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Fentanyl and Methamphetamine Overdose Claims Life of Washington Police Officer: Injured Workers in the News, #98

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Edward Singer

While working, a Police Officer- while at his precinct- collapsed and died from fentanyl and meth poisoning. In the news reports, it is reported that the incident may not have been by accident. According to the Dailymail, “Police in Vancouver, Washington, investigated Kelly’s death and concluded that it was ‘more likely than not caused by an intentional act and not an incidental workplace exposure,’”

This article will discuss the issue within the framework of California Workers’ Compensation Law with respect to this workplace death and whether it was work-related.

If Someone Dies At the Workplace, Is It Automatically Considered As A Work-Related Death?

No. Injuries in the workplace must be AOE/COE- arising out of employment and in the course and scope of employment. While a death may occur during the course and scope of employment, i.e. while at the place of employment, there may be uncertainty as to whether it was caused by work. In this instance, illicit drug use has been implicated as to the cause of death.

What Is The Standard For Proving a Death Is Work-Related?

The Cailfornia Supreme Court in South Coast Framing, Inc. v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2015) 61 Cal.4th 291 [188 Cal.Rptr.3d 46, 349 P.3d 141], noted that “[w]e have recognized the contributing cause standard …Under this test, if the injury can be seen to have followed as a natural incident of the work and to have been contemplated by a reasonable person familiar with the whole situation as a result of the exposure occasioned by the nature of the employment, then it arises “out of” the employment. But it excludes an injury which cannot fairly be traced to the employment as a contributing proximate cause and which comes from a hazard to which the workman would be equally exposed apart from the employment.’””

In the instant matter, it is possible that an industrial contributing cause could be found. It is possible that, as a law enforcement officer, there may be presumptions that could apply and assist in proving an industrial injury. Thus, this fact pattern is worthy of exploring whether there was a valid industrial death claim. Thus, despite the allegation of illicit drug use and a statement from the department concerning it, there still may be a way of proving it as work-related. For instance, the officer may have been suffering from an industrial orthopedic injury and decided to self-medicate by using an illegal drug.

What If I Need Legal Advice?

If you would like a free consultation regarding workers’ compensation, please contact the Law Offices of Edward J. Singer, a Professional Law Corporation. We have been helping people in Central and Southern California deal with their workers’ compensation cases for 30 years. Contact us today for more information.

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AND WORKERS’ COMPENSATION: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Posted on November 2, 2020 by Edward Singer

Workplace Violence is a serious concern in California. Some of the most infamous workplace violence episodes have occurred in California. This includes the San Ysidro McDonalds shootings, the Piper Tech shootings, and the San Bernardino terrorist shootings.

Not all workplace violence involves fatalities. There are many workplace violence events of a non-fatal variety. These violence acts are significant in the workers’ compensation area because workers who are either injured in the incident or suffer emotional injury as a result of witnessing the events. These effected workers are entitled to seek medical treatment and disability benefits through the workers’ compensation system.

There was a recent study of interest which provides insight to workers with respect to these incidents.

This article will discuss non-fatal workplace violence, how it interacts with the workers’ compensation system and the rights that an Injured Worker has relating to those incidents.

What Were the Non-Fatal Workplace Violence Studied?

In a recent study, non-fatal violence in the workplace was investigated. In the study, the ^“types of crime included rape/sexual assault (including attempted rape, sexual attack with serious/minor assault, sexual assault without injury, unwanted sexual contact without force, and verbal threat of rape/sexual assault); robbery (including attempted robbery); aggravated assault (attack or attempted attack with a weapon, regardless of whether or not an injury occurred, and attack without a weapon when serious injury resulted, and including aggravated assault with injury, attempted aggravated assault with weapon, and threatened assault with weapon); simple assault (attack without a weapon resulting in no or minor injury, and including simple assault with injury and assault without weapon without injury); and verbal threat of assault.” Siegel, M. Johnson, CY, Lawson CC, Ridenour M Hartley D. Nonfatal Violent Workplace Crime Characteristics and Rates by Occupation- United States, 2007-2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69: 324-328.

What Are the Frequency Rates of the Different Forms of Violence?

The most frequently reported type of crime was threat of assault (44%), followed by simple assault (37%), aggravated assault (13%), rape/sexual assault (3%), and robbery (3%). Siegel, M. Johnson, CY, Lawson CC, Ridenour M Hartley D. Nonfatal Violent Workplace Crime Characteristics and Rates by Occupation- United States, 2007-2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69: 324-328.

Note: workplace violence does not necessary translate into matters of physical harm to workers. Threats of assault can cause psychological injury or give rise to physiological stress responses such as a heart attack. Likewise, witnessing these various events might give rise to such problems as well.

Are the Violence Rates Different Between Occupations?

Yes. In the study, “[d]uring 2007–2010, occupations with the highest rates of violent workplace crimes were Protective services (e.g., first responders) (101 crimes per 1,000 workers); Community and social services (19); Healthcare practitioners and technicians (17), Healthcare support occupations (17); Education, training, and library occupations (eight); and Transportation and material moving occupations (seven.)” Siegel, M. Johnson, CY, Lawson CC, Ridenour M Hartley D. Nonfatal Violent Workplace Crime Characteristics and Rates by Occupation- United States, 2007-2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020; 69:324-328.

Note: It is interesting to note which areas of the workforce in which the acts occur. It appears that the key factor is the significant contact that workers have with the public.

