Asbestos removal worker who lost bout with cancer wins $35 million supreme court suit

The New York Supreme Court has awarded an asbestos-removal worker $35 million dollars. Ivo John Peraica, of Queens, worked for eight years for New York-area contractors removing asbestos insulation from boilers, pumps, and other equipment. He died in December from complications related to mesothelioma, a cancer whose only known cause is exposure to toxic asbestos fibers.

His legal team told the jury that Peraica’s disease was caused by years of inhaling the asbestos dust stirred up each time he stripped asbestos insulation from the equipment at his jobsites – equipment which, according to testimony, was devoid of any warnings about the dangers of asbestos.

The sole defendant at the time of the verdict – industrial products manufacturer Crane Co. – argued that other companies and even Peraica himself were responsible for his exposure to asbestos, but the jury ultimately heaped blame on the Stamford, Conn.-based company, saying it had acted with reckless disregard for consumers’ safety.

Peraica was unable to testify in person, but before he died on December 28, provided four days’ worth of deposition testimony that his lawyers were able to read into evidence.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that attacks the sac that lines the lungs and other internal organs. It is incurable.

High Costs for Workers with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Excess Costs of RA Total Nearly $6 Billion Nationwide, Study Estimates

Workers with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) incur increased direct and indirect health-related costs, reports a study in the March Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

Using a large insurance claims database, Richard A. Brook, MS, MBA, of The JestaRx Group, Newfoundland, N.J., and colleagues compared costs to employers for 2,705 workers with RA versus more than 338,000 workers without RA. The analysis included direct costs such as health care as well as indirect costs such as missed work days.

Average annual costs were about $5,200 higher for workers with RA: $8,700 versus $3,500 per employee. Ninety percent of the excess costs related to RA were for direct health care costs.

However, workers with RA still averaged about 3.5 additional health-related absence days per year, including more sick days and more short-term disability time.

Extrapolating the results to the U.S. civilian labor force, the resesarchers estimated that workers with RA incurred an additional $5.8 billion in additional costs per year, of which $5.2 billion was for direct costs. Workers with RA also accounted for 4 million additional lost work days.

Rheumatoid arthritis, the most common type of inflammatory arthritis, affects many working-age adults and can have a significant impact on work ability. The new study is the first to present objective data on direct and indirect costs for U.S. workers with RA.

The results show that workers with RA incur "consistently higher" direct costs, indirect costs, and absences compared to workers without RA. The authors believe their study may underestimate the true cost impact of RA for U.S. employers—especially when reduced productivity on the job (presenteeism) is considered. Brook and colleagues conclude, "The data emphasize the need for effective management strategies that can reduce the burden of illness and economic losses incurred."

US Labor Department's OSHA cites two Missouri companies after construction worker dies from chemical exposure

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Coatings Unlimited Inc. in Bridgeton with a total of 14 safety violations from an August 2012 incident in which a worker overcome by exposure to methyl ethyl ketone collapsed and died inside an 18-foot-deep vault manhole during construction of the Boschertown sanitary sewer lift station. St. Louis-based KCI Construction Co. Inc., the project's general contractor, was also cited with one serious violation.

"Employers have a responsibility to take all necessary steps to eliminate hazards from the workplace and to ensure workers are given the proper training to conduct required tasks. Workers should be provided with the appropriate personal protective equipment to limit exposure to hazardous chemicals," said Charles Adkins, OSHA's regional administrator in Kansas City, Mo. "It is tragic that one employee lost his life during this construction project."

The three willful Coatings Unlimited violations include failing to implement safety precautions prior to assigning an employee work in six separate confined spaces, test the confined space for atmospheric conditions prior to and during entry, and control exposure to methyl ethyl ketone through the use of engineering controls, such as ventilation, to ensure workers did not exceed the permissible exposure limit. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirement, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.

