A Nebraska workers' compensation judge awarded total disability benefits to a registered nurse as a result of her latex sensitivity. In determining the injured worker's disability, the Court evaluated not only her physical symptoms, but also took into consideration her psychological stress factors and declared her totally disabled from a psychiatric standpoint.

 A registered nurse was able to meet the burden of proof by demonstrating that her exposure at work was significant and therefore materially contributed to her latex sensitivity. The Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board recently held that a registered nurse submitted sufficient competent evidence to support her claim that as a result of her exposure to latex gloves at work she developed increased sensitivity.

Mysterious skin rashes, watery eyes and laryngitis attacked Susan Sharrock in 1990.  She found the answer to her ailments in the palms of her ...

The Nebraska workers' compensation court has followed the theory adopted by a majority of jurisdictions in the United States and has accepted the single reaction theory of compensability for latex allergy claims. Even though a latex sensitized nurse worked for a subsequent employer and developed subsequent allergic reactions, the Nebraska court held that a single incident of an exposure with resulting symptomatology many years earlier requiring medical treatment was an incident for which compensability could be attributed. In following this position and rejecting "the last injurious rule" theory, Nebraska has simplified the procedure to obtain workers' compensation benefits and avoided complex and expensive litigation requiring multiple parties to appear in order to apportion liability.  

In affirming a $1 million verdict a Wisconsin appellate tribunal recognized the “horrendous pain and suffering” endured by a healthcare worker who became allergic to proteins in natural rubber latex, which was triggered by her exposure to latex gloves.

 

The first trial of a claim in a consolidated State action by sensitized health care workers against latex glove manufacturers resulted in a California...

In one of the most significant decisions yet to be rendered by a Court, a surgical registered nurse was declared to be totally and permanently disable...

Connie R. Gates, who was awarded total disability benefits by the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court, was awarded Social Security Disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income benefits as a result of her sensitivity to latex products. 

 Workers’ compensation courts are now requiring employers to act swiftly in awarding benefits to workers who have been sensitized to latex products. 

A nurse who was exposed to latex gloves at a New Jersey nursing home has been awarded a Court-approved settlement for continuing medical treatment and medications.  

A Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court has ordered that a personal computer system be furnished to a homebound former health care worker suffering from latex sensitivity. This ruling is consistent with a national trend by the courts toward the recognition of the catastrophic impact of latex allergy upon general life pursuits. 

Delaware has always been known to be a corporate-friendly state, and a recent opinion in a latex claim continues to reflect that bias. The Superior Court of Delaware's ruling affirming the Industrial Accident Board's denial of benefits to a tire worker, who had been diagnosed with a latex allergy, reflects an archaic application of the rules of evidence that is inconsistent with current legal thinking. Richard Smith was employed on May 12, 1997 as a tire repairman by Service Tire Truck Center, Inc. 

 Janeth McFarlane worked at the Baptist Hospital in Florida for approximately two years prior to November 1, 1996. She had used latex powdered gloves. Her employer had ordered, but had not received, powder-less gloves. During her employment she did experience some respiratory difficulty but was unaware of the cause. On November 1, 1996, immediately after using latex powdered gloves, she went into respiratory failure. Her co-workers attempted to revive her but were unsuccessful. 

The Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Appeals Board has followed the theory adopted in a majority of jurisdictions that each discrete reaction to latex products constitutes a separate injury. Even though the worker may have suffered a reaction based upon a cumulative exposure to latex at many employments, the responsibility for compensating the injured worker falls upon the employer where the reaction in question occurred. Evans v. Phoebe Berks Health Care Cr., A98-3954 (Pa.Work.Comp.App.Bd. 2000), decided Feb. 1, 2000. 

In a landmark case, the Iowa Supreme Court decided that latex allergy/sensitivity claims are to be considered work related accidents rather than occupational diseases and that sensitized workers are entitled to receive workers' compensation benefits including those for loss of functional ability. The Court's decision to pinpoint the reaction to a specific event rather than to a long period of occupational exposure will make it easier, less complicated, and less costly for injured workers to claim benefits.  

 Latex allergy sensitivity claims are becoming a more common phenomenon in workers’ compensation systems throughout the United States. Causal relationship between latex exposure and allergic reactions, including anaphylactic shock, has led to the reporting of 23 deaths to the Federal Drug Administration between 1988 and 1995. Although most commonly associated with latex gloves, natural latex rubber is used in more than 40,000 medical, surgical and household products. 

Federal agencies have not yet been able to reach a consensus regulation of latex gloves, exposure to which has resulted in a growing epidemic of allergic reactions. 

 The Trustees of the Manville Personal Injury Trust and H.K. Porter Co. targeted the tobacco industry in two separate lawsuits demanding contribu...