Compensating victims of occupational lung disease: the physician's role in the system.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Richman SI
• Description:
  The role of the physician as a medicolegal consultant and expert witness in cases involving workers' compensation for occupational lung disease was examined. Roles of the physician included describing and diagnosing all significant pathology, proving or disproving a causal relationship between significant pathology and impairment or death, identifying and explaining the etiology of the significant pathology, and evaluating impairment and disability. The importance of completeness, accuracy, and unequivocality in preparation for the legal proceeding was stressed. The author concludes that the physician who becomes a medicolegal consultant in a litigated case of occupational lung disease enters into a topical, socially sensitive and intellectually stimulating professional activity. Since the outcome of occupational lung disease litigation is determined more by medical points than by legal points, the extensive medical and scientific training of a physician gives him enormous advantage over an adversary trained in the law.
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Disabled Workers Doctors Lung Disease Medical Personnel Occupational Diseases Occupational Health Physicians Worker Health
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Conference/Symposia Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  972-974
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00198866
• Citation:
  Proceedings of the VIIth International Pneumoconioses Conference, August 23-26, 1988, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 90-108, 1990 Nov; (Pt II):972-974
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Part Number:
  II
• Source Full Name:
  Proceedings of the VIIth International Pneumoconioses Conference, August 23-26, 1988, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f3e987df3d727004c6dc70bbb1ac879ad4d3081856b156c02043691e4c80f2f99c034df31e8c9fa4da402c909d55d04a62c408f5f84dc45ff469458c0fdcfcf0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/180697/cdc_180697_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 138.31 KB ]