Action Needed To Ensure Sick 9/11 First Responders Receive Benefits

Animal Control Officer Diane DiGiacomo

A couple weeks ago, the Workers’ Compensation community was stunned over the outcome of the case of Animal Control Officer Diane DiGiacomo who developed cancer from exposure to toxins in the air after 9/11. Diane’s job was to search for and rescue pets near Ground Zero when many of the buildings surrounding the area were either evacuated or abandoned for weeks after the terrorist attack.

Diane had filed a Workers’ Compensation claim after being diagnosed with breast cancer that had metastasized to her brain. The judge ruled that she was not entitled to New York State Workers’ Compensation benefits because she had not filed a timely claim. At the time of the ruling, Diane was bedridden and weighed a mere 60 pounds. Tragically, four days after the decision, she died as a result of her cancer. While my firm did not represent her, Diane’s tragic story touched many of us in the industry, whether as advocates for the injured worker or as defense counsel. What makes this case particularly sad is that the judge noted it was clear from the medical evidence that the cancer developed at least in part due to her exposure to the toxins in the air. Unfortunately, Diane was not entitled to Workers’ Compensation benefits because the deadline to register had passed.

In order to be able to obtain Workers’ Compensation benefits for exposure after the 9/11 attacks, those who participated in the rescue, recovery, and clean up operations had to file a TWC-12 registration form prior to the current deadline of September 11, 2014. You did not have to actually be sick to file this form, but it preserved your rights if you worked in the area to file a claim later if you were found to be sick. It should be noted that the deadline has been extended twice because many of the illnesses such as cancer are slow starting and do not manifest themselves until many years after final exposure to toxins. The New York State Legislature has not extended this deadline again, at least as of this date.

Officer DiGiacomo did not file her claim until sometime after September 11, 2014, because she was not actually diagnosed with cancer until after this date. According to the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board website, as of September 11, 2011, there were close to 49,000 WTC- 12 forms filed; however, hundreds or even thousands more may have been at the site doing rescue, recovery, and clean up and have not registered precisely because they were not sick as of the deadline or they didn’t know they had 9/11-related medical conditions. Perhaps it was based on their lack of understanding of the law or the opinion of some that they did not want to register because they somehow felt they would be taking benefits away from those who were already ill. Whatever the reason, it is imperative that the deadline once again be extended so that those who are currently ill, or become ill, have the full protection of the law.

A bill introduced in the New York State Assembly by Assemblyman Peter J. Abbate, Jr., and co-sponsored by Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder to extend the deadline to September 11, 2017, is still sitting in Committee. While Officer DiGiacomo did not live long enough to see the deadline extended, it is not too late to compensate her son and the rest of her family. Let’s make sure that those who helped get our city back on its feet are not forgotten.

Catherine M. Stanton is a senior partner in the law firm of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP. She focuses on the area of Workers’ Compensation, having helped thousands of injured workers navigate a highly complex system and obtain all the benefits to which they were entitled. Ms. Stanton has been honored as a New York Super Lawyer, is the past president of the New York Workers’ Compensation Bar Association, the immediate past president of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group, and is an officer in several organizations dedicated to injured workers and their families. She can be reached at 800.692.3717.

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Congratulations to Partner Michael Gruber, New President-Elect of WILG

Partner Mike Gruber being sworn in with the WILG Executive Committee.

Partner Michael Gruber is the new President-Elect of WILG, the Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group. He joins a long list of partners at our firm who have served on WILG’s leadership team, including past presidents Edgar Romano and Catherine Stanton, who currently serve on the WILG board alongside Victor Pasternack.

Michael Gruber has been a workers’ compensation lawyer since 1996. In addition to litigating workers compensation claims, he oversees the Workers Compensation Appellate Division practice at the firm and has been successful in numerous appeals to the New York State Appellate Division, Third Department. In 2012, Mr. Gruber was named as the chairman of the Workers Compensation Committee of the Brooklyn Bar Association. He is also a member of the Injured Workers Bar Association and the Workers Compensation Alliance, organizations focusing on workers compensation issues in New York. He regularly lectures on workers compensation law to various labor organizations.

