A major report, prompted by a public health emergency declared by US President Donald Trump, has found a high proportion of injured workers are prescribed opioids, often unnecessarily, exposing them to the risk of addiction within days of use and driving up employers' workers' comp costs.
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Exiting the workforce might not be as bad for workers' physical and mental health as some studies suggest, while Australia's increasing retirement age could compound the deleterious impacts of strenuous work and fatigue on older employees, researchers have found.
A host employer breached its duty of care to a worker by allowing him to work in a poorly lit area and failing to act on his request for better lighting, a court has ruled.
Workers with high physical workloads are three times more likely than others to end up struggling with tasks like climbing stairs, possibly due to insufficient rest times or reduced motivation for leisure-time activities, European researchers have found.
A worker medically retired for posing WHS risks has unsuccessfully argued that her fitness for work should be assessed against a "position of suitable duties" set by a workers' comp commission, rather than her pre-injury role.
A tribunal has highlighted that an employer's WHS duty doesn't require it to eliminate every perceivable risk or sideline its obligation to return injured workers to work.
A workplace quad bike victim's injury damages have been increased by 40 per cent on appeal. Meanwhile, a worker has failed to prove his noisy workplace was noisy enough to cause his tinnitus.
Workers with early-onset dementia have the capacity to remain in employment for some time after diagnosis, and employers can help them do so safely by providing a range of reasonable adjustments, UK researchers say.
