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Workman's comp assclowns suck!

jonnyGURU

jonnyGURU

Moderator <BR> Power Supplies
Moderator
On Friday, my wife's school put weather sealant on the roof. The roofers left paperwork stating that the sealant contained 500 PPM of Mineral Spirits and that if there was prolonged exposure, one could exhibit eye, skin and respiratory tract irritation with symptoms of redness and swelling of eyes and skin.

Today, after about four hours at the school, my wife looked like she had been crying for four hours straight. The office told her that there were some other cases, gave her a copy of the hazmat report left by the contractors and told her to go to workman's comp office downtown.

She went to the workman's comp office and they told her that she needed an appointment. They told her to come back at 1PM, which was 1.5 hours from when she was there originally.

After 1.5 hours of fresh air, she returned to the workman's comp office where they exmanied her and told her she was fine. "Of course I'm fine! I haven't been back at the school for 2 hours!"

They decided to use a sick day for her absence (which is BS) and told her to go back to school the next day! What happens if the fumes bother her tomorrow too? WTF?!?!?
 
Originally posted by: MacBaine
Workman's comp for what?
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She couldn't work cause she got all poisoned and stuff.

Yeah they suck. My friend got hurt at work and was off for 10 days. They didn't pay him for the time he was off, shortchanged him, and made him go through a lot of trouble to get what he had coming to him.
 
if it was that bad, contact osha. if all they left was msds detailing the chemicals it would be one thing, if they left information otherwise that caused problems, then i would consider that an osha violation. won't help with workers comp, but....

I thought teachers unions had good union benefits>?
 
Originally posted by: theblackbox
if it was that bad, contact osha. if all they left was msds detailing the chemicals it would be one thing, if they left information otherwise that caused problems, then i would consider that an osha violation. won't help with workers comp, but....

I thought teachers unions had good union benefits>?
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Wow. You actually know what you're talking about. The papers they left were MSDS. I don't even know what that means, but that's what it says. And yes, there's information that prolonged exposure to the chemical may cause problems.

Teacher's with good benefits? That's a loaded statement. It depends. They have good benefits without raping their already tiny paychecks, but this wasn't a matter of medical attention. If she went to the doctor, they would prescribe Benydryl and charged us a $20 co-pay (and $10 for the prescription.) Instead, everyone thought that this was a matter for Workman's Comp, which if she was still showing symptoms would have been and they would have then told her to see a doctor, get a note and she'd get paid for however many days it would take for the fumes to dissipate. But because she had two hours of fresh air before they'd see her, they said "no dice" and now it's a sick day AGAINST HER. Tomorrow will likely be more of the same.
:disgust:

I can't afford to have Workman's Comp spend all of our sick days like this. I can understand why they didn't wait until Summer Break. The hurricanes wreaked havoc on the roof and it was leaking. Immediate action needed to be taken, but why make the teachers suffer at their own expense???
 
msds is a material saftey data sheet, when a chemical is used, you have to have one on file. If the contractors did their part and provided info to school administration and the admin did not take proper precautions, and it sounds like she wasn't the only one, that could be a bit of a problem for the school administration, especially if any students got ill.

Be sure to document anything having to do with it. If you see a doctor, if it doesn't follow what employer provided as far as w/c, you will probably have to pay out of pocket, or out of insurance if you have it. Unfortunately workers comp is a horrible way to go, as it always makes the sick and disabled jump through hoops to get the basic care they should be afforded.

I would recommend she be careful, and see a doctor. Past that, unless a large group of people complained, it was documented, and such, it's a hard uphill road for w/c to get them to do anything.
I wish you luck, as well as your wife, and hope it works out.

If she does have a labor relations board, she may want to consider an appeal to it, if the teachers union has such, and bring forth any such documentation. I can't believe they would be so lackluster and not take a complaint serious enough to deny her because of not having an appointment, then dock her the day.

I used to work for General Motors as First Response on one of the assembaly lines (arlington tx), and had to deal with osha quite a lot.
 
Originally posted by: theblackbox

I used to work for General Motors as First Response on one of the assembaly lines (arlington tx), and had to deal with osha quite a lot.
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Ah! I see.

Well, I just emailed OSHA the details. I don't expect anything really. I just think someone should know outside of the circle of school board bureaucracy. If she goes back to school tomorrow and they tell her to take another sick day, I will PERSONALLY get involved with administration.

