Indiana lawmakers are again considering a bill to assist first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. H.B. 1118, slated to be read Monday, would establish a state-funded first responders mental health wellness fund and program. The fund would provide up to 10 days of compensation and mental health services for first responders diagnosed with PTSD who do not qualify for…
Indiana lawmakers have introduced legislation that would permit injured workers to choose their attending physicians in workers compensation claims. House Bill 1246, filed Tuesday, would allow employers to choose a physician for an injured worker if the injury renders the employee unable to make a decision or in cases where immediate medical attention is required. If the measure is approved,…
Employees who feel unsafe on the job are more likely to report symptoms of work-related depression and anxiety, and those who study worker mental health have discovered a relationship between anxiety and increased work injury rates, industry experts say. “There is more and more data coming out showing just how inextricably intertwined mental health and physical health are in the…
A man claims he was terminated from his employment after seeking workers compensation benefits following a wrist injury. Plaintiff Kevin B. Cook Jr. filed the lawsuit in the Madison County Circuit Court against Terminal Transport Inc., Transport Leasing/Contract, Inc., Payroll Plus Corporation, The Labor Source Inc. and the TLC Companies. According to the complaint, Cook experienced a pop in his…
There were 5,486 fatal work injuries reported in 2022, a 5.7% increase from the prior year’s 5,190, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday, attributing the increase in part to rising workplace violence. The transportation and material moving sector reported the most fatal work injuries in 2022, at 1,620, the BLS said. The construction and extraction sector reported the…
As the holiday shopping season approaches, retail workers are concerned about their personal safety given a recent increase in workplace incidents, according to the Retail Worker Safety Report released Monday by Motorola Solutions. The report, which came from a November survey of more than 1,000 retail store associates and managers, showed that one in four workers considered leaving the retail…
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday that it cited an Illinois grain company after a worker suffered a partial leg amputation this summer. OSHA cited Westfield-based Littlejohn Grain Inc. for two willful violations and one serious violation, and proposed $115,855 in penalties, following the July incident, in which the employee was seriously injured inside a grain bin….
The average duration of temporary disability benefits in workers compensation lost-time claims increases with the age of the injured worker, but after age 40 the increase becomes less significant, the National Council on Compensation Insurance says in a report published Thursday. The report, Workers Compensation Temporary Disability Benefit Duration – A First Look, which is the first installment in a…
Human error was largely to blame for the workplace death of an Illinois sanitation worker who was crushed by a garbage truck during trash pickup services in Springfield in October 2022, according to a report released Monday by the Illinois Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The employee was pinned between a garbage truck and a brick fence column. The…
There were 2.8 million nonfatal workplace injuries in private industry nationwide in 2022, up 7.5% from the prior year, according to figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Increases in both injuries and illnesses were driving factors behind the change from 2021, the BLS said, and the illness increase was attributed in large part to a rise…
