States Rights vs. Feds

As of 2018, medical marijuana is legal in 29 U.S. states and recreational is legal in 7 states… And there’s no end in sight. The opioid crisis continually makes headlines, and some doctors are already prescribing marijuana as an alternative to addictive narcotics.

In fact, there are known cases of injured workers weaning themselves off of opioids using marijuana. Some evidence even suggests marijuana can be extremely effective in addressing issues like epilepsy, glaucoma and some traumatic injuries.

As for the evidence?…

One study that appears in a 2017 edition of the Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain asked medical marijuana patients to rate the effectiveness in treating their pain. The average score was 74.6% on a scale of 0% (“no relief at all”) to 100% (“complete relief of pain”).

Still, marijuana-related research is in its beginning stages. And even if cannabis becomes a more mainstream therapy for workers comp injuries, it still remains illegal under federal law.

That means if a doctor prescribes cannabis for an injured worker, the carrier may still have grounds to refuse payment of the claim.

So far, only 5 states, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New Mexico, officially require insurers to pay workers comp claims involving medical marijuana.

Although such cases have been few, as more states legalize marijuana, it could be a very interesting circumstance. You could have a state saying yes, you have to pay, and the feds saying no. Although the supremacy clause of the Constitution may suggest the federal government would have precedence, it could be seen as a states’ rights issue too.

The Drug-Free Workplace

Another issue working its way through the courts is an employers choice to implement drug-free workplace policies.

The goal seems simple: Reduce the number of employees who come to work impaired. If a larger portion of the workforce comes to work drunk or high, that could create injuries on the job that wouldn’t exist before.

Every state has laws that dictate what an insurer can do if someone causes an injury who was impaired in some way. Some allow you to restrict coverage and some allow you to deny the claim altogether.

But do drug-free workplace policies stand up in states where marijuana is legal, either medically or recreationally?

In 2015, Colorado courts ruled that an employer can have a drug-free workplace policy and fire you for testing positive for marijuana, even though it’s legal.

But in July, a Massachusetts Court ruled that employees who have legal prescriptions for marijuana can sue their employers for disability discrimination. But only if they’re fired solely on the basis of using the drug. That means that while employers are free to enforce a drug-free workplace policy, they can still be held liable for discrimination.

The Burden of Proof

The reality is, there’s no reliable way for an employer to determine whether an employee is high at work. A drug test may come back positive, but that could just mean the employee smoked at some point in the last few weeks.

However, it’s important to note: In Ohio, a positive urine test for cannabis creates a rebuttable presumption that the injured worker was intoxicated at the time of the injury and the intoxication caused the injury.

Short of an injured worker coming clean of their own accord, proving marijuana impairment in the event of an injury is a tall order. You can’t breathalyze for marijuana, unlike alcohol which can be tested on the spot. But the science hasn’t gotten there yet for marijuana or even for prescription pain medications.

Some employers have expressed concern that if they implemented drug testing they wouldn’t be able to get the work done. There are certain industries where drug use among employees is just part of the drill.

You have people saying, ‘Why does it matter, as long as I’m not stoned when I come to work? You don’t test to see if I got drunk over the weekend or even if I just had a couple of beers last night. Why does it matter what I’m doing in my off-hours?’

What does a drug-free workplace look like in a world where marijuana is legal?
As this becomes more prolific, we’ll have to figure out how we deal with it.

If you’ve got a question about a workers comp issue, immediately call Columbus Attorney Tom Marchese at 614.486.3249 or click here to get started with your free consultation.

Creating a safe work environment is crucial for both employers and employees. Workplace injuries can disrupt productivity, cause financial losses, and harm individuals.

Let’s explore the 5 most common workplace injuries and provide practical tips on how to prevent them. By implementing preventive measures, we can significantly reduce the risk of accidents and ensure the well-being of everyone in the workplace.

1. Trips, Slips And Falls

Slips, trips and falls account for one-third of all personal injuries in the workplace, and they’re a top cause of all workers’ compensation claims. The types of injuries incurred include head, back and neck injuries, broken bones, cuts, sprains and pulled muscles.

The most common reasons for falls in the workplace are:

Slips: Occasional spills, wet or oily surfaces, weather hazards like icy steps or walkways, and loose rugs.

Trips: Poor lighting, clutter, wrinkled carpeting or mats, uncovered cables, and uneven walking surfaces.

There are 3 keys to preventing these types of workplace accidents: good housekeeping, quality walking surfaces and proper footwear. Beyond that, employees should be encouraged to report areas where clutter, obstruction, spillage or damage have occurred.

