From the archives of the Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. Disfigurement benefits are provided for in § 8-42-108, C.R.S. Section 8-42-108(1), C.R.S. permits an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) to award disfigurement benefits up to a maximum of $4,673.47 if the claimant is “seriously, permanently disfigured about the head, face or parts of the body normally exposed to public view. . . .” The ALJ may award up to $9,345.38 for “extensive facial scars” and other conditions expressly provided for in § 8-42-108(2), C.R.S. These awards are subject to annual adjustment’s on July 1st the Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation pursuant to § 8-42-108(3). C.R.S. Disfigurement benefits are awarded for the “observable impairment of the natural appearance of a person.” Arkin v. Industrial Commission, supra. The ALJ is afforded great discretion when determining the amount of compensation to be awarded for disfigurement. Section 8-42-108, C.R.S. The ALJ views the disfigurement and is in the best position to assess what amount is appropriate. An ALJ’s determination regarding the amount of the disfigurement award, in the absence of an abuse of discretion, cannot be successfully challenged. An ALJ only abuses his discretion if the order “exceeds the bounds of reason.” Rosenberg v. Board of Education of School District #1, 710 P.2d 1095 (Colo. 1985).
Any content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only.It is not intended to solicit business, provide legal advice from The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. and does not serve as a medium for an attorney-client relationship. Therefore, The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. is not responsible for the information on this blog which may not apply to every reader. Always seek professional counsel if you have any legal matters. Contents within the blog of The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C., logos and other related media are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions.
While injuries were avoided, a pair of British employers still got the message that safety is paramount.
A Kidderminster carpet company and a Surrey-based firm have been fined after a large pressure vessel, in which carpet fibers are dyed and processed, exploded, propelling the vessel’s quarter-ton lid six meters into the air.
No-one was injured in the incident at Brinton Carpets Ltd’ssite at Halesfield, Telford on June 4, 2013, but the dangerous incident could have been prevented.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out an investigation this September and prosecuted Brintons Carpets Ltd, the owner and user of the pressure vessels and Allianz Engineering Inspection Services Ltd, who were contracted to carry out periodic thorough examinations of the dye vessels.
Telford Magistrates’ Court heard that each of Brintons Carpets’ four stock dye vessels, each described as industrial pressure cookers, were pressurized while in use.
During a production run, one of the vessels exploded. The lid, which weighed approximately 250kg, was torn off its locking mechanism and hinges and hit the roof of the factory six meters above. Such was the force of the collision that it left a dent in one of the factory roof girders.
One worker was standing just a few feet from the where the lid came to rest.
The explosion was found to have been caused by a failure of the vessel’s regulator and pressure relief valve. HSE found Brintons Carpets Ltd had not ensured that suitable and sufficient maintenance of the vessel’s safety devices was being carried out. In addition to this, the periodic statutory thorough examinations had not been completed for three years.
A Written Scheme of Examination was in place at Brintons Carpets Ltd, which included the stock dye vessels in question. Although Allianz Engineering Services Ltd were carrying out periodic thorough examinations on the other pressure equipment on site, the HSE found that the four stock dye vats had been overlooked for a number of years. Allianz Engineering Services Ltd, therefore, failed to carry out the required examinations on the vats properly.
Both Businesses Plead Guilty
Brintons Carpets Ltd of Stourport Road, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 12 of The Pressures Systems Safety Regulations 2000 and was fined more than $16,000 and ordered to pay costs of nearly $2,000.
Allianz Inspection Services Ltd of Ladymead, Guildford, Surrey, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 9(2) of The Pressures Systems Safety Regulations 2000 and was fined more than $21,000 and ordered to pay costs of more than $1,800.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Lyn Mizen remarked,“There are clear standards set out in the regulations and strict inspection regimes whereby the user has a duty to ensure that equipment, and its safety devices, are properly maintained. This is backed up by the periodic thorough examinations by competent persons to ensure this is happening and is appropriate and suitable.”
Any content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only.It is not intended to solicit business, provide legal advice from The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. and does not serve as a medium for an attorney-client relationship. Therefore, The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. is not responsible for the information on this blog which may not apply to every reader. Always seek professional counsel if you have any legal matters. Contents within the blog of The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C., logos and other related media are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions.