WILG is the national non-profit membership organization dedicated to representing the interests of millions of workers and their families who, each year, suffer the consequences of work-related injuries or occupational illnesses and who need expert legal assistance to obtain medical care and other relief under workers’ compensation programs. To learn more, visit www.WILG.org.

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Are Concussions Worth the Risk for Hockey Players?

Today’s post comes from guest author Leonard Jernigan, from The Jernigan Law Firm.

Professional hockey, much like football, is considered to be a dangerous, high contact sport. With recent news of San Francisco 49er’s linebacker Chris Borland’s decision to retire at age 24 due to concussions, a lot of NHL players are feeling pressure to step-back and reevaluate if game-related concussions are worth the risk to their long-term health.

Carolina Hurricane’s 22 year-old forward Jeff Skinner has been side-lined three times for concussions since his first season in 2010-2011. Skinner’s teammate Brad Malone, a 25 year-old forward, considers his multiple concussions to be just “situations” and has made the decision to keep playing despite the risk of acquiring a long-term brain injury. According to the News & Observer, Malone stated, “If that situation was affecting my life at home and the people around me, then I think that’s when I sit down and sort of reevaluate.”

The danger of having too many concussions is that they can cause players to develop Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain that is caused by repetitive brain injuries, and according to Sportsmd.com CTE can cause symptoms and behaviors similar to Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. CTE is considered to be the only preventable form of dementia. Hockey players are faced with a serious issue: continue to play professionally or quit the sport for the sake of future quality of life.

Original post in the News and Observer by Chip Alexander 3/31/15

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Call “Reform” What It Is: Death By A Thousand Cuts For Workers’ Rights

This week I attended the 20^th anniversary of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group (WILG) in Chicago. I am a proud past president of this group – the only national Workers’ Compensation bar association dedicated to representing injured workers.

As an attorney who has represented injured workers for more than 25 years, I have seen their rights and benefits shrink under the guise of “reform”. After the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, which killed almost 150 women and girls, workplace safety and Workers’ Compensation laws were enacted. For the next half century or so, many protections and safeguards were implemented. However, many of these reforms were not sufficient, and in 1972, the National Commission on State Workmen’s Compensation Laws, appointed by then-President Nixon, issued a report noting that state Workers’ Compensation laws were neither adequate nor equitable. This led to a decade when most states significantly improved their laws.

Unfortunately, there has once more been a steady decline in benefits to injured workers, again under the guise of reform. One major argument is that many workers are faking their injuries or they just want to take time off from work. There was even a recent ad campaign in which a young girl was crying because her father was going to jail for faking an injury. Workers’ Compensation fraud does exist, but the high cost of insurance fraud is not as a result of workers committing fraud.

A colleague of mine compiled a list of the top 10 Workers’ Compensation fraud cases in 2014 in which he noted that the top 10 claims of fraud cost taxpayers well more than $75 million dollars with $450,000 of the total amount resulting from a worker committing insurance fraud. That leaves $74.8 million as a result of non-employee fraud, including overbilling and misclassification of workers. We are told that insurance costs are too high; yet, according to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) in 2014, estimates show that private Workers’ Compensation carriers will have pulled in $39.3 billion in written premiums, the highest since they began keeping data in 1990. More premiums result in higher net profits. Despite this, many states have implemented changes in their Workers’ Compensation systems aimed at reducing costs to the employer. The end results, however, is that fewer benefits are given to the injured worker and more profits go to the insurance companies.