Are All Workplace Violence Episodes a Valid Work Injury?

No. There are several issues that can come up. First, there is the initial aggressor rule. Second, if the alleged criminal has a relationship to the victim, there may be some issue of controversy as to whether it was a workplace event versus an event that happened at the workplace. Legal analysis would be recommended in those circumstances.

Is there a Difference Physical Injuries versus Psychological Injuries?

Yes. Psychological Injuries have thresholds that must be met in order to prevail.

The Labor Code Section 3208.3 provides lower burdens for violent acts. It is noted in the section that “in the case of employees whose injuries resulted from being a victim of a violent act or from direct exposure to a significant violent act, the employee shall be required to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that actual events of employment were a substantial cause of the injury.” Further, ““substantial cause” means at least 35 to 40 percent of the causation from all sources combined.”

Further, there are other sections that may assist on a psychiatric claim. They, however, require a factual analysis. Therefore, they may be relevant but will not be discussed within this article.

Additionally, for certain safety and law enforcement officers, there is a post-traumatic stress disorder presumption. Click here for an article discussing it.

Are There Any Other Sources of Benefits?

Yes. The State of California has a Victims of Crime Program which can also provide benefits in some circumstances. Click here for an article discussing it.

What if I Need Advice?

BODY ARMOR, WORK INJURIES AND LAW ENFORCEMENT: POLICE OFFICERS, SHERIFFS AND INJURIES DUE TO EQUIPMENT: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Edward Singer

Law Enforcement Officers are required to carry various items as part of their job duties. Equipment, such as Duty Belts, have been recognized as being damaging to the lumbar spine. Due to that fact, the State of California has enacted a Back Injury Presumption for with respect to Law Enforcement Officers who wear duty belts.

Besides Duty Belts, there is other Law Enforcement equipment that has become implicated as to causing physical injury. One of these items is Body Armor. Body Armor has become popular for Law Enforcement to wear to protect them. Body Armor, however, can be physically restrictive. This restrictiveness can be a source of musculoskeletal injury. It should be noted that this Body Armor can be life saving for officers. Police Officers: Surviving a real life-threatening incident while wearing body armor Xiong, Houawa 2014 May URI: https://scholarworks.csustan.edu/handle/011235813/703 (in thesis data, all 24 officers studied survived life-threatening incidents and were able to to return to full duty after the incidents.)

This article will discuss Law Enforcement Officers’ use of Body Armor, the problems with respect to such equipment, and whether it has been found to cause physical problems.

What Is Body Armor?

There are different types of body armor. There is body amor that is designed for military use. Also, there is a different body armor that is designed with respect to Law Enforcement. This different body armor is called Light Armor. The armors of the light variety care called Individual Light Armor Vests or ILAVs.

Are There Any Studies Concerning Light Armor Vests?

Yes. A recent study compared ILVAs versus Normal Station Wear.

What are the Problems with Light Body Armor?

“Wearing body armour has also been found to compromise trunk posture (Phillips et al., 2016) and reduce range of motion in multiple planes (Lenton et al., 2016). Axial trunk rotation has been shown to be reduced by up to 12° when wearing military-styled body armour (Lenton et al., 2016). A generalized increase in trunk and hip forward flexion during tasks has also been associated with wearing body armour (Lenton et al., 2016; Phillips et al., 2015). The effects of both a forward trunk posture and any compromise in trunk or shoulder mobility may further affect an officer’s ability to compensate for any balance compromise and put them at greater risk of falls and subsequent injury (Dempsey et al., 2013).” The effects of body armour on mobility and postural control of police officers Ben Schram Robin Orr Ben Hinton Geoff Norris Rodney Pope https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2020.03.001

What Were The Findings of the Study?

The study found “[s]ignificant differences were found between ILAV or N conditions in various components of the FMS, including right Straight Leg Raise, left shoulder mobility, and both right and left quad rotary stability. No significant differences were found in any of the balance measures between these conditions.” Supra.

The conclusions made were that the “ILAVs can significantly affect police officer mobility and therefore may contribute to injury risk and decreased ability to complete occupational tasks, though this should be weighed against protective benefits. ILAVs should therefore be carefully selected to minimise injury risk without detracting from occupational performance.” Supra. [emphasis added]

Are There Any Issues of Controversy with Respect to Body Armor?

Yes. One matter that can become an issue with respect Body Armor is the fact that there are multiple types of body armor which have different styles. There was a study that compared different ILAV and found that there were differences in the comfort and performance. The perceived effects and comfort of various body armour systems on police officers while performing occupational tasks B. Schram1* , B. Hinton2 , R. Orr , R. Pope and G. Norris Schram et al. Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (2018) 30:15 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-018-0228-x.

In sum, there are different brands that may have different impacts on the officers wearing them.

What Does Caselaw Say with Respect to Body Armor?

A search review was done with respect to this article. As the writing of this article, there have been no reported cases concerning injury related to the use of body armor. This caselaw search does not reveal as to whether such claims have been made and have been accepted as legitimate injury claims. Rather, the search indicates that there has been no controversy to the point that there has been any noteworthy or reported litigation involving body armor.

What Is the Future?

Many Law Enforcement Departments have received grants and funds to provide body armor to their departments. As a result, there will be more increased use of body armor. This increased use may likely cause musculoskeletal problems which may give rise to a physical injury. This type of physical injury would be the basis for filing a workers’ compensation claim.

What if I Need Advice?