NJ Workers' Compensation Rates Increase in 2017 - Max $896.00

The NJ Workers' Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau (NJCRIB) reported today 2017 rates effective January 1, 2017.

The Commissioner of Banking and Insurance (“Commissioner”) has approved a 3.0% decrease in rates and rating values applicable to New Jersey workers compensation and employers liability insurance effective January 1, 2017 on a new and renewal basis. The rating components of the decrease are summarized below.

EXPERIENCE AND TREND: Analysis of data for the latest two complete policy years and the latest calendar-accident year, following adjustment to present premium and benefit levels, using paid and incurred losses separately, indicates a premium level adjustment factor of 0.911 (-8.9%) due to experience. A trend factor of 1.025 (+2.5%) is included to recognize changing exposures and losses.

BENEFIT CHANGES: Effective January 1, 2017, the maximum weekly benefit with respect to all types of injuries, except permanent partial disabilities, will be changed from $871 to $896. The minimum weekly benefit will be changed from $232 to $239. In cases involving permanent partial disabilities, the present maximum weekly benefits ranging from $232 to $871, varying on the basis of duration of disability, will be changed to $239 and $896, respectively. The minimum weekly benefit for permanent partial injuries will remain at $35. The effect of the changes to the minimum and maximum weekly benefits results in a premium level adjustment factor of 1.010 (+1.0%) due to benefits.

EXPENSES: There is need for a change in the provisions for Loss Adjustment Expense, General Expense and Production Expense. The combined effect of the changes to the expense provisions results in a premium level adjustment factor of 1.029 (+2.9%).

SURCHARGES: New Jersey law mandates application of separate policyholder surcharges to finance the Second Injury Fund and Uninsured Employers’ Fund. Based on the Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s estimate of 2017 Fund requirements, the policyholder surcharge percentages effective January 1, 2017, on a new and renewal basis to be applied to the modified premium are:

• Second Injury Fund 5.00% 
• Uninsured Employers’ Fund 0.08%

…

Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). 

For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

Updated: 1/1/2017

OSHA cites NJ roofing contractor for exposing workers to falls, other hazards $112K

Hackensack Roofing Co. Inc., 83 First St., Hackensack, New Jersey was cited for OSHA

violations.Citations issued: On Dec. 16, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the company for one serious and three repeat safety violations.

Investigation findings: As part of the agency's Local Emphasis Program focused on falls, OSHA began the East Rutherford inspection on Oct. 18, after inspectors observed employees working on a roof without fall protection. The Wallington inspection was opened in response to a complaint alleging fall hazards on the site.

Inspectors issued citations for repeat violations due to a lack of fall and eye protection. The company was previously cited for similar violations in 2014.

A serious citation was issued because workers were throwing roof shingles from the roof without the use of a container to catch the materials.

Quote: "The fact that Hackensack Roofing allowed employees to work without basic fall protection on two separate sites is problematic and indicates a breakdown in their safety and health program," said Lisa Levy, director of OSHA's Hasbrouck Heights Area Office. "Falls in construction continue to be the leading cause of workplace fatalities. By repeatedly failing to comply with OSHA regulations, this employer continues to put its workers at risk, leaving them vulnerable to falls that could permanently injure or kill them."

Proposed penalties: $112,487

The citation can be viewed at:

https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/HackensackRoofingCoInc_1188195_1191691.pdf

The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

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Workers' Compensation: OSHA Fine NJ Contractor $43,000 for Fall ... Feb 26, 2016 ... OSHA finds Middlesex contractor exposed workers to fall hazards after investigation of roofer's death at Parsippany jobsite S&S Roofing Inc., ... idoctor-health.blogspot.com

Workers' Compensation: OSHA finds Clifton company again ... Aug 17, 2016 ... Investigation findings: OSHA initiated an inspection on April 25, 2016, after a compliance officer observed Furia Roofing employees working on ... idoctor-health.blogspot.com

Workers' Compensation: Supreme Court Decided Not to Decide ... Mar 8, 2011 ... Feb 9 2011, DISTRIBUTED for Conference of February 25, 2011. Feb 16 2011, Reply of petitioner Vaughan Roofing & Sheet Metal, LLC filed. idoctor-health.blogspot.com

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Zika: The Next Compensable Infectious Disease - Benefit Challenges Begin

Workers' Compensation insures for the consequences of infectious diseases arising out of and in the course of employment. Is the system ready for a potential onslaught of Zika claims?

