Quote of the day
"No one wanted to hear it."
Pauline Tedford, who suffered brain damage and is one of four workers to whom a jury awarded $9.5 million for their prolonged exposure to a toxic adhesive at a Mississippi furniture plant; they claim management ignored their questions and complaints.
In North Dakota, WSI Boss Has First Day in Court
Sandy Blunt, executive director of North Dakota’s workers’ comp agency Workforce Safety and Insurance, makes his first court appearance on charges of misapplication of entrusted property and conspiracy to disclose confidential information. The misapplication charge is based on a state audit report detailing gifts to employees and legislators, and bonuses to some agency employees. By AP via KXMB-TV (Bismarck/Mandan, N.D.)
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Jury Awards $9.5M to Glue Line Workers at Furniture Factory
A Mississippi jury awards nearly $9.5 million in damages to four workers who suffered medical problems in connection with a hazardous adhesive chemical at a furniture manufacturing plant. One worker who suffered brain damage says workers repeatedly asked management whether the glue they sprayed on foam cushioning was causing nausea, dizziness, laryngitis, coughing, headaches and other medical problems. By Neil Luter Floyd, Jackson Clarion-Ledger
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Sponsor: Bill Would Improve Stability at Ohio BWC
Ohio State Sen. John Carey discusses legislation he co-sponsored that is intended to improve operations, promote accountability and ensure long-term financial stability at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and the state Industrial Commission. By John Carey, Times-Gazette (Hillsboro, Ohio)
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OR-OSHA Offers Safety Tips to Young Workers
In Oregon, 129 workers under the age of 18 were seriously injured in work-related incidents eligible for workers’ compensation benefits in 2006, and more than 1,800 serious, workers’ comp-eligible injuries occurred to workers between 18 and 22 years of age. As the summer employment season kicks off, OR-OSHA is providing specific injury prevention and response strategies. Salem-News.com
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‘Major Success Story’ Among Pennsylvania Townships
Across nine central Pennsylvania counties, a group of townships, boroughs and municipal authorities save money by providing their own municipal workers’ compensation insurance, the nonprofit Susquehanna Municipal Trust. By David O’Connor, Lancaster New Era
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Japan to Provide Asthma Compensation Fund
Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announces that the central government will contribute 6 billion yen (approx. $50 million) to a compensation fund for asthma sufferers. The government previously had argued that there was no clear link between government policy and the occurrence of asthma and other respiratory diseases. Asahi Shimbun
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