In New York, one of the reform measures increased the amount of money per week to injured workers but limited the amount of weeks they can receive these benefits with the idea that they will return to work once their benefits run out. Additionally, limitations have been placed on the amount and types of treatment that injured workers may receive. Again, this is with the notion that once treatment ends, injured workers miraculously are healed and will not need additional treatment. In reality, those injured who can’t return to work receive benefits from other sources from state and federal governments at the taxpayer’s expense. This is what is known as cost shifting, as those really responsible to pay for benefits – the insurance companies who collect the premiums from the employers – have no further liability. The reformers of 100 years ago would be appalled at what is happening to injured workers and their families today. It is time that those who are generating profits at the expense of injured workers do what is fair and just – provide prompt medical care and wage replacement to injured workers for as long as they are unable to work.

To stay on top of important Workers’ Compensation happenings, please visit the Facebook page of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP and “Like Us.” That way you will receive the latest news on your daily feed.

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Creative Legal Argument Leads To An Award of Lifetime Diability Benefits

Good lawyering requires both creativity and a deep knowledge of the law. Last week I obtained a ruling of Permanent Total Disability for a client. The ruling entitles her to much-deserved lifetime weekly compensation benefits. This is especially important because in 2007 the Workers Compensation Law was changed to put limits on the time period for which you can receive benefits. There is now a 10-year limit on benefit duration unless you had a 100% Medicial Disability or a 100% Loss of Wage Earning Capacity (ability to work and earn money).

My client is a 55 year-old woman with a severe back condition. All of the doctors she consulted with conculded that she has a 60% medical disability. Most attorneys would have accepted that rating as is, entitling her to just 350 weeks of compensation benefits. But that would have been the wrong outcome.

Because of my client’s educational level and work experience, I knew that she was entitled to more. She only has a high school education and does not know how to use a computer. My client has never worked in any other position other than house cleaning.

All of the doctors who testified conceded that my client’s injury prevented her from doing her job – the work of a house cleaner. In fact, they all conceded that she could not do any type of physical labor. I then took my client’s testimony and established her lack of transferrable skills, focusing on her education and work experience. In essence I showed that there was no other work that she could successfully perform.

The judge agreed with my argument — my client has only a 60% Medical Disability, but has a 100% loss of her Wage Earning Capacity. The judge awarded my client Total Disability benefits, which allowed an award of a lifetime of benefits, not just a 10-year benefit period. This was a huge, and much-deserved, victory for my client.

When representing clients it is important to know your client and to know their background. This is how we practice. We strive to obtain the best outcome for out clients by knowing them, knowing the law and knowing how to obtain the maximum benefits for them.

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Understanding The Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak

Most of us have heard the frightening statistics regarding the recent outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the Bronx. As of this date, 12 people have died and more than 120 additional cases have been reported. But what exactly is this mysterious malady affecting so many at one time and what are its causes?

Legionnaires’ disease is a common name for a type of pneumonia caused by breathing in water mist containing the bacteria. It was named after a 1976 outbreak in Philadelphia during an American Legion convention that killed more than 30 people and sickened almost 200 more. Most of us rarely hear about this disease unless it is part of a large outbreak, but according to the Centers for Disease Control, anywhere from 8,000-18,000 people are hospitalized each year in the U.S. as a result of Legionnaires’. The current outbreak in the Bronx seems to point to the building’s cooling towers that are used as part of their air conditioning, ventilation, and heating systems, but the bacteria can be found in almost any warm water system or device that disperses water including humidifiers, spas and whirlpools, and dental water lines. The disease is not contagious and can only be caused by breathing in the bacteria- laden vapor.

The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) has put out a fact sheet for workers and unions. Workers performing routine maintenance on or in cooling towers and other water systems may need to wear respiratory protection. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires the employer to determine hazards and provide training programs if the use of a protective device is required. Additionally, there are recommendations regarding assessment of work sites for potential Legionnaires’ disease. Cooling towers should be regularly maintained and cleaned with the use of chlorine and unused water lines should be frequently flushed.

In this recent Bronx outbreak, the New York City Health Commissioner issued an order to all owners of buildings with cooling towers to disinfect all of them within 14 days of receiving the order and keep records of the inspection and disinfection. Those workers with the task of cleaning and decontaminating the towers are advised to wear protective respirators as well as rubber gloves, goggles, and protective clothing.