The line in the sand has been drawn in the State of Florida, where an infected Miami Beach police officer has been denied benefits. The union has actively supporting the municipal employee in an effort to rule the claim compensable.

The NJ Supreme Court in establishing compensability in an occupational disease cited Justice Learned Hand, “Few adults are not diseased … an infection mastered, though latent, is no longer a disease, industrially speaking, until the individual's resistance is again so far lowered that he succumbs.” Bober v. Independent Plating Corp., 28 N.J. 160, 145 A.2d 463 (1958).

Zika virus has been causally linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome according to a new US CDC study.

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued an alert about the spread of Zika virus. The graphic above protects the possible scope of disease.

CDC announced that  in Florida Zika is now being spread by mosquitoes in the continental U.S. Travel restrictions have been issued for Miami-Dade County in Florida as Zika spreads to an increased area of Miami- Beach. First responders in Dade County FL (Miami Beach) are demanding workers' compensation benefits after 2 police officers contracted Zika. Local transmission of Zika has been reported in Texas.

A recent study published in "Cell Stem Cell," indicates that Zika can infect adult brain cells, not just fetal cells.

The FDA plans to go forward with the release of millions of genetically modified mosquitos to reduce the entire mosquito population as aerial spraying in not effective.

The National Institutes for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) recommends:

"Employers should protect workers and workers should protect themselves from diseases spread by mosquitoes. Although most people do not become sick after a bite from an infected mosquito, some people have a mild, short-term illness or (rarely) severe or long-term illness. Severe cases of mosquito-borne diseases can cause death."

Employers can take preventative actions including: protecting equipment in the field; removing debris from ditches; filling in areas that collect standing water; remove tires, buckets and items that collect standing water; and placing holes in containers that could collect standing water where mosquitos may breed. Insect repellent safety is yet another issue that should be addressed.

Before the battles enter the courtrooms for litigation over a host issues, including causal relationship, it would be wise to think about how employers, insurance companies and workers can be protected from the virus. Even though Congress delayed in funding prevention and treatment programs, the White House has taken the initiative  in educating the public, and transferring $600Million of unused Ebola funds to the attack on Zika. Eventually Congress enacted the Zika Response and Preparedness Appropriations Act of 2016. In December 2016, the CDC awarded $184Million ton continue the fight against Zika,

Meanwhile, the CDC reports that Candida auris is another emerging viral infection. C. auris is an emerging cause of Candida infections in the United States. Although the cases of C. auris described in the CDC report appear related to isolates from South Asia and South America, available epidemiologic information suggests that most were acquired in the United States.

Hopefully, workers' compensation insurers will participate in the a prevention initiative now that mosquito season has started. Workers' compensation stakeholders can help prevent both an epidemic of illness as well as an epidemic of claims.

Updated: 12/30/16

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Lung-sparing surgery for patients with advanced mesothelioma results in prolonged survival, new study shows

Patients with advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) treated with a combination of surgery to remove the cancer but save their lung, plus photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy, had a median survival of nearly three years, with a subset of patients living longer than seven years, according to new research published in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

The disease, which is most commonly caused by exposure to asbestos, is an incurable cancer that affects the lining of the chest cavity. Patients treated with chemotherapy alone, the standard of care, typically live only 12 to 18 months. In the United States, 2,000 to 3,000 patients are diagnosed with MPM each year.