ABC News affiliate WFTS is reporting that Brad Culpepper, a former Tampa Bay Buccaneer has been sued by an insurance company claiming "fraud and deceit."
According to NFL.com he played for two seasons with the Vikings, six seasons for the bucs and one season for the Bears. According to WFTS, he "parlayed fame on the field into success as a personal injury attorney." They say that in 2010 he filed a California workers' compensation claim. They note that California had "no statute of limitations and any player who had ever played a game in the state was eligible to file."
The story also says that Mr. Culpepper "was the lead plaintiff in the recent NFL brain injury lawsuit, which was tentatively settled for $765 million."
WFTS says that an insurance company has filed suit regarding the California claim, which was settled in 2011 for $175,000. The "suit says he told doctors pain interfered with his daily activities, concentrating and thinking 'a lot, or most of the time.'" The suit also alleges that in 2012 Mr. Culpepper "earned a black belt in mixed martial arts," and that "last year, both Culpeppers (he and his wife) competed on 'Survivor'" (a reality television show).
Mr. Culpepper's attorney, Scott Shutzman, commented to WFTS. He affirmed that Mr. Culpepper's responded to "questions honestly." He addressed the activities with mixed martial arts (MMA) and the television show, saying "There's nothing that I've seen that says an 89 percent disability rating says you can't be on a TV show, or do an MMA workout." He asserts that the injuries to Culpepper were "confirmed by no less than 14 or 15 MRIs, various x-rays, legions of doctors."
Mr. Culpepper "told the I-Team (WFTS) he has had multiple surgeries, has a room full of medical records and wants to do an on-camera interview, but his attorney told him not to at this time." Original Source
Any content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only.It is not intended to solicit business, provide legal advice from The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. and does not serve as a medium for an attorney-client relationship. Therefore, The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. is not responsible for the information on this blog which may not apply to every reader. Always seek professional counsel if you have any legal matters. Contents within the blog of The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C., logos and other related media are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions.
NEW YORK, NY -- Like many New Yorkers, Ricardo Mulero has a September 11th story. He was getting off the subway at Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan on his way to work, when he stopped to see what a crowd of people were looking at. Just seconds before, United Airlines Flight 175 had crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Thirteen years later, Mulero has a different perspective on that tragic day, one that has earned him a historic- and prestigious role. Mulero led the team that created the National September 11 Memorial & Museum exhibition, which opened last May. In this capacity, Mulero and his team atThinc Design worked with the museum team, architects and engineers to help plan the museum’s structure as well as the presentation of the many artifacts remaining from that tragic day.
COURTESY OF RICARDO MULERO
Inside the National September 11 Memorial Museum exhibit, whose design team was led by Ricardo Mulero.
“Unlike any other history project that I have worked on, it was something that I had been part of,” Mulero told NBC News. “That became kind of interesting.”
Having previously worked on exhibitions at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Freedom Park in Pretoria, South Africa, Mulero was in a prime position to take charge of this monumental project. Still, the Puerto Rican designer, who also studied architecture and preservation, faced major challenges, not the least of which was the fact that the museum itself is quite massive, at around 125,000 square feet.
“We analyzed the space and instead of looking at the obstacles, we tried to look at what were the opportunities here,” Mulero said.
Many of the artifacts included in the exhibition are quite large, such as the remains of the World Trade Center’s large steel frames and a damaged fire truck recovered from the site. Displaying these was not only a feat of design but of engineering as well.
Like in all museums, the artifacts had to be mounted, but mounting large metal structures isn’t so easy. Mulero’s team had to figure out ways to preserve the visual integrity of the artifacts, so that they were differentiated from the engineered mounts. To do this, they painted the mounts gray so that they were less noticeable.
COURTESY OF RICARDO MULERO
The "Survivors Stairs" display at the National 9/11 Museum and Memorial Exhibition. Mulero led the exhibition's design team.
The site of the museum itself was also on display, Mulero explained, providing the design team with the chance to contain the exhibits within the archaeology of the former WTC site. Mulero said the design team' ultimately favored an "austere approach" to the exhibition, making the site an artifact itself.
