Disability Law

Case Study: hospital worker with severe latex allergy sustains debilitating injuries to the immune system

By Jodi B. Ginsberg

Workers' Compensation Insurance and Occupational Disease/Injuries

As you may already know, Workers? Compensation insurance is one of the most widely accessible entitlement programs in the US today. It is most commonly referred to as a series of paid benefits available to any employee who is injured on the job or becomes ill as a result of performing their jobs. Federal and state laws require all employers to provide Workers? Compensation benefits to all employees, and it is usually available through a private carrier. Additionally, employees are paid these benefits regardless of whose fault the accident or injury is.

Workers' Compensation insurance can cover occupational diseases and injuries like asbestosis/mesothelioma, repetitive motion  injuries, and even injuries to the immune system due to exposure to any number of allergens or toxins. In the following workers' comp case study, for example, my client sustained severe and debilitating injuries to her immune system due to work-related exposure to latex.

Latex allergy case involving hospital worker

A hospital employee, we?ll call her Jane, recently filed a Workers? Compensation case with us due to how sick she has become because of an allergenic reaction to latex encountered on her job. Beginning in 1986, Jane began working for a hospital pediatric oncology/hematology unit as a staff member. She was well-liked by her fellow employees and was considered to be an excellent employee.

However, she began experiencing a variety of symptoms such as breathing difficulties, discomfort at work, and severe headaches. At that time, Jane was referred to the employee health department, where she would be diagnosed with a severe latex allergy after numerous tests. This allergy has impacted her life severely and resulted in ongoing health problems. She initially took a 6-month leave of absence from her job, receiving no TTD (Temporary Total Disability) while she was not working.

In order to avoid any contact with latex, when she returned to the job, she took a position in the hospital?s call center. Three months later, she encountered another allergenic reaction to latex while working the call center and left that department. Although her employer subsequently set her up to work from home with cables and wires attached to a computer modem, the cables were coated in latex and she had yet another flare-up. As a result, she can no longer work at all, as her latex allergy has severely damaged her immune system.

Today, Jane cannot work, and she is currently taking a number of medications as a result of her allergy to latex. These medications include Adavair, Albuterol, Nascort, Singulair, and Toanex. As if these weren?t enough, she has been forced to carry an Epinephrin pin with her at all times.

On a closing note, where the above case is concerned, we demanded ?X? amount in order to settle the case once and for all, as well as see to it that Jane is compensated for what she has endured and how her financial earnings and future have been severely impacted by her work-related injuries. This is why it pays to have a workers? compensation attorney on your side; we can help maximize your benefits and medical care and help settle your case to that you get the best outcome possible.

Full post as published by Georgia Workers Compensation blog on April 21, 2010 (boomark / email).