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Court rules husband of Edison AT&T worker who died from blood clot entitled to worker's compensation
nj.com ^ | Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 7:32 AM | Christopher Baxter

Posted on 06/29/2011 6:27:44 PM PDT by Pan_Yan

EDISON — The husband of an AT&T manager who died from a blood clot after sitting at her desk for more than 10 hours one night is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, an appellate court ruled today.

In 2007, Cathleen Renner, who worked for the communications giant for 25 years, died from a clot in her lung about an hour after she finished working a long, sedentary shift at her computer in her home office in Edison, the ruling states.

"There’s an awful lot of people that do nothing but sit in front of computers for work these days, and there’s a certain risk involved with that," said Patrick Caulfield, a lawyer for the family.

The appellate court upheld a lower judge’s decision that Renner’s fatal condition, known as a pulmonary embolism, was caused by her work and that her husband, James, is entitled to benefits under the state’s workers’ compensation law.

The case, which workers’ compensation experts said was the first of its kind they could recall, should give serious pause to any office worker tied to a desk for hours on end as well as to an employer, Caulfield said.

AT&T contended that Renner’s work was no more a threat to her health than her day-to-day lifestyle, the ruling states. The company also said many factors besides her work contributed to her death. A lawyer for AT&T did not return a message seeking comment.

Dr. Leon Waller, who testified on behalf of the 47-year-old Renner, acknowledged the mother of three had other risk factors like obesity and the use of birth control pills, the ruling states. But Waller found that Renner’s clot developed while she was working.

(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: att; business; homeoffice; insurance; workathome; workerscomp
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This could have some interesting ramifications.
1 posted on 06/29/2011 6:27:48 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
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To: Pan_Yan

Oh, yeah... My wife works for IBM like this and she has to make the effort to get up and move around because the work is so computer-centric.

I’m sending this to her e-mail. Her reaction should be interesting.


2 posted on 06/29/2011 6:33:05 PM PDT by The Working Man
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To: Pan_Yan

So anyone who dies for any reason on the job now qualifies for compensation? Lovely.


3 posted on 06/29/2011 6:34:53 PM PDT by Kozak ("It's not an Election it's a Restraining Order" .....PJ O'Rourke)
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To: Pan_Yan

We have standing workstations and desks etc....

Aspirin a day helps but ya have to MOVE people. Go take a fast walk around the yard or block if ya work at home. Set a laptop on your exercise bike or treadmill is also an option.

But working at home or not.... Leave yerself some wiggle time !


4 posted on 06/29/2011 6:40:59 PM PDT by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet)
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To: Squantos

I’ve worked in office buildings for the last ten years and you never know when the next ambulance will arrive or why. Most of the people in my building now are pretty healthy (financial firms) but I’ve worked in buildings with large call centers (read: hundreds of low paid cubicle dwellers) and they were not so healthy. I can say from my own observations and my own experience it’s easy to get lethargic and harder to get moving again.


5 posted on 06/29/2011 6:46:37 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
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To: Pan_Yan

I will direct my estate to sue FreeRepublic.com!


6 posted on 06/29/2011 6:47:08 PM PDT by Incorrigible (If I lead, follow me; If I pause, push me; If I retreat, kill me.)
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To: Pan_Yan
had other risk factors like obesity and the use of birth control pills

In short, employees are no longer responsible for their own health. This ruling makes the Greeks look like pikers.

7 posted on 06/29/2011 6:54:04 PM PDT by John123 (US$ - I owe you nothing. Euro - Who owes you nothing.)
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To: Pan_Yan
had other risk factors like obesity and the use of birth control pills

In short, employees are no longer responsible for their own health. This ruling makes the Greeks look like pikers.

8 posted on 06/29/2011 6:54:18 PM PDT by John123 (US$ - I owe you nothing. Euro - Who owes you nothing.)
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To: Pan_Yan
This could have some interesting ramifications.

Yeah, the government could require all American employers to start doing those same calesthetic routines that Japanese employees have to do all the time.