“We maintained that because we felt it evoked the absence of something monumental that was no longer there,” Mulero said. “It was almost like designing an exhibition that was invisible in a way, because the objects are so powerful in themselves that they evoke devastation and monumentality."
Beyond the technical hurdles of designing this museum, there was the emotional element. People around the world had seen the devastating events unfold, either in person or on television.
Added to that, Mulero had to determine ways to reconcile the tragedy in New York with the 9/11 events at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Given the museum’s national scope, Mulero said that no choice in the museum could be made arbitrarily.“Everything has a powerful message or significant story. Everything has a purpose in this museum,” said the Latino designer.
Add caption
LUIS CARLE
Puerto Rican architect, designer and preservationist Ricardo Mulero.
While his own memories of that day remain etched in his mind, designing the museum’s exhibition has given him new perspective on what the moment in history symbolizes. Having spent over four years working with materials from that day, Mulero said he can now begin to see why many victims’ families wanted so badly for the museum to be built.
He hopes his imprint at the museum can inspire others to prevent similar atrocities from happening again.
“For future generations, I hope that they can use such an event as a positive message to better the world and use [the museum] as a resource,” Mulero said.
Any content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only.It is not intended to solicit business, provide legal advice from The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. and does not serve as a medium for an attorney-client relationship. Therefore, The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. is not responsible for the information on this blog which may not apply to every reader. Always seek professional counsel if you have any legal matters. Contents within the blog of The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C., logos and other related media are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions.
Any content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only.It is not intended to solicit business, provide legal advice from The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. and does not serve as a medium for an attorney-client relationship. Therefore, The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. is not responsible for the information on this blog which may not apply to every reader. Always seek professional counsel if you have any legal matters. Contents within the blog of The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C., logos and other related media are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions.
Any content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only.It is not intended to solicit business, provide legal advice from The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. and does not serve as a medium for an attorney-client relationship. Therefore, The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. is not responsible for the information on this blog which may not apply to every reader. Always seek professional counsel if you have any legal matters. Contents within the blog of The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C., logos and other related media are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions.
It is the three year anniversary of my father’s passing and we thought you would enjoy the article from the O’Toole Report published shortly following his death three years ago.
- John A. Sbarbaro
It is with great sadness that we inform our readers of the passing of John Anthony Sbarbaro, M. D., M.P.H., on August 30, 2011. John often stated he was the luckiest man in the world and passed in the presence of many friends and family.
John was the grandson of immigrants from Italy. His grandfather Antonio Sbarbaro landed on the shores of Louisiana in 1880 (prior to the creation of Ellis Island) and quickly set up business as an organ grinder. Shortly, thereafter, Antonio’s monkey died and he moved to Chicago to set up Sbarbaro and Co., the City of Chicago’s first and oldest Italian-American owned funeral business. On March 9, 1886, he renounced his loyalty to the King of Italy and was sworn in as a U.S. citizen.
Sbarbaro and Company located at 708 N. Wells St. was established in 1885 and its doors remain open to this day. John was proud of the fact that Sbarbaro and Co. has served all segments of the community in Chicago, having buried respectable members from such families as the Wrigleys of chewing gum fame to such notable gangsters as Earl “Hymie” Weiss and Daniel O’Bannion. The Sbarbaro Funeral Home’s original telephone number was SUPERIOR 0094. It was 0094 because it was the 94th telephone number assigned in the City of Chicago. That number, now (312) 787-0094, remains the phone number for the Sbarbaro Funeral Home. If you have any family members in the Chicago area who are soon to depart this world, please feel free to contact that number for your end of life needs.
John was born in 1936 to Anthony and Marie Sbarbaro. John was raised in the city of Chicago, Illinois, where he met his high school sweetheart, and wife of 50 years, Marlene.They attended nearby colleges in Minnesota. Marlene graduated from Saint Theresa and John graduated from St. Mary’s College. John and Marlene were married on August 26, 1961. In 1962 John then went on to earn his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and his Master in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health in 1968. They have three children and seven grandchildren.
