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Why does the medical field shy away from toxic neuropathy?
As a retired person in 2016 I found a need to supplement my SSI and took a job as an EVS worker in a medical complex of buildings for Baylor, Scott,and White in Waco, TX. I started in 2/20 and was out by 6/23, working full time using a variety of industrial grade cleaning chemicals by Diversy and Ecolab. Approximately 1 month before leaving I attempted to file a WC claim due to some very noticeable skin irritations, high WBC, and spasms in right thumb, which led to a sustained numbness across the top of right hand. The problem came from the dermal absorption of mostly a cleaning agent called Ecolab A-456 2 disinfectant cleaner regularly everday, and having only the thin nitrile exam room gloves to protect hands, the kind they sell on amazon for .04 cents each in bulk. A more appropriate glove would cost around a $1.00 a pair. At this point i had an ALJ hearing this month with the WC and they have kept denying all evidence as usual. When starting the hearing on the 10th this month the first question from the ALJ was " what is PPE ?" any help here would be appreciated
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Workman’s comp does not want to admit to anything. I hired an attorney for my injury on duty. It was a difficult dealing with them. The larger the company the harder it is. Since, mine dealt with American Airlines it was very difficult. The second workman’s comp case no attorney would touch the case. The door aka handicap door malfunctioned and threw me when the door it me. Eye witnesses willing to testify but no attorney would pick up the case. My hip joint was bleeding and the blood had to be drained out of the joint. I occurred all medical cost. If they admit to neuropathy over the toxic chemicals that puts the company at liability. They will do anything to get out of a workman’s comp case.
After getting this far with the situation it really reeks of a whole lot of biased, ill informed, and not wanting to hear the evidence type people. Since when is it legal for an employer to outright lie to a WC insurance carrier to put a claim in denial, and in the end when an administrative law judge does the contested case hearing he looks the other way on true , hard evidence. I thought the country had moved on from the dark ages ,but no it has not.
@fairwinds24 what Aramark did is not surprising at all for a big company like that. Sorry for your situation with your disability. Every state has workers compensation laws governing safety as well as federal laws as well. If you’re going at this on your own get an attorney. Pond Lehocky is one of the largest WC law firms in the country and you should contact them. There are guidelines for use of the chemicals you mention. Here is a data sheet on the chemical disinfectant you claim injured you. You should have received specific training by your employer or the facility where you were working on the safe handling of the product. I don’t believe the rubber glove issue is key to your case. I was a nurse for 40 years and those gloves work very well for protection which is why you need an attorney. Because you did receive burns was it your mistake or that of your employer or hospital in training you.
https://assets.pim.ecolab.com/media/Original/10001/US-Z8-903964-01-A-456%20II%20DISINFECTANT%20CLEANER.PDF
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2 Reactionsthanks for the attorney info...just finished writing up an appeal, but am afraid collusion against this type of case is rampant...they prefer the broken arm scenarios where all the pieces fit their little puzzle...risk assessment by employer isn't even in the book for necessary PPE...application methods of the cleaning chemicals, namely the surface cleaner , should be done with at least a 12mil glove over the wrist due to immersion/ wringing out of rags and mops, and aramark is giving the EVS workers the el cheapo 3 mil in the palm type and then expects them to multitask and rush thru exam rooms doing all wiping, trash p/u, etc...the 4 cent a pair gloves you can get at bulk on amazon are the culprit...it took me 3.5 years of daily duties and much OT during covid, but the skin problems were popping up all over by then
If you read that info sheet I sent you you’ll see there are no specific glove specs that I could see. The complexities of the issue should be dealt with by an attorney who are familiar with this crap. I do not necessarily agree with your conjectures about the product handling but I wasn’t there. If I were you I’d cease everything on my own and let my attorney do it. You realize you will pay nothing for the attorney up front and only when the case settles are they paid as well as you.
thanks for your continued support...the SDS sheet for the product gets around the PPE issue by saying " no special PPE required", with the word special being key...otherwise they could simply say no PPE required, and that would be total negligence given the recommended application methods for the product to be effective
section 2 Hazards ID has the dilluted solution listed with specified categories chart in section 16. other information...if there was proper risk assessment done by aramark as to the chemicals being used they could tell what kind of gloves should be used during rigorous multitasking expected of the EVS worker...the whole issue is the cost of decent gloves to keep dermal absorption from happening...4 cents a pair compared to 1.00 is a lot of profit to aramarks bottom line every year
On page 5 of 13 there is a list of PPE required to be worn and other information regarding safe use. Yes it does say use a standard safety glove and that statement is based on a standard within the states OSHA guidelines. You do realize you are dealing with a potential OSHA issue too but you’ll need to verify that especially if you’re permanently injured or scarred from the chemicals. Doing all this on your own is not good. Again good luck.