Category / Topic Archives: Occupational Illnesses


What is an Occupational Disease?
By Jason Weinstock on December 7, 2019

Occupational diseases are what you probably think they are… a disease or illness that you have developed or contracted through your employment. Different from an occupational injury, occupational diseases/illnesses often have gradual onsets rather than one specific traumatic occurrence. Occupational diseases can be anything from carpel tunnel syndrome, silicosis, mesothelioma, heart disease, lead poisoning and … Continue reading What is an Occupational Disease?

Occupational Illnesses Frequently Denied by Insurers
By Jason Weinstock on January 7, 2016

It isn’t always clear what the difference between a work-related illness and  an illness that doesn’t originate in work activities but is made worse when the employee must try to work.    Even when it is obvious and doctors directly report that an illness is caused by an employee’s particular work duties, you can count on most … Continue reading Occupational Illnesses Frequently Denied by Insurers

Rating hearing impairments
By Jason Weinstock on September 2, 2015

I get so many questions about hearing impairments that I am attaching a link to a recent explanation written by rating doctor Michael Glick, D.O., that appeared in the DIR Medical Unit’s Seminar 2015 newsletter. Please note that a 5% for tinnitus converts to a 2% whole person award. Some doctors will award for tinnitus … Continue reading Rating hearing impairments


Cancer in Nevada Firefighters
By Jason Weinstock on May 20, 2015

Fire fighters have a law entitling them to workers’ compensation benefits under a law written especially for fire fighters.  NRS 617.453 provides for a rebuttable presumption that a cancer is work-related for fire fighters with 5 years or more of full-time, continuous employment if the   person was exposed to a known carcinogen and the carcinogen is … Continue reading Cancer in Nevada Firefighters

Keyboard Options for Injured Workers with CTS or Other Hand Injuries
By Jason Weinstock on February 25, 2015

I asked Laurie Clemens, director of the Professional Institute of Technology & Accounting (PITA) here in Las Vegas, what keyboard options she has tried when retraining injured workers with hand or arm injuries that make typing difficult. While there are medical differences of opinion as to whether typing can cause carpal tunnel syndrome, there is … Continue reading Keyboard Options for Injured Workers with CTS or Other Hand Injuries

Good News on Hearing Loss Treatment
By Jason Weinstock on January 12, 2015

I’ve got good news and bad news about occupational hearing loss. First the bad news about occupational hearing loss claims: It can be hard to prove that the hearing loss was caused by a work accident or by an incident of loud noise at work as opposed to hearing loss from aging, particularly if there … Continue reading Good News on Hearing Loss Treatment


BANG! Work-Related Hearing Loss
By Jason Weinstock on September 30, 2012

Permanent, work-related hearing loss can result when an employee is exposed to an unexpected loud noise, like an explosion at a manufacturing plant.  However, many cases of occupationally-related hearing loss are caused by excessive noise exposure over months, or years  in a work environment that is too loud.   Difficulty hearing or understanding spoken words happens to most of us as we age, so it isn’t always easy … Continue reading BANG! Work-Related Hearing Loss

Illness from Excessive Heat Probably Not Work Comp
By Jason Weinstock on July 7, 2012

Given the 114 degree heat this week, I’ve had several calls from  people wanting to know  whether illnesses caused by excessive heat while working outdoors are compensable.  The law in Nevada has not been supportive of injury or illness claims arising out of all job conditions.  In 1960, the Nevada Supreme Court held in Smith … Continue reading Illness from Excessive Heat Probably Not Work Comp

Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Covered?
By Jason Weinstock on July 14, 2010

While there are no recent statistics, I know from my experience that the majority of claims filed by injured workers in Nevada for carpal tunnel syndrome are initially denied.  Carpal tunnel syndrome presents as numbness, tingling, and pain primarily in the first three fingers and the thumb side of the hand.  It results from compression of the … Continue reading Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Covered?