With his formal education complete, between 1965-1986, Dr. Sbarbaro served in several capacities at the Denver Department of Health and Hospitals, but primarily as the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. Since 1969, Dr. Sbarbaro has served in many capacities at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine, where he held professorships in the Departments of Medicine and Preventive Medicine and finished his career there as the Medical Director of University Physicians, Inc.Between 1986 and 1989 Dr. Sbarbaro was the Vice President for Medical Affairs at St. Anthony Hospital Systems.Since 2008 he has been the Medical Director at the Leprino Foods Company.He retired in 2000 as a Colonel in the United States Army Reserve Medical Corps. In spite of all his formal education and physical separation from his childhood home in Chicago, John never left his true roots in how he resolved disputes. For example, in the early 70’s when St. Anthony’s Hospital and Denver General were competing for trauma patients, St. Anthony’s rejected an agreement that would keep its ambulances out of the city in return for the City and County of Denver staying out of the suburbs. Shortly after negotiations broke down a St. Anthony’s helicopter landed in the City and County of Denver and its ambulance blade was quickly bumped by a passing Denver General Hospital Ambulance. The Chief Operating Officer for St. Anthony’s contacted John, and the following exchange took place. “John, your ambulance bumped by helicopter.” John responded, “God, Dutch, I am so sorry you know we have a lot of clumsy ambulance drivers, and of course, we are going to have an ambulance there every time you land in the City and County of Denver. I sure hope this doesn't happen again, but I can’t promise it.” Shortly thereafter, an agreement was reached were St. Anthony’s would not land its helicopter in the City and County of Denver and Denver General ambulances did not go into the suburbs. ¹
Throughout the years John explored the world with Marlene and together they visited, among other places, Israel, Italy, Switzerland and Russia. He enjoyed spending time playing golf and getting together with family and friends. He also spent a lot of time enjoying the company of his seven grandchildren. Many of his friends have remained the same since he moved the family to the west suburbs in Lakewood, Colorado, in 1968. Dr. Sbarbaro was a world renowned expert in the field of Tuberculosis. During his career he worked with the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, the Institute of Medicine, the U.S. Institute of Allergy/Infectious Disease and the Institute of Heart/Lung, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Food and Drug Administration. He authored 18 book chapters and more than 160 journal articles.
Often Neil or I would call my Dad to run medical issues by him. His views were always unbiased, to the point, and clear in their direction. His influence and guidance upon my career continues to this day. I value the time spent in his presence and treasure the counsel he provided. He will be dearly missed.
1 Eilenn Welsome, Healers and Hell Raisers, Denver Health’s First 150 Years. (Denver: Paros Press, 2011). Page 147-148.
Any content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only.It is not intended to solicit business, provide legal advice from The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. and does not serve as a medium for an attorney-client relationship. Therefore, The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. is not responsible for the information on this blog which may not apply to every reader. Always seek professional counsel if you have any legal matters. Contents within the blog of The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C., logos and other related media are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions.
Controversy reigns over the "Fair and Safe Workplaces" Executive Order that Obama signed into law on August 5th
Those with labor law violations may be forced to disclose them publicly in order to secure big contracts. This can be a bit of a game-changer when it comes to deciding whether to bother contesting smaller OSHA citations. Whereas companies may've previously decided sometimes that it wasn't worth the bother--just pay the fine and be done with it--in light of this new law it may be worth it to contest them in hopes of wiping the record clean.
The other faction argues that this scores another Obama coup for the common worker, that it may help create a safer workplace.
“This is one of the most important positive steps for civil rights in the last 20 years,” says Paul Bland, executive director of Public Justice, a public-interest law group.
That may be a reference to the second part of the new law, which states that companies with federal contracts exceeding a cool million cannot force employees into arbitration and out of the limelight of court. But not everyone with a voice uses it for just purposes. Original Source
Any content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only.It is not intended to solicit business, provide legal advice from The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. and does not serve as a medium for an attorney-client relationship. Therefore, The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. is not responsible for the information on this blog which may not apply to every reader. Always seek professional counsel if you have any legal matters. Contents within the blog of The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C., logos and other related media are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions.
I can't believe I am talking about "wearables" for the second time in a week. I wrote about this on Monday with a discussion on the impact wearable technology will have on medical services and workers' compensation. I figured I was done with it for a while. Yet here we are again, and this time with one whiz bang idea for solving that pesky investigation issue that surrounds every workers' compensation claim.
