News Digest 9-29-2021

 

Georgia poultry plant sues for insurance money in deadly nitrogen leak

Owners of the Gainesville, Georgia poultry plant where a nitrogen leak killed six employees in late January are suing to collect insurance for losses in the tragedy. The factory has blamed the deaths on the company it hired to do maintenance on production lines. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

 

Oregon: Wheeler officials add volunteers to workers’ compensation policy

Wheeler, Oregon’s city council agreed last week to add the city’s volunteers to its workers’ compensation policy. In the past, the city’s insurance carrier has provided the city’s worker compensation insurance. They discontinued this line of insurance earlier this year and are now acting as broker for SAIF and providing the same coverage. Tillamook Headlight Herald

 

Canada: B.C. rejects recommendation to allow WorkSafeBC to make special payments for errors

The British Columbia government has rejected a call by the its ombudsman to permit WorkSafeBC to voluntarily make payments to an injured employee for mistakes made by the agency. The case arises from the termination of monthly injury-benefit payments to a cabinetmaker who had lost the tips of some of the fingers on his left hand. He was forced to go back to work in 2011 when his payments ended even though the grip in his left hand was impaired. A week after he returned to the job, he more seriously injured his hand when a thumb and three of his fingers were fully or partially cut off by a saw blade. Vancouver Sun

 

More than 3,000 doctors and scientists sign statement accusing COVID policymakers of ‘crimes against humanity’

A “Doctor’s Statement” prepared by an international alliance of doctors and medical scientists strongly condemns the global strategy to treat COVID, accusing policymakers of possible “crimes against humanity” that prevent doctors from providing life-saving treatments for their patients and suppressing open scientific discussion. The paper states that “one size fits all” treatment recommendations have resulted in unnecessary illness and death. By Friday afternoon, the statement had collected more than 3,100 signatures from doctors and scientists around the world. Awsforwp