In the midst of Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak, investigation links the La Quinta Inn located at 2979 Millbranch Road in Memphis to 6 confirmed cases, up to 6,000 guest potentially exposed

Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak: Memphis Motel Tied To 6,000 Cases


Source: http://www.scienceworldreport.com, September 29, 2016

In the midst of Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak, investigation links a Memphis motel to 6,000 confirmed cases. On September 22, the Shelby County Health Department closed the La Quinta Inn located at 2979 Millbranch Road. 
 
Legionella is a type of bacterium found naturally in freshwater environments, like lakes and streams. It can become a health concern when it grows and spreads in human-made water systems.
 
According to Wreg, there were 6,000 reservations in the motel between July 1 and September 22, as reported by the health department. In addition to this, Helen Morrow said they are currently notifying patrons through snail mail, telephone call, and email. These people, according to Morrow, are from all over the country.

Moreover, she also advised that people who stayed in the motel and became ill should visit their doctors and undergo diagnosis. Likewise, she encouraged people with symptoms to contact the Shelby County Health Department. The bacteria that causes the disease are usually from air-condition units, fountains, and hot tubs. The common symptoms are shortness of breath, headaches, muscle aches, cough, and fever. Experts use antibiotics to treat the disease.

Meanwhile, Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak has already made headlines in the U.S. early this year when Jim Henry, Genesee County Health director, told CNN that the 24 cases of death in Michigan last 2014 could have been prevented. But the problem was that the state could not help the health department find the source. Summer 2014 was among the worst outbreaks of the disease in the entire U.S. history. 87 people got the disease and nine of them died.

Legionnaires’ Disease got its name from the outbreak in which experts identified it for the first time. Mayo Clinic defines it as a severe form of pneumonia. A bacterium named legionella causes the illness when inhaled. Susceptible to Legionnaires’ Disease are smokers, people with weak immune systems, and older adults. The illness is deadly; hence people experiencing the aforementioned symptoms indeed have to go ti their physicians and undergo necessary tests.



=========


More than 6,000 could have been exposed to Legionnaires’ Disease at Memphis motel
Posted 10:36 am, September 28, 2016, by George Brown and Troy Washington, Updated at 10:45am, September 28, 2016

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Shelby County Health Department estimates 6,000 people could have been exposed to Legionnaires' Disease at a Memphis motel.

There are six confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease tied to a Memphis motel.

The La Quinta Inn at 2979 Millbranch Road was closed by the Shelby County Health Department September 22.

"We are in the process of notifying patrons via email, snail mail, and Telephone said Helen Morrow.

The health department says there were 6,000 reservations there between July 1 and September 22.

"This is a high occupancy hotel and these people are from all over the country," said Morrow.

The respiratory disease caused by bacteria often in hot tubs, fountains and air conditioning units.

Antibiotics are used as treatment.

"If they stayed there and became ill they should inform their doctor and that should be considered in a diagnosis," added Morrow.

The disease is named after the outbreak where it was first identified, the 1976 American Legion convention in Philadelphia.

"We have not had anything of this magnitude in my tenure here," recalls Morrow.

If you stayed at this motel and have the below symptoms, please contact the Shelby County Health Department at 901-222-9299.

Symptoms are similar to other types of pneumonia and it often looks the same on a chest x-ray.

• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Fever
• Muscle aches
• Headaches

===============

Causes and Common Sources of Infection

Legionella is a type of bacterium found naturally in freshwater environments, like lakes and streams. It can become a health concern when it grows and spreads in human-made water systems like

• Hot tubs that aren’t drained after each use
• Hot water tanks and heaters
• Large plumbing systems
• Cooling towers (air-conditioning units for large buildings)
• Decorative fountains

Home and car air-conditioning units do not use water to cool the air, so they are not a risk for Legionella growth.

This bacterium grows best in warm water.

How it Spreads

After Legionella grows and multiplies in a building water system, that contaminated water then has to spread in droplets small enough for people to breathe in. People are exposed to Legionella when they breathe in mist (small droplets of water in the air) containing the bacteria. One example might be from breathing in droplets sprayed from a hot tub that has not been properly cleaned and disinfected.

Less commonly, Legionella can be spread by aspiration of drinking water, which is when water “goes down the wrong pipe,” into the trachea (windpipe) and lungs instead of down the digestive tract. People at increased risk of aspiration include those with swallowing difficulties. In general, Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever are not spread from one person to another. However, this may be possible in rare cases. [1]

If you have reason to believe you were exposed to the bacteria, talk to your doctor or local health department. Your local health department can determine if an investigation is needed. Be sure to mention if you spent any nights away from home in the last two weeks.

