Quote of the day
"He gave me some advice I'll never forget. He said, 'The rim of the bottle is very slippery, and you'll always end up in the bottom.'"
Sonny Provetto, a mental health counselor and former police officer who works with Vermont law-enforcement agencies, recounting advice given to him by another law enforcement officer
Concussions not just a sports problem: Reports of workplace injuries on the rise
Perhaps because of increased attention to concussions suffered by athletes, there has been a big jump in the number of reported workplace concussions in the last couple of years. SFM, a workers compensation insurer in the Midwest, charted a whopping 48 percent increase from 2012 to 2014 in reported concussions that caused employees to lose time from work. Slips, trips, falls, bangs on the head and vehicle accidents are common causes of brain injuries incurred on the job. Kansas City Star
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‘We cope differently:’ Emergency workers respond to tragedy
After a crime scene has been cleared, patients hospitalized and police tape rolled back up, attention at many public safety agencies turns to aiding the emergency responders. The conversation surrounding mental health often has carried a stigma within the law-enforcement and public-safety communities. The Professional Firefighters of Vermont are working to compile research for the state legislature about providing workers’ compensation for first responders who experience trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder, according to an official. Burlington Free Press
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Firefighters getting cancer at an alarming rate
Experts say firefighters are three times more likely to develop certain cancers because of the toxins they are exposed to at fire scenes. They have a 68 percent chance of developing cancer in their lifetime and a 14 percent chance of dying of cancer, according to the National Fire Prevention Association. The Ohio Senate passed a bill earlier this year that would provide workers’ compensation benefits for a specific list of cancers. It also offers firefighters paid time off during treatment, as well as survivor benefits for families. WHIO (Dayton, Ohio)
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Lawsuit filed in Chicago construction worker’s 2014 death
A man has filed a lawsuit on behalf of his brother who was killed by a falling facade while working at an unlicensed construction site two years ago in Chicago. The 44-year-old man was among three workers injured when a brick storefront collapsed on November 1, 2014. The city’s Department of Buildings said the contractors at the site were unlicensed and lacking building permits, and work was ordered to halt until the owners put up a heavy-duty canopy. An unspecified number of violations were issued days after the accident. Chicago Sun-Times
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Connecticut workers’ comp insurance rates dropping nearly 11 percent
Workers compensation insurance rates are dropping for the third year in a row, this time by 10.9 percent, Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade said Monday. The major drivers of these decreases is a continued reduction in the number of workplace injuries and claims filed, Wade said. Hartford Business
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