Every worker is entitled to a safe work place. According to NYCOSH, certain groups of workers are at increased risk of exposure to Legionnaires’ disease, including those who maintain, clean, decontaminate, or work in close proximity to water systems and system components such as cooling towers, evaporative condensers, humidifiers, potable water heaters and holding tanks and pipes that may contain stagnant warm water.

Workers should be aware of Legionnaires’ disease symptoms, which include fever, headache, joint aches, and fatigue, that can deteriorate into difficulty breathing, chills, chest pain, and gastrointestinal symptoms. As Legionnaires’ is a type of pneumonia, it can be diagnosed with a chest x-ray and lab tests to confirm the bacteria. While most in the Bronx outbreak who died had a compromised immune system, early treatment with antibiotics can lessen the symptoms and improve the changes of recovery.

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We’re Having A Worldwide Heat Wave: How You Can Stay Safe

A few weeks ago, I read about a crisis occurring in Pakistan and India. In Pakistan, a week-long heatwave killed more than 1,200 people and in India, the heat killed close to 2,200. Tens of thousands more were treated at area hospitals for heatstroke. It appears that the combination of prolonged temperatures above 100 degrees combined with power outages had a devastating impact on people.

As I read the news while sitting in the comfort of my air conditioned home, I thought briefly about the fact that we are all so lucky that events such as this rarely happen in this country. We have the resources and the alternatives available if we lose power or if we don’t have air conditioning during a heat wave. The City regularly opens up cooling centers or keeps City pools open longer so that residents are able to combat some of the more severe heat of the day. However, not all of us are lucky enough to work inside where it is cool or engage in work activity that is not strenuous. What about those who work outside, or do heavy labor without the benefit of air conditioning? How do they protect themselves from the extreme heat that may be a part of their everyday work?

I was surprised to find out that each year, hundreds of people die due to heat-related illnesses and thousands more become ill. Outdoor workers are particularly vulnerable to heat stress. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Blog, thousands of employees become sick each year and many die from working in the heat. In 2012, there were 31 heat-related worker deaths and 4,120 heat-related worker illnesses. Labor-intensive activities in hot weather can raise body temperatures beyond the level that normally can be cooled by sweating. Heat illness initially may manifest as heat rash or heat cramps, but can quickly escalate to heat stroke if precautions aren’t taken.

I am always surprised when I see firefighters on days with extreme heat fighting fires or see construction workers, road workers, or landscapers outside in the day-time heat engaged in strenuous physical. I often wonder how they are able to work without collapsing. The answer is that many of these workers become used to the extreme heat and are acclimated to it. Heat illness disproportionately affects those who have are not used to working in such extreme temperatures, such as new or temporary workers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has a campaign to prevent heat illness in outdoor workers. It recommends providing workers with water, rest, and shade, and for them to wear light colored clothing and a hat if possible. OSHA advises that new workers or workers returning from vacation should be exposed to the heat gradually so their bodies have a chance to adapt. However, even the best precautions sometimes cannot prevent heat-related illness. According to WebMD, signs of heat exhaustion include fatigue, headaches, excessive sweating, extreme thirst, and hot skin. If you have signs of heat exhaustion, get out of the heat, rest, and drink plenty of water. Severe heat illness can result in heat stroke. Symptoms of heat stroke include convulsions, confusion, shortness of breath, decreased sweating, and rapid heart rate, and can be fatal, so please be aware and seek immediate medical attention if you have any of these symptoms.

For those who work outside in the boiling heat, heat illness can be prevented. However it can also kill so please be careful and remember – water, rest, and shade.

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Workers' Law Watch

Published by Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano LLP

Published by:

Action Needed To Ensure Sick 9/11 First Responders Receive Benefits

Congratulations to Partner Michael Gruber, New President-Elect of WILG

Are Concussions Worth the Risk for Hockey Players?

Call “Reform” What It Is: Death By A Thousand Cuts For Workers’ Rights

Understanding The Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak