Sometimes, alleged work related injuries and illnesses may be due to external factors such as an individual’s “Moonlighting” outside of their regular job. Such was the case where an employee had a job which, through full-shift sound level monitoring over several weeks showed no exposure to high levels of noise, however, the employee experienced a confirmed threshold shift in their hearing in both ears. The investigation discovered that the employee had their own business of “Tree stump removal” during off hours and their machine did not have an adequate muffler and no hearing protection was worn. In yet another case, an individual reported numbness and tingling of the hands and fingers alleging it was due to cumulative trauma on the job. During the subsequent investigation, it was determined the individual was actually experiencing a side effect of the prescription medication they were taking.
How aggressively does your organization investigate alleged occupational injuries/illnesses to determine actual work relatedness?