Maybe I should call up one of those news investigation programs. 😀
 
Workers Comp for a job related half day illness? And they replied on the same day? School district insurance pays for the doctor visit and most teachers are salary so no loss there. Your story doesn't add up.
What are you leaving out?
 
Originally posted by: Grouchyoldguy
Workers Comp for a job related half day illness? And they replied on the same day? School district insurance pays for the doctor visit and most teachers are salary so no loss there. Your story doesn't add up.
What are you leaving out?
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It all adds up. Whip out a calculator.

Workers comp vs. Sick day? Save the sick day for being sick OFF the job. Not getting sick for fumes AT work.

Hlaf day? Same day? Does it matter? If she stayed all day, she'd be sick all day. And what if the fumes are still there. Hell... They lasted all weekend. How much longer is the place going to smell like Mineral Spirits?

School district pays for doctor visits the same way YOUR JOB or MY JOB pays for doctors visits. There's still a deductable, and you still have to schedule an appointment which may take... HOW LONG... before you get to see your regular family practice?

Yes, teachers are paid salary, but they're only allowed so many sick days and tardies. With an asthmatic child to have to sometimes stay home with, we can use all the sick days we can get! Salary is still based on a per hour idea one the school system has to calculate missed hours. Teachers can't just disappear for a day and not be held accountable. Do you really think teacher jobs are that plush?

Sounds like you've never had a salary job, needed a sick day, needed a doctor or had an on the job illness or injury. Am I correct?
 
I am a Hazardous Materials Specialist AND I am on Workers Comp.
As far as I can see, the biggest problem is how long will it take for the product that was applied to set up and stop off gassing? If it is going to take a while, the students and teachers should be moved. You need to find this out. Personally, I'd contact the applicator.
Workers Comp sucks but they should have checked out your wife and seen her as was appropriate. They should not have sent her away without seeing her. If she is going back to the doctor again, have her take the MSDS.
Generally, if a person is injured at work and only loses that day (goes home sick), it is not a "Lost Time Accident". If she were to miss the next day, it may be. Companies try to avoid lost time accidents. There is no way in hell, it should be on her sick leave. They should have given her paperwork to fill out for workers comp. In my outfit, all subsequent doctor visits are on sick leave but you get the time back.
 
Well, problem is she hasn't seen the doctor because she's fine after she spends time AWAY from the school. While at the school, it was the administration at the office and the on-site nurse that made the determination that the problem was the water sealant. The sealant was applied toward the end of the day on Friday, and by then it was so strong that EVERYONE was feeling sick, so they were familiar with the symptoms. But it was so close to the end of the day, people put up with it for the couple hours and wen't home.
 
I am a Hazardous Materials Specialist AND I am on Workers Comp.
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Now thats indirectly saying, accidents happen 🙂

What do you do? I dealt with confined space rescue, first response, and hazmat for GM. We'd have more line accidents then spills, but once in a while we actually got to work. Mostly though, we had to deal with B and W's gone astray where a glove or something would catch fire, and it would go from there.
 
Originally posted by: theblackbox
I am a Hazardous Materials Specialist AND I am on Workers Comp.
Click to expand...

Now thats indirectly saying, accidents happen 🙂

What do you do? I dealt with confined space rescue, first response, and hazmat for GM. We'd have more line accidents then spills, but once in a while we actually got to work. Mostly though, we had to deal with B and W's gone astray where a glove or something would catch fire, and it would go from there.
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I work for the California Department of Transportation.
I am a Specialist and I teach First Responder Awareness, First Responder Operations and Nuclear Biological and Chemical Operations. I am trained in confined space operations but don't do any.
 
Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
Originally posted by: Grouchyoldguy
Workers Comp for a job related half day illness? And they replied on the same day? School district insurance pays for the doctor visit and most teachers are salary so no loss there. Your story doesn't add up.
What are you leaving out?
Click to expand...

It all adds up. Whip out a calculator.

Workers comp vs. Sick day? Save the sick day for being sick OFF the job. Not getting sick for fumes AT work.

Hlaf day? Same day? Does it matter? If she stayed all day, she'd be sick all day. And what if the fumes are still there. Hell... They lasted all weekend. How much longer is the place going to smell like Mineral Spirits?

