Vigorous defense stalls injury claims on repetitive strain
Article Abstract:
The awareness of repetitive stress injury (RSI) is increasing quickly but companies have been able to defend themselves successfully against lawsuits and very few liability cases have been won in court. Michael Cerussi is an attorney who has successfully fought RSI cases on behalf of IBM. He says that computer keyboards are just like pencils and that people who have health problems as a result of using keyboards are either using them wrong or being overworked by employers. Cerussi's success comes partially from his legal tactics and partially from the fact that it is usually very difficult for plaintiffs to prove that their injuries are necessarily caused by the repetitive use of a computer keyboard. The RSI case legal process usually involves thousands of cases, many years and huge legal fees for the defense.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1995
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Waving goodbye to ergonomics; Republicans gun for OSHA's repetitive strain standard
Article Abstract:
The Republican Party is trying to stop the Occupational Health and Safety Administration from setting standards for ergonomics that would protect workers from repetitive strain injury. The effort is part of the party's plan to deregulate the federal government. Both Democrats and Republicans agreed in the early 1990s that regulations were needed in order to prevent repetitive strain injuries being caused by a number of repetitive motion jobs such as computer programming and meatpacking. However, the new Republican Congress, supported by powerful business lobbying groups, believes that new ergonomics regulations would by time-consuming and costly for businesses and that complaints about repetitive strain injury, while well-intentioned, are based on uncertain science.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1995
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
A compromise plan to address workplace ergonomics stays on the shelf; repetitive stress injuries are rising, causing debate over what to do
Article Abstract:
Cases of repetitive stress injuries have increased by 80% since 1990, but the cause of these injuries remains a topic of debate among researchers and physicians. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offered a plan for establishing ergonomic plans for the workplace in 1995, but it received little support. A proposal by physicians that would have formed a group to coordinate research on repetitive stress injuries and provide guidelines for avoiding them has also been ignored. The Labor Department blames the situation on restrictions on OSHA and budget cut proposals by conservative Republicans. The National Coalition on Ergonomics led the campaign against OSHA's proposal because they felt it was too broad.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Threats to privacy on-line become more worrisome. Internet, a vast link that isn't missing, can be hard to find
- Abstracts: Knowhow - spite at the top. Posting a profit: Outdoor advertising is looking good, but the sector is desperate for a reliable way to measure its success
- Abstracts: Models and measures of emotional intelligence. Improving occupational stress through emotional intelligence development
- Abstracts: Clinton delivers State of the Union address; President declares 'era of big government' over. Excerpts from President Clinton's address to Congress on health-care reform
- Abstracts: Curbs pledged on striker replacements. Proposals for reforming the U.S. health-care system. Clinton orders Medicaid streamlining