Document JNGdBeemzNLm9708n1QN89RmK

FILE NAME: Insurance Industry (INS) DATE: 1929 DOC#: INS038 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Dept of Labor Conference Proceedings with Article from Dr. Lanza of Met Life RE Occupational Diseases & Workers' Compensation I/W/7 is" UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR JAM ES J. DAVIS, Secretary bureau of labor statistics ETHELBERT STEWART, Commissioner u n it e d st a t e s BUR EAU Oh LABOR STATISTICS S C E L L A N EOUS .508 SERIES ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTAL OFFICIALS IN INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA llornu-rly Association rj CovernmM.tal labor OllirtaUj SIXTEENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION TORONTO, CANADA, JUNE 4-7 1929 J A N U A R Y , 1930 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING M C E W A S H I N G T O N ; 1930 F o r s a le b y t h e S u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f D,ocuments, Washington, D. C. Trice 30 c e n ts .). I. ere found a t the effective exhaust commonly it is 11 or inadequate nr a careful sur;ie installation of he comparatively emphasizes how control of dust ions under which spray booths do in the provision is using certain 1 to be examined :mg place and to control of which, rotective clothing, ation as a means resent conditions ! examinations is of poisoning only st be possible to 'or a few of the b is not possible, Lee physicians do have arisen. In 1 worker together worker complains detect changes in .an the iindings of \ ul from exposure provided through stunt in some of industrial poisonty and death are -ntion. Silicosis .d. a case of lead Jysis. where a few man to get. on his duon to return to (he control of the mdition shows no d himself. ir such industrial vcognized medical nsated if we are to hmen's compensa-alion of all medi- W C IIK M U N 'S COM I'KNSA'I 10,\ -- A. ,}. LANZA 171 eal conditions which m ight arise out of industry would no doubt be attended by serious difficulties. There are many cases of illness wherein it is impossible to determine the importance of industrial exposure either because the degree of exposure which would produce poisoning is unknown or the changes in the substances after they enter the body or the eflects they produce are indistinguishable from clinical manifestations due to many other causes. I b is situation is unlikely to improve until physicians come into ( loser contact with i n d u s t r y g e n e r a l l y . I t is in m a r k e d contrast to poisoning from a substance like chromium and its compounds, the effects of which have long been recognized, but the use of which lias recently been introduced into another process, namely, electroplat ing, apparently without any warning to the workmen exposed, result- mg m painful persistent ulcers and rashes which cause marked in convenience and frequently loss of time and wages. This is hardly excusable. J In the absence of information regarding the poisonous effects of many substances in use. all should he regarded as dangerous involv ing the installation of expensive equipment or some attempt should he made to find out the tacts. Distinction should be made between what is im portant and what, is not im portant. It is not reasonable to require elaborate precautions against substances such as ethyl acetate or cobalt, oxide, the toxicity of which is slight,, while men are being incapacitated by exposure to substances like lead, silica, benzol. It is interesting to note th a t in the investigation recently conducted by Sm yth and Smyth in Pennsylvania, out of 10 solvents and diluents used in paints and tested for toxicity, 1 stood out as being of first im portance, namely, butyl alcohol. Inform ation of this kind will g o a long way toward indicating where the emphasis should be laid. [The following paper was not read at the convention, but is in cluded here because of its interest and hearing on occupational diseases.] Specific Occupational Diseases ])r. A. J I a n z a . A s sistan t Medical D ire cto r, M e tr o p o lita n Life I n s u r a n c e C<>., Now York To attempt either to list the specific occupational hazards or to describ- them at length would he quite outside tin- possibilities of a paper such as (his. T ak in g it all m all, tin- actual m ortality and morbidity from .spe cific occupational poisonings an- small, however dram atic and tragic individual eases or groups of eases may he. The absence