"These are among the best results ever published for patients with an epithelial subtype of pleural mesothelioma, which accounts for about two thirds of all cases," says the lead author, Joseph S. Friedberg, MD, the Charles Reid Edwards Professor of Surgery and Head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Thoracic Surgeon-in-Chief of the University of Maryland Medical System.

"This is among the most virulent cancers known to man, and we have a long way to go, but it's encouraging to have achieved results we can report in years not months even for these patients with such advanced disease," Dr. Friedberg says. "Although, from a technical perspective, it is more challenging to save the lung than to sacrifice it, it does appear that this technique helps to not only extend life but to also preserve quality of life."

The study followed 73 patients with MPM who had surgery to remove the cancer, followed by a therapy using a photosensitizing agent and light to kill microscopic cancer cells. Ninety-two percent of the patients also received chemotherapy. Overall median survival for all the patients in the study was nearly three years (35 months), the researchers report, but that figure more than doubled, to 7.3 years, for 19 of these patients whose cancer had not spread to their lymph nodes. Median survival is the length of time at which 50 percent of patients are alive after treatment. In addition, researchers also found that overall survival was three times higher than disease-free survival, which is the length of time until the cancer recurs.

For the 73 patients in the study, median disease-free survival was 1.2 years, a third of the overall survival of three years. In the group of 19 patients with overall survival of 7.3 years, disease-free survival was 2.3 years. The majority of the patients had Stage III or Stage IV disease.

"It's unusual to find such a difference in between overall and disease-free survival rates. When this cancer recurs, which it almost always does, patients usually live only a few months," says Dr. Friedberg of the study results, which were published online in November.

While the researchers caution against drawing definitive conclusions based on this non-randomized study, they are intrigued by the findings. Dr. Friedberg and his colleagues are now looking for mechanisms behind the difference, in order to work on improving survival even more.

Dr. Friedberg performed the lung-sparing surgery on the patients in the study while he was at the University of Pennsylvania, where the research was conducted. He has pioneered lung-sparing surgery for mesothelioma and now serves as Director of the Mesothelioma and Thoracic Oncology Treatment and Research Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The center is part of the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The lung-sparing surgery is a 6- to 14-hour operation to remove detectable cancer from the lining of the chest and spares the lung and as many other normal structures as possible. Dr. Friedberg developed his lung-sparing technique as an alternative to removing the entire lung, diaphragm and sac around the heart.

Dr. Friedberg and his colleagues say that this study shows that the lung-sparing technique can be safely used to achieve a "macroscopic complete resection" -- the removal of all detectable cancer -- while preserving the lung. "The role for lung-sparing surgery for mesothelioma has not been completely defined, but this series demonstrates that it is an option, even in advanced stage cases," they conclude in the journal article.

"The results showing extended overall survival for some patients are very promising and warrant further study," says E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Under Dr. Friedberg's leadership, our new Mesothelioma and Thoracic Oncology Treatment and Research Center is fast becoming an major center for important scientific discovery as well as highly specialized, multidisciplinary care for patients with mesothelioma and other thoracic cancers."

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Maryland Medical Center/School of Medicine.

Journal Reference:

1. Joseph S. Friedberg, Charles B. Simone, Melissa J. Culligan, Andrew R. Barsky, Abigail Doucette, Sally McNulty, Stephen M. Hahn, Evan Alley, Daniel H. Sterman, Eli Glatstein, Keith A. Cengel. Extended Pleurectomy-Decortication–Based Treatment for Advanced Stage Epithelial Mesothelioma Yielding a Median Survival of Nearly Three Years. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 2016; DOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2016.08.071

University of Maryland Medical Center/School of Medicine. "Lung-sparing surgery for patients with advanced mesothelioma results in prolonged survival, new study shows." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 December 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161214145608.htm>.

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OSHA Issues Final Record Keeping Rule

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Monday will issue a final rule that clarifies an employer's continuing obligation to make and maintain an accurate record of each recordable injury and illness. The final rule becomes effective Jan. 18, 2017.

