A recent report by the American Association of Family Practitioners noted that occupational diseases account for 860,000 illnesses and more than 60,000 deaths each year. They run the gamut of causes, everything from coal miners contracting black lung disease to assembly line workers in meat packing plants developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
While those examples are on the opposite spectrum of severity, they do have some things in common — they both cost employers a bundle in workers' compensation benefits and loss of production and are a paperwork nightmare for everyone involved.
Despite its prevalence throughout American businesses, many people do not fully understand all the ways occupational disease impacts the workers' compensation system, how it differs from a standard claim, or how it affects an employer.
An occupational disease is identified as any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or occupational activity, as long as the ailment is more prevalent in a given body of workers than in the general population, is not considered an "ordinary disease of life," was contracted during employment, and the exposure is common to that of the occupation. The most common are repetitive trauma (seen among assembly line workers doing repetitive tasks), skin disorders (notable among farmers and those in the agriculture industry), toxic effects of chemicals (impacting people working around asbestos), and respiratory disorders (such as the miners and black lung disease cited above).
To understand the difference between an occupational disease and an occupational hazard, think of a roofer putting asbestos shingles on a building: Coming down with asbestos poisoning would be an occupational disease; falling off the roof would be an occupational hazard.
Claims for occupational diseases differ from standard workers' compensation accident claims in many ways. For one, they take longer to be reported by the worker –sometimes twice as long. Unlike an instant injury such as throwing your back out picking up a crate or hitting your head on a low-hanging pipe, the condition tends to build slowly over an extended period of time. Oftentimes, the worker experiencing symptoms is already entrenched with the family doctor before the condition is connected back to the workplace. By then, paperwork has started, insurance has kicked in, and the ailing worker is committed to treatment by his family doctor (who probably is not versed in occupational medicine) and is not open to a physician recommended by the employer.
Employers are well advised to be aware of the "last injurious exposure" rule, which means if the employer was the last company an employee worked for and was "exposed" to a hazard, that company can be held 100 percent responsible for the claim. It does not matter that an individual worked for 10 years unloading cargo for an airline. If he leaves there and works for another airline — even for one day — and puts in a successful hearing loss claim due to loud sounds at his job, the financial burden can fall on the current employer.
Perhaps the best way to avoid falling into the "last injurious exposure" black hole is due diligence in the hiring process. How detailed is your employment application when it comes to listing prior employment? Are gaps in time between jobs discussed? Could the applicant have been exposed to a disorder that may be common in your industry? If so, pre-employment baseline testing may be critical in defending against a future claim. The process does not necessarily mean you can deny total benefits if there is a claim, but it may minimize the costs by establishing a "true" level of loss, from baseline to the claim level.
Other protective guidelines for employers include:
- Be aware of your work environment and sensitive to any potential dangers arising from air, noise, water, and the like.
- Bring in an Industrial Hygienist (IH) to test for on any potential hazards.
- Get IH recommendations on what type of equipment could be implemented to minimize or even eliminate the risk (ear-plugs, protective suits, and the like).
- Make sure that as soon as you are aware of an incident, the worker is sent immediately to a doctor who specializes in occupational medicine, or a specialist for the specific hazard involved, i.e. dermatologist, audiologist, or other health professional.
- As soon as the hazard has been identified, implement baseline testing on all employees who are subject to the exposure and establish a procedure for ongoing testing.
- Be aware of ergonomics. Sometimes the simple act of making sure a chair is the proper height can head off repetitive trauma disorder claims down the road.
- Create a return-to-work program flexible enough to accommodate even temporary alternative positions. If an employee has a hearing loss claim and cannot work on the factory floor, a temporary alternative is a quieter area where he can perform other duties. This will allow you time to investigate the hazard and determine how best to alleviate, minimize or eliminate the exposure so the employee can return to his normal position.
In the end, it is really all about the employer knowing the work environment and the potential risks that environment holds, then finding ways to minimize the risk and making sure procedures are in place to hire the right people.
Teresa A. Long is director of agency services for the Institute of WorkComp Professionals in Asheville, N.C. She may be contacted at teresa@workcompprofessionals.com.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.