DISCOVERING WORK-RELATED INJURIES

Employees must notify their employers of work-related injuries within 120 days of the occurrence of the injuries. A Pennsylvania factory technician recently won her request to lengthen that deadline.

In carrying out her job duties, the technician tested plastic pellets for quality and conformance to specifications. While doing so, she was regularly exposed to hot fumes and dust from the processing of numerous chemicals, including formaldehyde. About five years after starting the job, the technician began to experience chronic respiratory distress and frequent bronchitis. Thirteen years after she started the job, the technician was diagnosed as suffering from emphysema, related both to her former smoking habits and her exposure to chemical fumes at work.

On the advice of her physician, the technician reported the cause of her injury to her employer and asked to be issued a special respirator on her return to work. The employer refused and dismissed her because she was not physically fit to work at the plant. Fourteen years after commencing her employment, the technician filed a workers' compensation claim. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the worker's right to pursue compensation from her employer. The court found that workers do not have to give notice to their employers within 120 days of an injury if the nature of their injury or the injury's connection to their job duties are unknown to the employee. Distinguishing injuries that are the result of sudden accidents, the court found that where an injury is a "slow and silent process" workers are obliged to inform their employers within 120 days of their medical diagnosis or as soon as they are actually aware of the nature of their health problems. Workers who suffer from slowly developing, chronic diseases and conditions do have a duty to act reasonably in sharing information with their employers.

Employers whose workplace conditions can contribute to workers' chronic injuries should consider providing their employees with periodic diagnostic screening in order to best monitor and control work-related injuries.

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