OSHA's longstanding position has been that an employer's duty to record an injury or illness continues for the full five-year record-retention period, and this position has been upheld by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission in cases dating back to 1993. In 2012, the D.C. Circuit issued a decision in AKM LLC v. Secretary of Labor (Volks) reversing the Commission and rejecting OSHA's position on the continuing nature of its prior recordkeeping regulations.

The new final rule more clearly states employers' obligations. "This rule simply returns us to the standard practice of the last 40 years," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "It is important to keep in mind that accurate records are not just paperwork; they have a valuable and potentially life-saving purpose."

The amendments in the final rule add no new compliance obligations and do not require employers to make records of any injuries or illnesses for which records are not already required.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
......
Historically, "It is the purpose and policy of Congress '....to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.'” 29 U.S.C.A. § 651(b). Gelman, Jon L., 39 N.J. Prac., Workers' Compensation Law § 19.12 (3d ed.).

…

Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). 

For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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OSHA Cites Paterson NJ Laundry for Violations - $91K In Fines

OSHA cites New Jersey commercial laundry for workplace safety hazards
Paterson's Star Laundry fined $91K for 12 federal violations

Employer name:

Star Laundry Inc.

421 and 436 East 16th St.

Paterson, New Jersey

Citations issued: On Dec. 7, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations against Brite Services Inc., doing business as Star Laundry Inc., for seven repeat, two serious and three other-than-serious violations.

Inspection findings: OSHA opened an inspection July 6, 2016, after receiving a complaint alleging that employees were exposed to heat stress and being struck by motor vehicles when crossing the street in between two buildings in which the company operates.

Inspectors cited repeat violations for vehicular struck-by hazards, blocked fire extinguishers, unguarded machinery and electrical hazards. The company was previously cited for similar violations in 2014. The serious violations reflected additional electrical hazards. Other-than-serious violations were issued for the lack of a hearing conservation program, an insufficient number of toilet rooms and no tepid water in the existing rest rooms.

Quote: "Star Laundry continues to needlessly leave its employees vulnerable to hazards that can cause serious injury or death," said Lisa Levy, director of OSHA's Hasbrouck Heights Area Office. "Employers have a legal responsibility to provide a safe and healthful work environment for workers."

Proposed penalties: $91,911

The citations can be viewed at:
https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/BriteServicesIncdbaStarLaundry_1160015.pdf

The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Hasbrouck Heights office at 201-288-1700.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

NJ Governor Nominates Judges of Compensation and Promotes Bill to Increase Salaries

NJ Governor Chris Christie filed the following nominations with the State Senate. The Governor’s nominations are subject to the advice and consent of the State Senate. The Governor also filed the following direct appointments with the Secretary of State's Office.


Judges of Compensation

• Nominate for appointment David J. Puma (Pitman, Gloucester)
• Nominate for appointment Christopher B. Leitner (Point Pleasant, Ocean)

Appointments:

In New Jersey, "Judges of Compensation are appointed on a bipartisan basis by the Governor of the State of New Jersey with the advice and consent of the Senate and serve during good behavior. 1
N.J.S.A. 34:15-49. They are considered members of the executive branch and are not judicial officers. Wright v. Plaza Ford, 164 N.J.Super. 203, 395 A.2d 1259 (App.Div.1978). The Commissioner of the Department of Labor has the power to discipline judges of compensation during the short term even though the power to appoint judges of compensation is vested with the governor of the State. Grzankowski v. Heymann, 128 N.J.Super. 563, 321 A.2d 262 (App.Div.1974)." Gelman, Jon L., 39 N.J. Prac., Workers' Compensation Law § 28.2 (3d ed.).

