According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), health care workers (nurses, nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants) suffer musculoskeletal injuries at a rate seven times that of workers in other occupations. This is far higher than workers in other physically demanding industries such as construction, mining, and warehousing. Health care employers incur $20 billion…
Toluene is a highly useful chemical found in a number of industrial and consumer products, including paints, metal cleaners, adhesives, nail polish, and printing inks. Toluene vaporizes when exposed to air at room temperature. That can result in serious health problems for workers who inhale even small amounts of toluene on a regular basis. Toluene…
Heavier than normal work activities can result in a heart attack, even in a person who does not exhibit any signs of heart problems. In the parlance of the Colorado workers’ compensation system, this is known as “unusual exertion”. When unusual exertion does cause a heart attack, a worker can claim workers’ compensation benefits, though…
Back pain is one of the most common disabling work injuries. In some cases surgery can provide permanent relief. But millions of people face the prospect living with chronic back pain for the rest of their lives. To get relief, some turn to opioids such as Oxycontin and Vicodin. But the relief those medications provide…
Asthma: Anyone who has it or knows someone who suffers from the affliction is aware of asthma’s frightening effects. Out of the blue, an asthma sufferer can start coughing, wheezing or gasping for breath. Often, a sufferer must stop everything he or she is doing and seek relief from an inhaler. When an asthma attack…
In some workers’ compensation cases, the insurance company will ask an injured worker to make a recorded statement. When this happens, it can spell trouble for the worker. It indicates that the insurance company may be trying to collect information with the aim of minimizing benefits or denying the claim altogether. At the same time,…