of accurate reporting of occupational poisonings makes the estimation of their prevalence difficult, but when compared with the great bulk of d is ability from accidents, that from occupational disease must be quite small. F o r reasons of cost, therefore, there, should not he any undue apprehension in including the specific occupational hazards within compensation laws. Certainly from the standpoint of logic and jus tice there can be no reason for depriving the victim of a specific occupational poisoning of (he compensation he would have received had his disability been due to an accident. In either case he suffers 172 M X T K F . N T M A X X I 'AI, M K R T t X G OF A. O. 0 . I. ftL W ' r >****" '! "iijial<j,,;,l i S K t o S S T T V " " " ,'" 1" ' x-l'i.lc of - J , of' i , Z n T r ? ! " " C,S 'V0I" ,, n o t " > " 111is is so. and 1 am inclined f / . K . r 1 ^ tfc ? n l) m nmms paid I f ' is implications. if not in priVi-eVc*!11 1 s/ ntpn,PIlt ls wide publicity. I - ccuiacy, it should he given oo'liiiliiio ,|,,,,. r ." * '< " - ...... lows by 'ire at once apparent When ,, ,, , i ' , y 'IikuIuos of diagnosis picture dcfinl! " Z p o i l i ^ n ^ r J x i o n *,^ n-h rok- ^ ^ - - u l the X-ray for argument. Hut when the claim' t 1010 ifi roo,1i ' 'i.'iely of svnipion' a (] \ * T le ,s s,Vk PTM*nts K t a 0! ^ r(',;iii0'"hip C0U!d & SJSSS^gg > h n u J L lZ u p T m o d i c a ! ? ^ nines, there flelermine whether the claimant h a s o r I n 1' ' ,of,)refl'ro<'s who would Haims c o m p e n s a tio n T o t L Z t,W ,!ls('as,' for ^ u c h evidemai presented before a lav t ribunal' i 1 '`X 1>a,'te .mp`li(,nl 'onfuMonand defeat the ends of justice. * < m ' nnmlt^ afed pal ion a I diseases shon'lcT ho t l m T u l e d T ^ imi0' !iS to- whl`(,1Pr M S3 U :k TMm ' .< & V tt& S administered Yu a'YYti.YiYdmw Yim\nYw 'iinT/l ^ ^ t h e * * S t o t l i * ^ f i " ' there is nothing in the historv of H,;c t . da * do now, and tioi1J`<.! ``'ho1sV1^ ar .`i o<v ,f;:,to<1 by lo- i' 1 ^ u m n L ttrvant tlw i,sMunp' ,,|";p ,>f 1"*f r y .^ Y l~ other country or t hat of another State as h Y - Y Y SC.he(Iule of :ll>- 2 t ? " ^ ' Z Z e Z u i ? ^ S T nfo^? h* " " ,al " w aave ,,^,,,,,,2 a,,d w i Wui: I f schedules of < istered, it is imi > diseases mav froi, necessity of gome official charged a should be clothe.', which are found ; will lag Impeles-; , Let the S t a te ! to determine th...... ties or the incide;' to the SClieduie an form that it mav : pensation for o, the various diaum knowledge of the implies cooperate occupational di board of health i The American standard practice This committee ithe more import. Later the commit: personnel o f th e come into contact mittee is hampeie tained in the \ a readily available. Compensation : sary, and should the total amount . tively small. Compensation i t thought out and if they are to he c There should he nature of cases of sated, the amount -Lets schedtilin:, should be won le,! I added to or mod, arises witliouL tlm new legislation. Finally every et of methods and n - and those which 1, -o< legal interpretation o words--accident and of the last annual meet s'- made that to include . acts would not mean on premiums paid I f :he statement is correct it should be given oter into the reluctance compensation laws by Mlicultios of diagnosis :en leg. and the X-ray ry there is little room -.e is sick and presents ci evidence is presented > dust or fumes he has videnee is forthcoming <e case, Solomon might upational illness, there of referees who would it the disease for which *r to ex p arte medical . to cause unmitigated me as to whether occttmpensation or whether d in one blanket law. nclined to believe that schedule tends to pro to its enforcement. As M be no discrimination is a wide gulf between lit it will fulfill the -es are not going to be the State officials, the : least, the physicians, `an they do now, and to warrant the assumpu-nt. d isea.se> as the experi`"try. of industrial phyms as occurring in that `to the schedule of auicen clone in some of the ml negative its enforceif the States and Proynever will occur there. W o t i KM JON >S COM IUCNS VTION a . .r. i . c x z t 173 S m " 1" i m , r ; r n s tl I(c <lis,'us,r are to be admin- diseases n m Z t V r provision he made so that additional necessity o/o! i [ ^ iUi1<lo(I to tllG " hadule witho.it the X i a T c h a r S f-M St," C 1(- `f f("' <],ority. The State Shouid be > 1 r t h c he of administering the law S a t f o i l f 1 TMtl>onty to add to the schedule diseases w 11 h" h o f X ^ h 'V lm. Stai(!