2. Being Struck By Or Caught In Moving Machinery

Accidents can happen to anyone working with heavy machinery although they are more common in factories, with farm equipment, and construction equipment. Machinery that’s not properly guarded is a safety hazard. When body parts get caught in or struck by exposed moving parts or flying objects from machines without protective guards, the results are often times disastrous. The long and horrifying list of machinery-related injuries includes crushed hands and arms, severed fingers, blindness and even worse.
The best way to prevent mechanical hazards is to remember that any machine part, function, or process that may cause injury MUST be safeguarded, and proper operator training as well as protective clothing must always be provided.

3. Vehicle-Related Accidents

Where there are vehicles of any kind, there’s the potential for accidents. These include being struck or run over by a moving vehicle, falling from a vehicle, being struck by objects falling from a vehicle and getting crushed by or stuck under an overturned vehicle.

Avoiding these types of accidents begins with assessing who’s at risk, as well as where and when these accidents most commonly occur. Only then are prevention measures more easily established. Focus on workplace design, ensuring all layout routes always segregate pedestrians and vehicles and make any obstructions clearly visible. Directions, speed limit and priority signs are also helpful.

4. Fire And Explosions

Explosions and fires in the workplace are frequently caused by risk factors such as faulty gas lines, improperly stored combustible materials, or open flames. The resulting injuries incurred include damage to the respiratory system, varying degrees of burns, and even potential disfigurement. Explosions and fires account for 3 percent of workplace injuries and have the highest casualty rate of all probable workplace accidents.

There are 4 types of injuries commonly associated with this type of accident:

Primary Blast: These occur due to the effects of pressure on body tissues, affecting ears, lungs and the GI tract.

Secondary Blast: This occurs when flying objects strike nearby workers.

Tertiary Blast: High-energy explosions can lift someone off the ground.

Quaternary Blast: Everything else that happens as a result of an explosion, such as crush injuries, burns and inhalation of toxic substances.

OSHA recommends following its hazard communication standards to help workers avoid these types of injuries. In addition, material safety data sheets for all chemicals should be kept on hand and employees should be required to wear personal protective equipment at all times.

5. Repetitive Stress and Overexertion Injuries

Musculoskeletal disorders are the most costly workplace injuries. Complaints of back pain alone cost employers more than 7 billion dollars annually and lead to more than 100 million lost workdays annually. These kinds of injuries contribute to loss of productivity and millions in annual health benefit payout costs.

The financial impact on the employer is one thing, but the long-term effects on workers can be severe and potentially debilitating and they account for nearly 33 percent of occupational injuries.

Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSIs) are the fasting growing category of workplace injury and comprise more than 100 different types of job-induced injuries, and they’re severe enough to inhibit simple activities with crippling and debilitating pain. They could even eventually permanently impair a worker’s ability to perform his or her job.

Causes for these types of injuries include:

Improper Lifting or Manually Lifting Heavy Objects: You’ve heard it a million times, lift with your knees, not your back. Especially objects weighing over 50lbs without the assistance of a co-worker or lifting device.

No Breaks: With repetitive work, short breaks should be required or the work may eventually result in wear and tear on the body.

Intensive Keying: Constant typing and clicking strains muscles and tendons.

The key to preventing these injuries is ergonomics! Ergonomics is the science of adjusting the job to fit the body’s needs and provides injury prevention solutions that are simple and relatively inexpensive. Workers assigned to tasks that require repetitive motion should be required to take frequent breaks to rest or stretch, and manual or mechanical lifting equipment should be provided for anything weighing over 50 lbs.

The best way to protect your employees and help prevent injuries in your workplace is to take a holistic approach to workplace safety. This means ensuring your employees have the proper protective equipment, adequate training to perform their jobs, and making sure your facility is compliant with federal and environmental regulations.

If you’re injured at work, immediately call Columbus Attorney Tom Marchese at 614.486.3249 or click here to get started with your free consultation.

Have a safe day!

Knowing the difference between a slip and fall and a trip and fall.

​Maybe it seems like splitting hairs, but there are big differences between a SLIP and fall and a TRIP and fall, and the difference can mean a lot when it comes to the legal side of things.

​Most people have probably heard the term “slip and fall”. It may seem confusing to have a separate category for tripping accidents. Let’s talk about the difference between them.

What exactly is a Slip and Fall?

Let’s imagine for a moment that you’re perusing the shelves at your local grocery store. On the floor of an isle is a broken jar of sauce. You don’t notice the mess, and while scanning the isle for your favorite spaghetti sauce and you step on the broken jar. This causes your leg to hyperextend, or even worse you end up on your back on the floor. You call an ambulance and curse the grocery store on the way out. This is an example of a slip and fall.