Salaries: 

Salaries of NJ Compensation Judges are set by statute. "A Judge of Compensation has an initial appointment for three years at an annual salary equal to 80% of the annual salary of a judge of the Superior Court. Upon favorable recommendation by the Director/Chief Judge of the Division of Workers' Compensation after 1 year, there may be an increase to 83⅔%, after 2 years to 86⅔%. After a favorable evaluation following the initial 3 year term, a Judge of Compensation is paid at a salary equal to 90% of the annual salary of a judge of the Superior Court. Re-appointment after the 3 year period is made by the Governor of the State of New Jersey with the advice and consent of the Senate.
The salary of the Director/Chief Judge of the Division of Workers' Compensation is equal to 94% of the annual salary of a judge of the Superior Court." Gelman, Jon L., 39 N.J. Prac., Workers' Compensation Law § 28.2 (3d ed.).

Pensions: 
 • Workers’ Compensation Judges who were enrolled in the WCJ Part prior to its closure remain members of the WCJ Part of the PERS (Public Employees' Retirement System-Workers' Compensation Judges Addendum). 

• A member who is enrolled in the regular PERS, and who is appointed as a Workers’ Compensation Judge on or after June 8, 2007, will remain a regular PERS member while a Workers’ Compensation Judge. 

• Workers’ Compensation Judges who are appointed on or after July 1, 2007, and do not have an existing PERS membership may only be enrolled in the Defined Contribution Retirement Program (DCRP). See Fact Sheet #80, DCRP for Elected and AppointedOfficials, for more information.

…

Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thomson-Reuters). 

For over 4 decades the Law Offices of Jon L Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com  has been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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NJ lawmakers advance plan for Workers' Compensation Judges raises, paving way for Christie book deal nj101.5.com 12/15/16

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Pending Legislation:
A505 Increases Judicial Salaries by set amount over multiple years, and thereafter provides for annual salary cost of living adjustment.
Identical Bill Number: S559

S559 Increases Judicial Salaries by set amount over multiple years, and thereafter provides for annual salary cost of living adjustment.
Identical Bill Number: A505

Updated: 12/20/2016

FATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES INCREASED in 2015

A total of 4,836 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2015, a slight increase from the 4,821 fatal injuries reported in 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

This release marks the first time that the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) has published a single, annual release with no revisions and will be the only release for 2015 CFOI data. A similar schedule will be followed in future years. 

Preliminary releases, which appeared in August or September in past years, will no longer be produced. 

Key findings of the 2015 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: 

- Annual total of 4,836 fatal workplace injuries in 2015 was the highest since 5,214 fatal injuries in 2008. 

- The overall rate of fatal work injury for workers in 2015, at 3.38 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, was lower than the 2014 rate of 3.43. 

- Hispanic or Latino workers incurred 903 fatal injuries in 2015—the most since 937 fatalities in 2007. 

- Workers age 65 years and older incurred 650 fatal injuries, the second-largest number for the group since the national census began in 1992, but decreased from the 2014 figure of 684. 

- Roadway incident fatalities were up 9 percent from 2014 totals, accounting for over one-quarter of the fatal occupational injuries in 2015. 

- Workplace suicides decreased 18 percent in 2015; homicides were up 2 percent from 2014 totals. - Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers recorded 745 fatal injuries, the most of any occupation. 

- The 937 fatal work injuries in the private construction industry in 2015 represented the highest total since 975 cases in 2008. 

- Fatal injuries in the private oil and gas extraction industries were 38 percent lower in 2015 than 2014. 

- Seventeen percent of decedents were contracted by and performing work for another business or government entity in 2015 rather than for their direct employer at the time of the incident.

Breast cancer all-clear for night work was based on ‘bad science’

The following article is authored by Rory O'Neill Editor, Hazards magazine hazards.org

An Oxford University study that concluded the classification of night work as a cause of breast cancer in women is no longer justified was based on ‘bad science’, top researchers have warned.

The large scale ‘meta-analysis’, published online on 6 October 2016 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), concluded “night shift work, including long-term night shift work, has little or no effect on breast cancer incidence.” It added the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) ranking of night work as a ‘probable’ cause of breast cancer in women “is no longer justified.”

