Agriculture is one of the few industries where relatives of workers suffer high rates of injuries due to the nature of working farms existing on private lands, and researchers say farmers need to ensure children are kept safe from workplace incidents. The National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, in a Wednesday blog post, said while agriculture ranks among the…
As attacks on health care workers become increasingly more common, workplace safety experts are calling on regulators and employers to better protect those caring for patients. Incidents spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic amid understaffed medical facilities, increased substance abuse and an overall lack of mental health services, experts say. And although the issue is on the radar of federal and…
Longer work hours, higher demands and understaffing have made stress and burnout risk factors for employers, and experts say such mental health issues may be making workplaces less safe. “When there’s pressure for production … and things have to get done because there’s a deadline, people may cut corners on safety,” said Paul Landsbergis, an associate professor in the Department…
Six percent of workers with compensation claims for COVID-19 developed long COVID, according to a study released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute. At an average of 18 months of post-infection experience, these workers received more than 20 weeks of temporary disability benefits and received an average of $29,000 in medical care, 10 times that which was spent on…
The mother of an Arby’s worker who was murdered by a coworker at a restaurant in Hickory Hills, Illinois, in 2017 can’t sue the franchisees, as workers compensation is the exclusive remedy, an Illinois appeals court ruled Tuesday. Doreen Price sued Lunan Roberts Inc., Lunan Corp., Arby’s Restaurant Group Inc. and Irvin Thomas in connection with the murder of her…
While consumer prices for energy, food and housing between 2021 and 2022 saw drastic increases, there’s little evidence such inflationary pressures affected workers compensation medical costs, according to a report released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute. The study identified the main drivers of the workers comp medical cost growth, finding that a major contributor to price increases in…
An Indiana appellate court ruled the state’s Worker’s Compensation Board erred in upholding a determination that an injured worker’s petition for additional workers comp benefits was untimely filed. The Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday reversed a board ruling dismissing a claim adjustment application by Angela Santos, who injured her back in December 2019 while working for Franciscan Health, affiliated…
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited an Illinois grain bin operator after an employee became trapped in a grain elevator for five hours in February. OSHA on Wednesday said it cited Martinsville-based Littlejohn Grain Inc. for violating federal grain-handling safety standards by allowing workers to enter grain bins without appropriate protective equipment such as a safety harness…
A former employee of Hatch & Kirk in Alton claims he was fired in retaliation for seeking worker’s compensation benefits after suffering injuries on the job. Plaintiff William Burton filed the lawsuit in the Madison County Circuit Court against Hatch & Kirk, Inc., citing retaliatory discharge. According to the lawsuit, Burton was formerly employed by Hatch & Kirk as a…
The operator of a specialty frozen pizza manufacturing plant in Illinois could have prevented the death of a 29-year-old sanitation worker by following proper machine safety procedures, a federal investigation has found. Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned the sanitation worker suffered fatal injuries while working on the overnight shift under the supervision…
