The British House of Lords in a recent decision has take a step backward in time and has ruled that those who suffer pleural plaques (scarring of the lungs) as a result of asbestos exposure are unable to claim compensation. Parliament declared, " If the pleural plaques are not in themselves damage, do they become damage when aggregated with the risk which they evidence or the anxiety which that risk causes? In principle, neither the risk of future injury nor anxiety at the prospect of future injury is actionable. "

While denying class action certification for a medical monitoring class and a punitive damage class, the NJ App Div permitted an INTENTIONAL TORT action against the employer to go forward in a common law civil claim.

Following pleas from state health officials after the Centers for Disease Control linked at least 165 cases of Salmonella in 31 states to ConAgra produced pot pies, the company finally recalled the products on Thursday, October 11, 2007.

INSURANCE INDUSTRY AGAIN OFFERS MSP LEGISLATION THAT WOULD DISCOURAGE WORKERS' COMPENSATION PERIODIC PAYMENTS
After a failed attempt in the last Congress, the Insurance Industry has again offered similar legislation to encourage "lump sum" settlements in Workers' Compensation hearings, H.R.2549, and circumvent reimbursement of the ailing Medicare program. This legislation failed to gain acceptance in the last Congress as it did not receive the support of interest groups involved in preserving the Medicare system and Labor who continues to support a periodic benefit system in Workers' Compensation.

FLORIDA EXPANDS INTENTIONAL TORT EXCEPTION

 

Employee's injury was substantial certainty from employer's failure to respond to requests for new ladder did not require proof that employer concealed danger.

 

"Even though case law on the intentional tort exception to workers' compensation immunity is devoid of any defined test that will establish substantial certainty as a matter of law, it is evident that concealment of the dangerous condition is only one of several factors in a nonexclusive list. "

 

Bakerman v The Bombay Company, ___So. 2d____, 2007 WL 1774420 (Fla.), decided June 21, 1007

American Bar Association Establishes The College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers. Jon Gelman, Author and Litigator, Installed as Fellow. NAPLES, FL.,March 2, 2007 – The College of Workers’ Compensation Attorneys announced today that Jon L. Gelman has been inducted as a fellow of the national organization at its first annual induction dinner.

NYC CONNECTS AN EXPOSURE TO 911
For the First Time, the City Connects a Death to 9/11 Dust 
New York City’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, has for the first time directly linked a death to exposure to dust from the destruction of the World Trade Center. 

Medical expenses in contested workers’ compensation cases are now a significant and troublesome issue resulting in uncertainty, delay and potential future liability. The recent NJ Supreme Court decision, University of Mass. Memorial Hospital v. Christodoulou, 180 N.J. 334 (2004) has left the question of how to adjudicate medical benefits that were conditionally paid or paid in error. Presently there is no exclusively defined procedure to determine the allocation, apportionment of primary responsibility for unauthorized medical expenses and reimbursement.

CLEARING THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION BENEFIT HIGHWAY OF MEDICAL EXPENSE LAND MINES 
Medical expenses in contested workers’ compensation cases are now a significant and troublesome issue resulting in uncertainty, delay and potential future liability. The recent NJ Supreme Court decision, University of Mass. Memorial Hospital v. Christodoulou, 180 N.J. 334 (2004) has left the question of how to adjudicate medical benefits that were conditionally paid or paid in error. Presently there is no exclusively defined procedure to determine the allocation, apportionment of primary responsibility for unauthorized medical expenses and reimbursement. By John H. Geaney and Jon L. Gelman

FEDERAL LAWSUIT ALLEGES ABUSE OF MEDICARE SYSTEM BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA & SEEKS TO RECOVER $20 MILLION IN DAMAGES
Plaintiff claims cost-shifting of workers compensation obligations to Medicare created "work comp reform bubble" that is about to burst  