But three of the most respected epidemiologists on night work and breast cancer have now said they “fully disagree” with this conclusion, noting a succession of methodological flaws in the research “invalidate” its conclusions.

Harvard Medical School epidemiologist Eva Schernhammer told Hazards magazine that given the Oxford study’s “bad science”, it was “not surprising” it found no effect. In a detailed criticism of the paper, published online on 15 December, she said the JNCI paper’s many shortcomings “preclude it from making the conclusion that there is no association between night work and breast cancer risk.”

Johnni Hansen, a researcher with the Danish Cancer Society, was equally unimpressed. “They base their conclusion on a poor study, but even worse is that their conclusion may hinder preventive initiatives for night workers,” he said.

Richard Stevens, of the University of Connecticut medical school, who has written influential papers on the topic with both Schernhammer and Hansen, was blunt. “Why was the paper written in the first place?” he asked.

The main cohorts in the Oxford study, which was financed by the Medical Research Council, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Cancer Research UK (CRUK), were “worryingly old”, with many over retirement age, and the follow up was “unusually short”, Hansen said.

The risk of women developing breast cancer appears to wane in the years after night working ends, so studying retired workers without recent exposures misses the point and the cancers, said Schernhammer. She said the higher risk is seen in women with long exposures – at least 15 years – early in their careers. Hansen added the authors behind the JNCI study should have recognised the possibility of ‘truncation bias’ in their analysis.

Night work was sometimes defined so loosely in the study participants, a single night shift might have seen a worker added to the ‘exposed’ group despite facing minimal exposure and risk. The JNCI paper also discounted case-control studies and those exploring the mechanism behind a possible association.

According to Stevens, the JNCI meta-analysis “excluded case-control studies, of which there are many, for no good reason.”

He added that studies considering the biological mechanisms give a valuable insight into why and where you might look for an association. Understanding the process, something integral to his own research, was important, he indicated.

Stevens, Schernhammer and Hansen, together with Scott Davis, a professor of epidemiology in the University of Washington’s School of Public Health, are the stand-out epidemiologists on night work and breast cancer.

Not one of them was asked to review the paper. “We are the four epidemiologists who have been working for by far the longest on the epidemiology of night work and breast cancer,” said Stevens, who is dismayed the Oxford study, led by molecular epidemiologist Ruth Travis, found its way in to a high visibility journal like JNCI. “Any of the four of us would have quickly noticed the severe flaws of the Travis paper and pointed them out to the editors of JNCI.”

He said it was “absurd” that the night work association with breast cancer was being dismissed on the back of a “troubling” paper by “a distinguished group of experienced researchers who should have known better.”

The JNCI study’s lead author, Ruth Travis, declined an invitation from Hazards to address the detailed criticisms of the study.

• Ruth C Travis and others. Night shift work and breast cancer incidence: Three prospective studies and meta-analysis of published studies, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, volume 108, number 12, published online 6 October 2016.
• Graveyard shift: Cancer all-clear for night work based on ‘bad science’, warn scientists, Hazards magazine, number 136, December 2016.

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Workers' Compensation: Breast Cancer: California Discriminates ... Feb 24, 2016 ... Fire fighters in Canada are supporting legislation that would establish a legal presumption that breast cancer is an occupationally related . idoctor-health.blogspot.com

Workers' Compensation: Breast Cancer Presumed Occupational ... Mar 18, 2011 ... Fire fighters in Canada are supporting legislation that would establish a legal presumption that breast cancer is an occupationally related ... idoctor-health.blogspot.com

Workers Compensation Benefits Awarded for Breast Cancer Jan 12, 2011 ... The injured worker was employed for the City of Las Vegas in 1992 and was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. She underwent treatment ... idoctor-health.blogspot.com

Workers' Compensation: Breast Cancer Linked to Occupational ... May 29, 2010 ... "Odds ratios (ORs) were increased for the usual risk factors for breast cancer and, adjusting for these, risks increased with occupational ... idoctor-health.blogspot.com