Workers have a new tool for navigating the difficult and often confusing workers’ compensation process. CJG attorney Valerie Johnson has authored a manual to answer workers’ questions and address their concerns. Valerie is distributing the second edition of her workers’ comp book, Workers’ Comp 101: Lessons You Need to Learn Before It’s Too Late to employees […]
Work Injury
Miner death toll rises
Four coal workers were killed within the first eleven days of the government shutdown, according to reports. The deaths add to the mounting 2013 coal miner death toll, which lists 18 fatalities as of Oct. 17. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announces each fatality on their website but the […]
Worker advocacy groups challenge USDA proposal to speed up work
The hard job of a poultry plant worker is about to get harder, thanks to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposal to increase processing speed by 25 % and replace most federal safety inspectors. The proposed USDA increase means that instead of processing 140 birds a minute, workers will process 175 per minute. As part […]
Injured window washer wins $2.25 million
A window washer permanently disabled after falling at least 20 feet won $2.25 million after suing the owner of the building from which he fell. Tom Gjonaj also sued the tenant who occupied the second story of the building, alleging that the tenant and the building’s owner failed to provide safe and adequate protection as […]
Worker Sues for Asbestos exposure
Workers at a Missouri power plant were tasked with secretly disposing of materials containing asbestos so that company personnel assigned to oversee such health hazards would be none the wiser, a Joplin-based newspaper reports. Employees at Empire District Electric Company’s Riverton plant were exposed to asbestos insulation around pipes, ducts and wires that was peeling […]
Texas TBI sufferer wins suit against employer
A Texas man who suffered traumatic brain injury from an on-the-job fall won about $5.53 million dollars after suing his former employer, West Star Transportation, for negligence. Charles Robison, 52, was standing on top of an overloaded flatbed truck when he fell approximately 15 feet to the concrete below. In addition to fractures to his […]
Fall victim’s family wins $2 million
Attorneys for the family of a North Carolina man killed on the job when he fell through a whole in a work stand have negotiated a $2 million settlement with the company that repainted the 25-foot high device. The defendant, whose name was withheld because of a confidentiality agreement, maintained that the worker had received […]
U.S. government agency announces new program to reduce workplace injuries
A new federal program will keep track of workplace injuries and illnesses for federal workers, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels said that the goal is for the collection of data to “help to reduce occupational hazards and prevent injuries, illnesses and deaths […]
House Bill 74 creates danger of unfair influences on workers’ compensation judges
If an injured worker feels he isn’t getting the medical treatment or benefits that he has a right to, he can request a hearing from the NC Industrial Commission. An employer can request a hearing too, if it thinks that one of its workers is getting benefits he doesn’t deserve. The judges at the Industrial Commission, […]
Valerie Johnson teaches important lesson to union members
AFL-CIO workers will know what to do if they are ever hurt on the job, thanks to some helpful schooling from CJG partner Valerie Johnson. Valerie led a seminar to help union stewards and members understand the best way to protect their rights when they are injured while working. The seminar was conducted at the […]