A slip is when you slip on substance that makes a floor unsafe. Another common slipping hazard is ice. Ice can form very quickly and be difficult to spot on dark surfaces such as blacktop. This can occur if a landlord, business or homeowner failed to properly prevent slip and falls on the ice.

What is a Trip and Fall?

A trip and fall is a little different. Let’s go back to the grocery store scenario. Let’s say you made it past the broken jar isle and did not slip and fall. Now you venture over to the next isle where another spill has happened. This time, an employee has already cleaned the mess up; however, they left the mop on the ground. Once again, you don’t notice the mop. You go down hard on your hands and knees. This is a trip and fall.

As the little story suggests, a trip and fall happens when an object is sticking out of its normal place or a surface is uneven. Most times, you catch your foot on it which causes you to fall abruptly. A trip and fall could also be an uneven sidewalk in Columbus. Unfortunately, those are all too common.

Legal Issues

These differences may seem subtle, but there is a big difference legally. When it comes to making your case in front of the jury, you have to make sure that you know the difference.

A slip and fall usually results in severe injuries. The slip tends to propel the body backwards. Depending on the velocity of your movements, you could seriously injure your head, neck, or spine.

When you trip, the body typically falls forward. You use your hands and knees to brace your fall. We learned this when we were children. Therefore, a trip and fall tends to cause injuries in the hands, knees, face, or wrists depending on how you attempted to catch yourself when you fell.

For both of these instances, you want to make sure that you keep all medical records. Medical records are important if you decide to sue the person, people or entity responsible for your injuries. Due to the nature of a slip and fall, you want to remember as much details as you can. The more information you have, the easier it will be to prove negligence.

If anyone approached you after either of these falls, make sure to remember a name or at least a description of them. If the owners or managers responsible for the store sold you promises, it may be relevant to your case.

Deciding to Sue.

If you make the decision to bring a lawsuit for your medical expenses and pain and suffering, you have two years to bring your lawsuit. There is a 2 year statute of limitations that begins at the time of injury or time of discovery of the injury.

You deserve to be made whole for your slip and fall or trip and fall, and you deserve a dedicated team behind you. Call Columbus Injury Attorney Tom Marchese at 614-486-3249.

COLUMBUS –

The number of opioid-dependent injured workers in the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation system fell 19 percent in 2017. This is the sixth year in a row the numbers have fallen under the Bureau’s efforts to reduce opioid use and build a model pharmacy program.

​​On Thursday, Nick Trego, BWC Pharmacy Director told the agency’s board of directors that the number of injured workers who met or exceeded the threshold of being clinically dependent on opioids fell to 3,315 at the end of the fiscal year 2017. This is a 19 percent drop from 2016 and a 59 percent decrease since 2011.

“That means we have 4,714 fewer injured workers at risk for opioid addiction, overdose and death than we had in 2011,” Trego said, speaking before the board’s Medical Services and Safety committee. “These falling numbers are the direct result of our efforts to improve our protocols, more closely monitor our opioid population and encourage best practices from our prescribers. But we also have to give credit to the growing awareness of the opioid epidemic and efforts by the healthcare community, government and others to do something about it.”

Trego also told board members his department’s total drug costs fell to $86 million in 2017, $47 million less than in 2011. That includes $24 million less on opioids.

What is clinically dependent?

Working with addiction experts in 2011, the Bureau defined “clinically dependent” as a person who took at least 60 mg a day of morphine for 60 or more days. They found more than 8,000 injured workers who met or exceeded that threshold at the end of 2011, prompting several initiatives to reduce those numbers and improve the pharmacy operations.

Ensuing changes included the creation of a pharmacy and therapeutics committee, a panel of pharmacists and physicians that create and review the medication policy; the development of BWC’s first-ever formulary, and the 2016 Opioid Rule, which is now nationally recognized.
The rule holds prescribers accountable if they don’t follow best practices.

Trego told the board he expects the opioid numbers to continue to fall in the years ahead as prescription protocols evolve and alternative pain therapies emerge.

“Weaning a dependent person off opioids, or at least to safer levels, is a long, deliberate process requiring cooperation from the injured worker, health care providers, and the workers support network. We’re just one part of that equation, but we’re committed to it.” Trego said.

Making Progress:

The Alaska Department of Labor last week repealed an old regulation that allowed employers to get an exemption to pay workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage if their disability limits their ability to get a job.

New Hampshire was the first state to repeal in 2015, followed by Maryland in 2016. Paying less than minimum wages to Americans with disabilities has been legal under federal law since 1938.

About 26 percent of Americans have mental or physical disabilities, and they are far less likely to work than the average American. Even so, 36 percent of Americans with disabilities had jobs in 2016 (among those who are working-age and not living in institutions), according to a recent report from the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire.