitis G virus infections in dialysis staff
|
Report on these
infection rates |
70 kb pdf |
|
Illinois Compiled Statutes-infectious diseases exposure |
In this
Act the term "Occupational Disease" means a disease arising out of
and in the course of the employment or which has become aggravated
and rendered disabling as a result of the exposure of the
employment. Such aggravation shall arise out of a risk peculiar to
or increased by the employment and not common to the general public.
A disease shall be deemed to arise out of the employment if
there is apparent to the rational mind, upon consideration of all
the circumstances, a causal connection between the conditions under
which the work is performed and the occupational disease. The
disease need not to have been foreseen or expected but after its
contraction it must appear to have had its origin or aggravation in
a risk connected with the employment and to have flowed from that
source as a rational consequence.
An employee shall be conclusively deemed to have been exposed to
the hazards of an occupational disease when, for any length of time
however short, he or she is employed in an occupation or process in
which the hazard of the disease exists; provided however, that in a
claim of exposure to atomic radiation, the fact of such exposure
must be verified by the records of the central registry of radiation
exposure maintained by the Department of Public Health or by some
other recognized governmental agency maintaining records of such
exposures whenever and to the extent that the records are on file
with the Department of Public Health or the agency.
No
compensation shall be payable for or on account of any occupational
disease unless disablement, as herein defined, occurs within two
years after the last day of the last exposure to the hazards of the
disease, except in cases of occupational disease caused by
berylliosis or by the inhalation of silica dust or asbestos dust
and, in such cases, within 3 years after the last day of the last
exposure to the hazards of such disease and except in the case of
occupational disease caused by exposure to radiological materials or
equipment, and in such case, within 25 years after the last day of
last exposure to the hazards of such disease. |
|
|
Illinois-Handbook on Workers’ Compensation and Occupational Diseases |
This article explains the process and regulations concerning
Illinois’s Workers’ Compensation Law |
160 kb pdf |
|
Illinois-Workers’ Compensation-Infectious Diseases |
The limitations of the Illinois Workers’ Occupational Diseases Act
are more complicated. First of all, the employee must experience
‘disablement’ within 2 years after the last day of the last exposure
to the hazards of the disease on the job. Secondly, an Application
for Adjustment of Claim must be filed with the Industrial Commission
within 3 years after the date of disablement, or within 2 years of
the last payment of compensation benefits, whichever date is later.
Both conditions must be met in order for an employee to secure
workers’ compensation benefits. Because the subject employee did not
experience the symptoms of the infectious disease within 2 years of
the needle stick, all claims will be time-barred under the Workers’
Occupational Disease Act |
423 kb pdf |
|
INDIANA
WORKER’S COMPENSATION
(Large report-increased down-load time) |
The Indiana
Occupational Diseases Act is similar to the Indiana Worker’s
Compensation Act and is administered by the Worker’s Compensation
Board. To be compensable, an occupational disease must arise out of
and in the course of employment. The disease must be fairly traced
to the employment as the proximate cause, and not from a hazard
to which the employee could have been equally exposed outside of
employment. A physician’s opinion that the disease is an
occupational disease would be required to prove a case for benefits
for a disease. |
|
|
International Hazard
Datasheets on Occupation-Police / Law Enforcement Officer |
This datasheet lists, in a standard format, different hazards to
which police / law enforcement officers may be exposed in the course
of their normal work. This datasheet is a source of information
rather than advice. With the knowledge of what causes injuries and
diseases, is easier to design and implement suitable measures
towards prevention. |
|
|
Judge Upholds Ruling That Hepatitis Is a Work-Related Injury |
Philadelphia
must increase its funding for firefighters and paramedics who
contract the hepatitis C virus (Hepatitis C Virus) while working, a judge ruled
Wednesday. |
|
|
Kansas STATUTES: OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES |
Ordinary
diseases of life and conditions to which the general public is or
may be exposed to outside of the particular employment, and hazards
of diseases and conditions attending employment in general, shall
not be compensable as occupational diseases |
|
|
Last
cases against Palo Alto lab worker dismissed |
Two people who believe they were infected with HIV and hepatitis C
by a lab worker who reused needles, plan to appeal a judge's
dismissal of their cases. |
|
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