This idea will clearly get me that Nobel or Pulitzer Prize. Either one. I’m not fussy.
It came to me just this morning, while I was reading an article about the NFLboosting their statistics tracking and accuracy with the use of RFID tags in the players shoulder pads. It seems these amazing little chips will allow NFL statisticians to know "real-time position data for each player", as well as "precise info on acceleration, speed, routes and distance". This is part of the NFL's "Next Gen Stats" initiative fortheir fans.
For those who are unaware, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology is the hot new thing. Essentially an RFID tag contains a passive ID chip that can be activated by receivers as it passes near them. It requires no battery power, and is highly reliable. Stores like Walmart now use them extensively to track and monitor inventory changes. Even my Florida SunPass tag uses one. The small sticker on my windshield allows me to zip through tolls and access parking at Tampa International Airport without talking to anyone or even rolling down my window. Of course, it also allows the state to bill me for that activity, and serves to notify the NSA that I am on the move again. But they probably already knew that. The complete loss of privacy is a small price to pay for not having to chat up a friendly toll taker.
I am so glad the NFL has gone with RFID. It is a much more reliable technology than those old scanner barcodes. That was a disaster - having to get the player to run into the end zone 6 times before the scanner could capture the touchdown - but I digress.....
While the source article was prattling on about all the useless stats fans could now have access too, I was thinking in an entirely different direction. I recognized that the NFL has inadvertently invented the personal "Black Box" for workplace accidents. Think about it. This is a technology that could be employed in offices and factories all over the country.
Employers could easily monitor "real-time position data for each employee", as well as "precise info on acceleration, speed, routes and distance" as they move throughout the day. An RFID enabled wearable could tell accident investigators if an employee was running when they slipped and fell down the stairs, as well as how many rotations they took as they progressed to the bottom. They could determine that an employee was idle in the break room at the time they claimed to be straining their back on the loading dock. And biometric sensors added to the RFID wearable could actually cross reference stress levels and physiological indicators to the time and location of the accident, giving a clearer view of events than ever before possible.
It is just like data used from airplane black boxes to reconstruct what actually happened to cause an accident. I am telling you, this technology could be a tremendous boon for risk managers and accident investigators everywhere. But why should they have all the fun?
Safety professionals could leverage the same technology to prevent accidents in the first place. Restaurant servers would no longer have to yell “corner” or “door” when traversing areas with visual limitations. Their RFID enabled monitors would send real time location updates of other employees in the vicinity to their heads up display located within their Google Glass. The system would issue potential collision warnings similar to those in today’s aviation industry. I’m telling you, Big Brother really may have all the answers after all.
Unless, of course, all the employees were watching internet porn on their Google Glass heads up display, and no work would get done anywhere. On the plus side, biometric sensors should pick up signs of unauthorized porn viewing, so it may be controllable after all.
The remaining challenge will be the design and implementation of the RFID Biometric Wearable Devices. Will they be embedded in the work clothes or uniforms, in bracelets, necklaces or other accessories, or simply implanted in our skulls? For the record, I do not recommend the skull implant method. My wife tells me my skull is so thick, the signal could never get out. Also, multiple sensors may need to be deployed on every employee, such as in shoes and on the head. This would be helpful for a truly accurate rotation count on those extended fall injuries.
So in the end, we may all be wired to the hilt, with no more need to verbally communicate in the workplace. But we will have our personal Black Boxes. We’ll all end up as fat people in our little floaty chairs. But damn it, if we oversensored tubbos have a collision, thanks to wearable technology, investigators will have a much clearer idea of what went tragically wrong.
And even though it is somewhat creepy and I am largely joking, I think we may actually have something here. Black Box Wearables. Coming soon to a workplace near you.
Any content of this blog is intended for informational purposes only.It is not intended to solicit business, provide legal advice from The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. and does not serve as a medium for an attorney-client relationship. Therefore, The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C. is not responsible for the information on this blog which may not apply to every reader. Always seek professional counsel if you have any legal matters. Contents within the blog of The Law Office of O'Toole & Sbarbaro, P.C., logos and other related media are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions.
COURTESY OF RICARDO MULERO
COURTESY OF RICARDO MULERO