People at Increased Risk

Most healthy people do not get sick after being exposed to Legionella. People at increased risk of getting sick are:

• People 50 years or older
• Current or former smokers
• People with a chronic lung disease (like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or emphysema)
• People with a weak immune system from diseases like cancer, diabetes, or kidney failure
• People who take drugs that suppress (weaken) the immune system (like after a transplant operation or chemotherapy)

STUPID, GREEDY FRAUSTERS CAUGHT: Schanise Allen, 37, of Little Rock, Arkansas Woman Sentenced to 3 Years in Jail for Insurance Fraud

September 29, 2016
 

A Little Rock, Arkansas, woman has been sentenced to a three-year prison sentence after being convicted of felony insurance fraud in a case involving a reported car accident involving a U-Haul rental vehicle.

The Arkansas Insurance Department says that two others involved in the scheme are awaiting trial and two more thought to be participants are still being sought.

The AID reported that Chemer Beene, 35, was sentenced in Pulaski County Circuit Court for her participation in a 2015 scheme to collect insurance payouts from Repwest Insurance Co. from a purported vehicle crash.

According to AID, on Sept. 30, 2015, Schanise Allen, 37, of Little Rock rented a U-Haul vehicle, purchasing the “Safe Move” insurance plan offered through Repwest. Later that same day, Allen reported that she rear-ended a Dodge Challenger driven by Johnathan Summons, 32, of Little Rock on Scott Hamilton Drive in Little Rock.

Beene was a passenger in the vehicle driven by Summons, the AID reported. She was joined in the vehicle by Marquis Jones, 20, of Little Rock and Hilary Johnson, 19, of Little Rock.

All five individuals made medical claims against Repwest from the reported accident with Summons also submitting a claim for damage to the rear left bumper of his vehicle.

Eight days prior to the accident, Summons filed a separate claim for rear left bumper damage to his vehicle with a separate insurance company, submitting pictures documenting the same damage attributed to the September 30 wreck.

Allen told investigators she did not know any of the passengers in Summons’ vehicle while Johnson, Jones and Beene said they did not know Allen.

Investigators later determined that Allen and Beene lived across the street from each other and that Beene and Jones are Facebook friends with Allen. Warrants for felony insurance fraud were issued against all five individuals.

Jones was arrested on Sept. 17, 2016, in England and is awaiting trial in Pulaski County Circuit Court. Summons is being detained on an unrelated charge and is awaiting trial. Allen and Johnson remain at-large.

Source: Arkansas Insurance Department

Trial Lawyers are Elated, after Florida Approves 14.5% Workers’ Comp Rate Hike in Response to Court Rulings, such asthe April 28 Florida Supreme Court decision in the case of Castellanos v. Next Door Company

Florida Approves 14.5% Workers’ Comp Rate Hike in Response to Court Rulings
By Amy O' Connor | September 27, 2016 

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has given contingent approval for an overall statewide workers’ compensation rate increase of 14.5 percent to take effect Dec. 1, 2016. The rate increase is in response to two recent Supreme Court rulings undoing reforms passed in 2003 and rocking the state’s workers’ compensation system.

In the Sept. 27 order, OIR disapproved the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s (NCCI) filing for a 19.6 percent increase, on behalf of insurers, saying that much of an increase on new, renewal and outstanding policies was not justified.

Instead, OIR said NCCI could submit a revised filing for a 14.5 percent increase.

“After a thorough review of the workers’ compensation insurance rate filing submitted by the [NCCI] and careful consideration of hundreds of public comments and testimony received from interested stakeholders, [OIR] has issued an order that gives contingent approval to an overall combined average statewide rate increase of 14.5 percent versus the requested 19.6 percent,” OIR said in its statement.

OIR said approval of the revised rate increase is contingent on NCCI amending the filing to include the recommended changes stipulated within the order. The amended rate filing must be filed with OIR for review and approval no later than Oct. 4, 2016. NCCI said it would review the order and respond “in a timely manner.”

NCCI’s rate filing was originally submitted in May of this year and amended in June to address the impact of the three recent legal changes, including two Florida Supreme court case decisions (Castellanos v. Next Door Company and Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg) and legislatively-mandated updates to the Florida Workers’ Compensation Health Care Provider Reimbursement Manual (HCPR Manual).

OIR said if NCCI submits the required amended rate filing and the 14.5 percent is subsequently approved, the individual rate impacts will include:

• A 10.1 percent statewide average rate increase for the April 28 Florida Supreme Court decision in the case of Castellanos v. Next Door Company, which found the mandatory attorney fee schedule in Section 440.34, Florida Statutes, unconstitutional as a violation of due process under both the Florida and United States Constitutions.
• A 2.2 percent statewide average rate increase for the June 9 Florida Supreme Court decision in the case of Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg, in which the Florida Supreme Court found the 104-week statutory limitation on temporary total disability benefits in Section 440.15(2)(a), Florida Statutes, unconstitutional because it causes a statutory gap in benefits in violation of an injured worker’s constitutional right of access to courts. The Supreme Court reinstated the 260-week limitation in effect prior to the 1994 law change.
• A 1.8 percent statewide average rate increase related to updates within the Florida Workers’ Compensation HCPR Manual per Senate Bill 1402. The manual became effective on July 1, 2016.