Coatings Unlimited was also cited with 10 serious violations, five for violating OSHA's respiratory protection standards, including failing to provide work site procedures to protect employees when an atmospheric condition existed in a confined space; provide a knowledgeable person as a respirator program administrator manager; provide medical evaluations to all employees using respirators; and provide annual respirator training and maintain respirator fit-test training records. The remaining violations involve failing to provide proper chemical-resistant gloves for methyl ethyl ketone use; provide training on the hazards of chemicals used in the workplace or on confined space hazards; provide fire extinguishers on scene for use when flammable liquids were in use; and provide adequate use of portable extension ladders as a means of egress from a confined space.

Coatings Unlimited was also issued one other-than-serious citation for failing to label storage tanks with signage to identify chemical hazards. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

KCI Construction was cited with one serious violation for failing to conduct frequent and regular inspections of the job site material and equipment by a competent person and train workers to recognize unsafe confined space conditions. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Due to the nature of the hazards and the violations cited, OSHA has placed Coatings Unlimited Inc. in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law. OSHA's SVEP focuses on recalcitrant employers who endanger workers by committing willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations. Under the program, OSHA may inspect any of the employer's facilities if it has reasonable grounds to believe there are similar violations.

The citations for Coatings Unlimited can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/CoatingsUnlimited-601618-0215_13.pdf*
Citations for KCI Construction Co. can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/KCI-629298-0215_13.pdf*.

Proposed penalties for Coatings Unlimited total $224,000 and for KCI Construction, $5,600. Both companies have 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's St. Louis Area Office at 314-425-4261.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Supporters of mandatory asbestos registry launch on-line petition

Health organizations, firefighters and emergency medical workers are asking the public to show their support for a mandatory asbestos registry by signing an on-line petition. Bill 604 or Howard’s Law would make the reporting of asbestos in public buildings mandatory in their Canadian province.

“The public has a right to know if the building they work in, the school or daycare their child attends or the nursing home their parent lives in contains asbestos. We believe the public agrees so we’re providing them with an easy way to show their support,” says Jennifer Miller, Vice-President of Health Promotion with the Lung Association of Saskatchewan.

The petition called PassHowardsLaw.ca refers to Howard Willems who died in November from a lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos on the job. Right up until his death, the 59 year old Saskatoon man advocated for a mandatory public registry of Saskatchewan buildings that contain asbestos.

“We lost our stepdad because he didn’t know there was asbestos in the buildings he inspected. If he had known, he would have taken the necessary steps to protect himself and would still be with us today. He dedicated the last 2 years of his life trying to save others from suffering the same fate as he did and we’re determined to carry on Howard’s fight through SADAO,” says Jesse Todd, spokesperson for the Saskatchewan Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (SADAO), the group his stepfather founded.

Support for a mandatory asbestos registry has been growing despite the government’s creation of a voluntary registry. First responders concerned about the health of their members are all urging the provincial government to pass Howard’s Law. They include the Saskatchewan Professional Fire Fighters Association (SPFFA), Saskatchewan Association of Fire Chiefs (SAFC), Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police (SACP) and the Saskatchewan Emergency Medical Services Association (SEMSA).

“First responders and EMS personnel need to know quickly whether the building they’re entering contains asbestos and the state of that asbestos. We are pleased that the government has set up a voluntary registry but in order to protect the health and safety of all workers in the province, it should be mandatory,” says Steven Skoworodko, president of SEMSA.

Because of the age of many buildings in this province, there may be cases where asbestos that was originally encapsulated has been disturbed or deteriorated, increasing the risk of exposure to those unaware of it. Howard’s Law would begin the process of drawing upon the registry to further educate the public on how to identify asbestos, handle it and deal with its lethal fibres.

Asbestos is the leading cause of industrial cancers and deaths in Canada. CAREX Canada, a national surveillance project estimates that more than 4,200 Saskatchewan workers have been exposed to asbestos. It often takes decades after exposure for an asbestos-related cancer to develop. The Canadian Cancer Society says a mandatory public registry would reduce exposure, prevent cancer and save lives.