{"id":4898,"date":"2020-03-19T14:16:54","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T18:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/?p=4898"},"modified":"2020-05-26T13:47:23","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T17:47:23","slug":"more-jlrac-recommendations-and-more-on-presumptive-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/more-jlrac-recommendations-and-more-on-presumptive-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"More JLRAC Recommendations and More on Presumptive Diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the third in a series of recommendations by t<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/jlarc.virginia.gov\/landing-2019-workers-compensation.asp\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (JLARC) for how to improve the Virginia <a href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/practice-areas\/workers-compensation\/\">Workers\u2019 Compensation<\/a> system. Earlier articles discussed executive recommendations and legislative recommendations. This article is a continuation of the legislative recommendations.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><i>Legislative recommendations<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recommendations 21. The JLARC recommends that the Virginia General Assembly consider changing the Virginia Workers\u2019 Compensation laws to address amending the criteria for establishing presumptions with respect to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/occupational-disease-for-first-responders\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">certain occupational diseases of first responders<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Total or partial disability \u2013 can be shown through wage loss, lost work time, or medical evidence<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Workers who seek only medical benefits should for a total or partial disability should only be required to submit medical evidence<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recommendation 22. The JLARC recommends that the state legislature consider amending the state workers\u2019 compensation laws for certain occupations diseases of first responders to reduce the \u201cyears of service requirements from 12 years.\u201d Right now, they must show continuous service of 12 years to be eligible for the disease presumptions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recommendation 23. The Virginia General Assembly should consider amending the current work injury laws so that the word \u201ccontinuous\u201d is removed from the years of service requirement part of \u00a7 65.2-402.c for first responders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><i>Option recommendations<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The JLARC also recommends that the following options be considered by the Virginia General Assembly regarding amending \u00a7 65.2-402 of the Code of Virginia (the state\u2019s workers\u2019 compensation law):<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Option 1. \u201cTo add brain and testicular cancers to the list of cancers that are presumed to have been caused by firefighting.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Option 2. \u201cTo add colon cancer to the list of cancers that are presumed to have been caused by firefighting.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Option 3. \u201cTo specify that the presumptions for breast, colon, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers covered by the statute shall not apply to workers\u2019 compensation claims submitted after June 30, 2030.\u201d Prior to June 30, 2030, the state legislature could direct that there be a study of the latest national research to determine if there is an \u201cassociation between firefighting and these cancers.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Option 4. \u201cTo require that workers\u2019 compensation claimants have completed a minimum number of years of service as a firefighter or police officer, including any time spent in required training, to claim the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cardiovascular disease presumption.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b><i>Presumptive diseases and workers\u2019 compensation<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Presumptive disease laws, according to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsurance.com\/article\/20140608\/NEWS06\/306089985\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Business Insurance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, have been in place in many states to help protect firefighters, police officers, and other first responders such as EMT personnel. The presumptions are used in occupational illness cases. Anyone who is hurt in a workplace accident has the general right to file a workers\u2019 compensation claim provided that the accident caused their injuries, but occupational disease cases do not require a specific accident to have occurred.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/virginia-workers-compensation-for-occupational-diseases-2\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occupational disease claims<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are based on the premise that some workers are exposed to unique hazards at work that are beyond those to which the general public is exposed.\u00a0 Normally, workers have the burden of proof to show:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That the occupational illness\/disease was caused by conditions that are unique to the worker\u2019s type of employment<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That the occupational illness was not a disease that a worker would generally develop in the same way the general public would develop the disease.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unless the disease is one that is typically recognized in the case law and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/title65.2\/chapter4\/section65.2-406\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">statutory law<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as an occupational disease, proving these two elements can be quite difficult. The presumption that a disease is occupational shifts the burden to the employer to show that the disease uniqueness and causation factors do not explain the worker\u2019s illness. Otherwise, the disease is considered an \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/virginia-workers-compensation-for-occupational-diseases-2\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ordinary disease of life\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and to be compensable, the injured worker must meet a standard of \u201cclear and convincing evidence.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Presumption laws in many states already help emergency personnel and other first responders by allowing for presumptions for heart and lung disease. Business Insiders says that there is push in many states to apply the presumption of compensability to other disorders such as:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many different types of cancers<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The shift in presumptions is generally a balance argument. Employers argue that shifting the presumptions will increase their employer insurance costs. Opponents of expanding presumptions argue that public safety workers in some states have other types of occupational disease protections or that that emergency responders are trained to handle some of these disorders such as stress situations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Advocates for firefighters, police officers, and other ER officers argue that the shift is only fair because these brave workers put their lives on the line every day. Opponents to expanding the presumptions argue that, \u201cThere&#8217;s greater scientific knowledge, but that doesn&#8217;t mean that it&#8217;s all attributable to the workplace, and municipalities are very vigorous in their opposition of expanding the costs of workers compensation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the International Association of Fire Fighters, over 40 states have some type of presumption allocation for public employees in the areas of heart and lung disease, cancer, infectious diseases, or mental health diseases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cA 2013 study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that firefighters have increased rates of cancer. That data has led to an influx of proposed cancer presumptions, said Jim Brinkley, Washington-based director of occupational health and safety at the International Association of Fire Fighters. Opponents argue that the scientific connections showing links between the workplace conditions and diseases are not strong enough yet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As discussed in a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/occupational-disease-for-first-responders\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">previous article<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, although Virginia does have such presumptions in place for certain cancers amongst firefighters, Virginia has made the standards of proof difficult to meet in the event a firefighter should contract cancer, even listed cancers such as pancreatic cancer, since we have no idea what causes pancreatic cancer.\u00a0 That is why the JLARC has recommended a loosening of those standards for our first responders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virginia work injury attorney Joe Miller Esq. understands Virginia workers\u2019 compensation law and keeps current with any changes. He understands that while many workers file claims based on workplace injuries, workers who spend a lot of time with an employer and become ill due to the type of work they do should also be able to demand workers\u2019 compensation. For help with all workers\u2019 compensation claims in Virginia, call Joe Miller, Esq., at <\/span><b><a href=\"tel:\/\/888-694-1671\" title=\"888-694-1671\">888-694-1671<\/a><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0or complete my online <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/contact-us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contact form<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to schedule an appointment. Cases are handled on a contingency fee basis.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is the third in a series of recommendations by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) for how to improve the Virginia Workers\u2019 Compensation system. Earlier articles discussed executive recommendations and legislative recommendations. This article is a continuation of the legislative recommendations. Legislative recommendations Recommendations 21. The JLARC recommends that the Virginia General &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"More JLRAC Recommendations and More on Presumptive Diseases\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/more-jlrac-recommendations-and-more-on-presumptive-diseases\/#more-4898\" aria-label=\"Read more about More JLRAC Recommendations and More on Presumptive Diseases\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,97,31],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Joe Miller","author_link":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/author\/jmiller\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"This is the third in a series of recommendations by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) for how to improve the Virginia Workers\u2019 Compensation system. Earlier articles discussed executive recommendations and legislative recommendations. This article is a continuation of the legislative recommendations. Legislative recommendations Recommendations 21. The JLARC recommends that the Virginia General&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4898"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}