On February 22, 2006, a jury of Rhode Islanders delivered a decisive verdict in a
case that had been the source of significant political, social, and economic debate
since it was filed in 1999. On that day, a jury of six, who had devoted more than
four months of their lives hearing evidence in the longest civil jury trial in Rhode
Island's history,

RICO CLAIMS RESULTS IN AWARD OF $2.2 MILLION AGAINST INJURED WORKERS
Federal RICO action arising from WC claims results in $2,264,690. Award Against Workers
"The Complaint alleges that the defendants committed violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, 18 U.S.C. 1962, violations of the New Jersey State Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:41-2, violations of N.J.S.A. 34:15-57.4(b) (workers’ compensation fraud), common law fraud and conspiracy in connection with the filing and prosecution of fraudulent workers’ compensation petitions against Plaintiff...'
Bath Unlimited, Inc. v Ginarte O'Dwyer, et al., Case 2:04-cv-03919-SRC-RJH Filed 3.14.07 Civ Ac No 04-3919 (SRC) (USDCT NJ 2007)

 The Mercer County Bar Association will be sponsoring a seminar on workers' compensation at two locations this spring.Samuel Gaylord and Michael R. Paglione will join Jon Gelman for a seminar for workers' compensation attorneys.

STATE PREMIUM RANKINGS ANNOUNCED 
1. Alaska 
2. California 
6. Florida (down from 3) 
10. New York (up from 18) 
23 New Jersey (up from 29) 
51. North Dakota 
Source: State of Oregon 

 STATE PREMIUM RANKINGS ANNOUNCED  1. Alaska  2. California  6. Florida (down from 3)  10. New York (up from 18)  2...

Bankruptcy Court Approves Owens Corning’s Plan of Reorganization. Toledo, Ohio – September 26, 2006 – Owens Corning (OWENQ.OB) today announced
that Judge Judith Fitzgerald of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Delaware approved the company’s Plan of Reorganization. The Bankruptcy Court’s
approval of the plan paves the way for Owens Corning to emerge from bankruptcy by
the end of October 2006.

 City of Akron Sues Lead Manufacturers for Public Nuisance Caused by Lead Pigment  WAYNE, NJ., (October 4, 2006) - Jon Gelman, a prominent attorney representing plaintiffs in toxic exposure claims and Motley Rice LLC, one of the nation's largest plaintiffs' litigation firms, continues to pressure the lead pigment industry to remedy the health crisis caused by lead pigments contained in paints that they manufactured and distributed

NEW MEDICARE RECOVERY PROCEEDURE – Medicare Secondary Payer. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is consolidating all of the functions and workloads related to Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) post-payment recoveries into one MSP recovery contract. The contract for the new national MSP Recovery Contractor (MSPRC) will be implemented on October 2, 2006. 

Suits Filed on Behalf of Several Ohio Cities Allege Lead Manufacturers Created a Public Nuisance.  Jon L. Gelman, a prominent attorney representing plaintiffs as a result of toxic exposures, along with Motley Rice LLC, one of the nation's largest plaintiffs' litigation firms, today announced that it has filed two lawsuits against members of the lead paint industry on behalf East Cleveland, Ohio and Toledo, Ohio. The suits allege that lead pigment manufacturers, including Atlantic Ritchfield, Sherwin Williams, Millennium Holdings, DuPont, ConAgra, and others, helped to create an environmental hazard and significant public health crisis in the state of Ohio by manufacturing, distributing and promoting lead-based paint products long after they were aware of the significant health dangers associated with these products. 

PUTTING "FAULT" BACK INTO WORKERS' COMPENSATION. A bill has been introduced into the NJ Legislature in an attempt to legislatively reverse the recent NJ Supreme Court ruling in Tlumac v. High Bridge Stone which reaffirmed the long standing rule that intoxication must be the "sole cause" of an accident in order to deprive an employee of workers' compensation benefits. The proposed legislation, S2166, amends the workers' compensation law to provide that it in employee was intoxicated when the injury or death occurred, it is presumed that the injury or death was caused by the intoxication and the employee will be barred from receiving workers' compensation.