The rate increase would become effective on Dec. 1 for new and renewal business, with no change in rates for current in-force policies, despite NCCI’s recommendation that it be applied on a pro-rata basis for the remainder of each policy term.

OIR also noted in the order that if an increase in litigation activity continues or further escalates, as has been the case since the Supreme Court’s Castellanos ruling, and has the effect of extending claim durations, delaying return to work and possibly creating inefficiencies in the system, then there could be a more substantial increase in workers’ compensation costs in the near future.


Reactions

Employer groups acknowledged that the recent court rulings meant the state had to raise rates. However, that does not mean they are pleased. They maintain that the higher rates will help trial lawyers, not workers.

“Putting job creators and injured workers first is the right thing to do to keep Florida’s workers’ compensation system working. Unfortunately, the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling is not about safety or protecting workers. The effect of the Castellanos decision is to raise costs for no other reason than so plaintiff trial lawyers can raise fees,” said Mark Wilson, president and CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber said that for employers, the rate increase is particularly troublesome because many small businesses haven’t budgeted for higher rates.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses had a similar reaction.

“While the commissioner has done what was necessary in response to the Supreme Court undoing legislation that capped attorney’s fees and maintained reasonable rates, our small business owners will be paying the price,” NFIB/Florida Executive Director Bill Herrle.

He said NFIB will seek legislation to reform the workers’ compensation market.

Insurance carriers will be pressing lawmakers for change as well.

“We continue to support the 2003 reforms to Florida’s workers’ compensation system that protected employees and controlled costs for employers prior to the rulings,” said Logan McFaddin, regional manager for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI). “We must work with Florida lawmakers on solid solutions to ensure we can return to a vibrant marketplace in Florida where injured workers can get the care they need, while at the same time, workers’ compensation costs do not hinder employers and employees. We need a workers’ compensation system in Florida that we all can rely on.”

Lawyers representing injured workers said they were disappointed in the OIR ruling and accused OIR Commissioner David Altmaier of missing an opportunity to protect both workers and employers.

“He could have rejected the insurance industry’s secretive ploy for corporate welfare to line its own pockets, all while falsely blaming a workers’ compensation rate hike on two court rulings that don’t actually make any rate change necessary,” said Mark Touby, president of Florida Workers’ Advocates. “Insurance companies like to point blame at lawyers, but we agree with Florida’s business community that this unwarranted 14.5 percent increase in premiums will have a damaging impact on employers across our state.”

The owners of Caron Contracting, a Fall River, Mass., based contracting company, have been indicted on charges of workers’ compensation fraud over failure to disclose the true nature of their company’s work

Owners of a Massachusetts Company Charged in Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme
September 29, 2016


The owners of Caron Contracting, a Fall River, Mass., based contracting company, have been indicted on charges of workers’ compensation fraud over failure to disclose the true nature of their company’s work, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced in a press release.

Authorities believe this move allowed the owners to avoid paying more than $71,000 in workers’ compensation premiums, the release stated.

“We allege these defendants intentionally misrepresented the work performed by their company in order to avoid paying higher workers’ compensation costs,” said Attorney General Healey in the press release. “Our office is committed to investigating and prosecuting those who engage in this type of fraud for their own benefit.”

An investigation, initially referred to the Attorney General’s Office by the state’s Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB), revealed that the Carons failed to disclose the true nature of the work their company performed between 2009 and 2014 in order to lower their workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

The Carons are believed to have defrauded two insurance companies under five separate insurance policies by describing their employees as carpenters during annual insurance audits. In fact, the investigation found that Caron Contracting is almost exclusively a roofing company.

“This type of fraud creates an unfair advantage for business owners who artificially lower their premiums to gain an edge over their competitors,” Anthony M. DiPaolo, chief of investigations at the IFB, said in the release.

Paul and Cynthia Caron were indicted by a statewide Grand Jury with five counts each of workers’ compensation fraud, while Cynthia Caron was also charged with five counts of larceny following the investigation.

That said, these charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The arraignment is scheduled for a later date in Bristol Superior Court.

This case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Geoffrey Wood of Attorney General Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit with assistance from Senior Investigator Philip Mantyla, also of Attorney General Healey’s Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit, and investigators from the IFB.

Source: Attorney General Maura Healey’s Office

Entryway collapse at dance studio injures two, causes building evacuation. Sinkhole collapses at Upstate Dance in Honea Path, SC

Entryway collapse at dance studio injures two, causes building evacuation
Sinkhole collapses at Upstate Dance in Honea Path
UPDATED 4:12 PM EDT Sep 27, 2016


 


HONEA PATH, S.C. —An entryway collapsed at an Upstate dance studio Monday night, injuring two people and prompting the evacuation of a building, officials said.

Officials said the entryway gave way in front of Upstate Dance on N. Main St. in Honea Path.

Two people suffered minor injuries. One was taken to Self Regional Hospital by EMS.

Thirty-five children and adults were in the building, which was safely evacuated as a precaution.

Firefighters worked to shore up the entry area until construction crews could fully repair the damage.

The investigation into the cause of the collapse is ongoing.