>o th e rwise the schedule et the 4 S y ' Hl lK` 11W!ils. 01 i )resent industrial conditions, to -b t ` . bu" `a,ls inIt'rested devote reasonable time and study to deter ,,me the extent oi these scheduled diseases in their commimi t0 thti s `hVln'l"11<M" T 1 MlH'r " ' 'T ,1''*'- ,list`as(`H w,lidl sliotdd he added L form that it iimv hr ` " ;m l,,lbllsh th" ia annually m such ptienssa,ttiomn foi o?ccbup1atriKoHnlable diseaass<e'(`sr,tihllonw!l0mwanmyechase'sasocpcauidrreind coanmd the \ ,uioua diagnoses. In th a t manner only can we build im . knowledge oi the situation with which wo are try in g to cope This implies _cooperation with State hoar,Is of health so th a t when an oic upalional disease is recognized, as occurring in the State the bo.ird o health may put it on the list of reportable diseases ' I he American Public H ealth Association has a committee on sta n d a id jn act ices m the compensation of occupational diseases I his committee is endeavoring to establish standards of dia<mosis of the more im p o rtan t and more prevalent occupational poTsomiio-, Jmter the committee hopes to establish standards of disability dhe personnel ot tile committee consists mainly of State officials who come into contact with compensation and its problems. Hut the com mittee is hampered by (he lack ol inform ation, which, while con tam ed m the various State, records, is not m such form as to be readily available. SI MMAKV Compensation tor specific occupational disease is just and neces sary, and should he so recognized by law regardless of the, fact that the total amount of compensation involved would probably be rela tively small. J Compensation laws for occupational diseases need to he carefully thought out and require special machinery for (heir administration it they are to he enforced with efficiency. There should he available in State records annually the number and nature ot cases ol occupational disease reported, the number compen sated, the amount ol compensation, and the extent of disability Acts scheduling occupational diseases which are compensable should he worded m such a way that the list of these diseases IUUV he added to or modified through some suitable procedure when heed arises without the cumbersome and prohibitive method of enactiim new legislation. ^ Filially every effort should lie made to make possible comparison ot methods and results as between States which have (he blanket law and those which have schedules of occupational di-oases so that the 174 S I X T E E N T H AN N' HAI, M E E T I N G OK A. G. O. I. advantages and disadvantages of each system may be thoroughly appreciated. [Convention adjourned.] HONORARY I.IKK MKMBKRS G eorge I*. 1Ia .mhiu.c i i t . W is co nsin . Kk a n k 10. Wood, Louisiana. Linn a B besette, Illinois. D r. <1. U. Co.vnk m .ev , P e n n s y l v a n i a . J ohn H. H all, Jr., Virginia. H e k h a n W itteh, Uliio. J o h n S. 1!. D avie, N ew H a m p s h i r e . K. II. L ansiiukuh, P ennsylvania. A lice McF arland, Kansas. American Representative, International Dr. A nd r ew F. M c H kide, New Jersey. A. L. U k ic k , Iowa. T.abor Olile. Appendix A.--As: Repn. Tim Association of : the following 22 safe' , proved hy the Amorm .! 9-- Buihlint/ c.ntx R e p r e s e n t a t i v e . -- <f hurg. Pa. Approved as Ann"" added, nml work is n places of public assra A 10-- Stif f ti/ rotlr fn< U eprescntat ivo. -- t A Owing to an Impas-.' of (Tenoral ( 'out raefo, in 1!)2S. ( icn c ral den tractors and Associate; sponsorship. No rep!;, A I f -- S a f e l y rode /o>' R e p r e s e n t a t i v e .---K i Last meeting iield ! A n -- S a f e l ;/ rot l r jo! Representative.-- ,P h Mass. Approved as Amorio prerations, and recomr d u r i n g p a st year. M.". the new addition is u A :f-- Safely rode for Itepi('senfative.--<'v tm-g, I 'a : H a r r y K H artford. Conn. Code-draft commitr-'. grossing under new rh R N-- S a f c t i i rt i dr f o r tR e p r e s e n t a t i v e . -- t V, Approved as Ameri<" present. R !>-- Setfctu codr f o r ' R e p re s e n ta t ive -- M. York. X. Y. Compromises have n tors l\v the sectional the sponsor for tlie app recommended praet ice exeuili'O committee ' tion. The siionsnr ha ati-ly with the eonside lias yet been taken. R fl)-- Safely codr for R e presentative.-- J o !. Mass. Xo revision content! R SJj-- S a f e t y code tor R e p r e s e n t a t i v e -- f t Approved ns Ameri