9 posted on 06/29/2011 6:58:23 PM PDT by Tamar1973
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To: Pan_Yan

I understand... Ergonomic seating is rare in the cookie cutter sheep pens unless high dollar Herman Miller is available.

I’m lucky in that I am moving around in an engineering environment that mixes tools an computers etc an moving around a large complex etc...

Not a skateboarding x generation sort of work play environment but more a work rest move an compute commute sort of thang.

Folks have to take responsibility for their own health ...yer managers don’t really care IMO.

Yet this case may change some stuff at work......recess !


10 posted on 06/29/2011 6:59:35 PM PDT by Squantos (Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet)
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To: Squantos

I think you and I might be in either the same profession or really close. My time is about 30% desk, 70% moving around.


11 posted on 06/29/2011 7:06:54 PM PDT by Pan_Yan
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To: John123
In short, employees are no longer responsible for their own health. This ruling makes the Greeks look like pikers.

It depends. As a management employee and software developer, I have control of my hours and breaks. At this moment, I have worked over 30 hours since Monday morning. Most of them at my desk writing code. I do get up and check on my team members. I make sure they aren't hitting development roadblocks and help them over the rough spots.

There are many "call center" folks who punch a time clock. They are glued to their seats and computers for hours. The calls come one after the next. Break times are assigned and/or granted as the workload permits. The individual employee has little control over "moving around" during the shift. That happens when it is permitted.

The hourly shift workers glued to a terminal are a different case from my arrangements. The worker's comp ruling was probably correct in this case.

12 posted on 06/29/2011 7:16:59 PM PDT by Myrddin
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To: Pan_Yan

Funny to see this post, for no good reason I was thinking about this case today. Maybe I saw or heard something subliminally about this decision, since I live in NJ.


13 posted on 06/29/2011 7:20:42 PM PDT by jocon307
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To: John123

I’m sorry, but there is no way to prove this. She wasn’t chained to her desk, and she must have had to poop and tinkle at some time. Not to mention eat.


14 posted on 06/29/2011 7:26:30 PM PDT by boop ("Let's just say they'll be satisfied with LESS"... Ming the Merciless)
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To: Pan_Yan

I’ll bite. What kind of workmens compensation could the husband get? Husband is crippled, has no arms or legs, retarded, doesn’t like to work?????


15 posted on 06/29/2011 7:30:16 PM PDT by RetiredTexasVet (There's a pill for just about everything ... except stupid!)
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To: Pan_Yan
Very similar to "Severe pulmonary embolism associated with air travel". This problem is easily treated with aspirin and moving about every couple hours.
16 posted on 06/29/2011 7:32:47 PM PDT by PA Engineer (SP/AW12: Time to beat the swords of government tyranny into the plowshares of freedom.)
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To: Kozak

Well the article says she died one hour after work, so I guess this means, EVERYONE who works can use this (at work or not).


17 posted on 06/29/2011 7:34:47 PM PDT by packrat35 (America is rapidly becoming a police state that East Germany could be proud of!)
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To: Pan_Yan

More time to play guitar is a good thing.


18 posted on 06/29/2011 8:04:12 PM PDT by wastedyears (SEAL SIX makes me proud to have been playing SOCOM since 2003.)
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To: All; Squantos
sedentary shift at her computer in her home office in Edison

This happened AT HOME. She was responsible for her own ergonomic environment. She was not chained to a cubicle.

She could've spoken with her physician about risks related to obesity and birth control (a 47 yo woman using birth control pills?) and a sedentary lifestyle.

This ruling could have a chilling effect on "work from home" scenarios. Trip in the home office? Workman's comp. Cut yourself? Workman's comp. The possibilities are endless and trial lawyers will salivate.

AT&T should appeal & Congress should take action to limit workman's comp liability.

19 posted on 06/29/2011 8:43:01 PM PDT by newzjunkey (widower's lawyer denigrates deceased by suggesting she did "nothing but sit")
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To: Myrddin
She was WORKING FROM HOME.

What part of that did you not understand?

20 posted on 06/29/2011 8:46:33 PM PDT by newzjunkey
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