School district pays for doctor visits the same way YOUR JOB or MY JOB pays for doctors visits. There's still a deductable, and you still have to schedule an appointment which may take... HOW LONG... before you get to see your regular family practice?

Yes, teachers are paid salary, but they're only allowed so many sick days and tardies. With an asthmatic child to have to sometimes stay home with, we can use all the sick days we can get! Salary is still based on a per hour idea one the school system has to calculate missed hours. Teachers can't just disappear for a day and not be held accountable. Do you really think teacher jobs are that plush?

Sounds like you've never had a salary job, needed a sick day, needed a doctor or had an on the job illness or injury. Am I correct?
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Incorrect on all counts. I was a salaried employee for the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. I've been sick, injured on the job, the whole nine yards. As i reread your post I see she never went to the doctor. I thought she saw a doctor and was denied. Makes a little more sense now but she did the wrong thing. She should have gone straight for medical attention. If she left work saying something in the building caused her illness than you can bet they wanted her to see a doctor.
 
Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
Well, problem is she hasn't seen the doctor because she's fine after she spends time AWAY from the school. While at the school, it was the administration at the office and the on-site nurse that made the determination that the problem was the water sealant. The sealant was applied toward the end of the day on Friday, and by then it was so strong that EVERYONE was feeling sick, so they were familiar with the symptoms. But it was so close to the end of the day, people put up with it for the couple hours and wen't home.
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When you say they examined her at the workers comp office, I assume you mean the doctor that the school contracts with? Not the bureaucrats at Workers Comp?
 
Grouchy: Thanks for re-reading the post. She went to worker's comp as per the school's recommendation. She was informed by admin that this was the SOP.

At the worker's comp office they had a nurse practitioner that examined her for symptoms. Of course, she had no symptoms, so she was dismissed.
 
Now she appeals with as much documentation as she can muster. Having their own doctor at workers comp is a bit of a conflict of interest. Where I am they send you to the clinic. They don't want a workers comp claim so they try to get you back to work asap without w/c being involved.
 
Originally posted by: Grouchyoldguy
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On that note, and further response to your second to last post, she would've had symptoms if she had gone to an ER from the school.... but you know human nature.... Who REALLY wants to go to an ER?

Of course, tomorrow is another day, so if things don't change...... maybe we WILL go to an ER.

After your edit edit: Documentation consists only of an MSDS and a documented "visit" to Worker's Comp, unfortunately. Fortunately, there's the witness account of the entire school, so if worst came to worst....

 
UPDATE: Yesterday, my wife felt fine. I still submitted a complaint to OSHA via email, just so someone knows about the problem.

Last night, I'm watching the news before I go to bed and see MY WIFE'S SCHOOL!

They were reporting on how the roof was being fixed while teachers and students were present and that it should have never been done that way and that teachers were being sent home sick because of it.

NO WAY!!!!!!
 
Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
UPDATE: Yesterday, my wife felt fine. I still submitted a complaint to OSHA via email, just so someone knows about the problem.

Last night, I'm watching the news before I go to bed and see MY WIFE'S SCHOOL!

They were reporting on how the roof was being fixed while teachers and students were present and that it should have never been done that way and that teachers were being sent home sick because of it.

NO WAY!!!!!!
Click to expand...

You need to remind the workman's comp office about the item on the news. 🙂

 
Originally posted by: Tiles2Tech
Originally posted by: jonnyGURU
UPDATE: Yesterday, my wife felt fine. I still submitted a complaint to OSHA via email, just so someone knows about the problem.

Last night, I'm watching the news before I go to bed and see MY WIFE'S SCHOOL!

They were reporting on how the roof was being fixed while teachers and students were present and that it should have never been done that way and that teachers were being sent home sick because of it.

NO WAY!!!!!!
Click to expand...

You need to remind the workman's comp office about the item on the news. 🙂
Click to expand...

I think I'lll ride this one out, actually.

When the reporter interviewed one of the teachers that was complaining about symptoms, my wife pointed at the TV and said, "She'll be gone soon." Apparently, when things like this happen, they make the teacher's life as miserable as possible until the put in a transfer to another school.

I'll let other teachers get in hot water while my wife reaps the benefits. 😉

 
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