You hear it all the time: Sedentary, overweight and out-of-shape employees can be a huge drain when it comes to health insurance, workers’ comp and other costs. Whip ‘em into shape and you’ll save, save, save!

True, but be careful. A recent court decision offers a cautionary tale.

The bottom line: An employee who suffered a spinal cord injury while exercising at a gym was awarded workers’ comp.

Now, under most circumstances, employees who get hurt in voluntary off-duty activities aren’t entitled to comp. But there are three exceptions: Comp can be awarded if an employer requires the employee to participate, compensates him or her for doing so, or sponsors the activity.

In this case, the employee was neither required nor compensated for his gym membership — though he had the option to be reimbursed for half of his membership (he chose not to take it).

And the company didn’t exactly “sponsor” the activity.

What it did was encourage the employee to participate. Why? To help develop contacts with current and prospective clients.

In affirming a lower court decision, the state Supreme Court cited two factors:  (1) The company at least offered to pay half of its employees’ membership fees; and (2) it encouraged participation as a way to further business interests.

It did not say whether either factor alone would have been enough to carry the day.

What do you think? Should you worry about crossing a line when you urge employees to lead active, healthier lifestyles? Let us know in the Comment Box below.

A jury in Indiana recently awarded an employee $24 million after a 17-foot fall from a ladder that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Anthony Arciniega, 42, fell at ISG Burns Harbor steel mill, now known as ArcelorMittal.

Arciniega fell from a ladder that was covered with concrete.

The employee wasn’t able to sue his employer, but he did sue a contractor, Minteq International.

A court found Minteq negligent in the incident, according to The Times of Northwest Indiana.

Large awards are more common in cases involving paralysis, according to injuryboard.com because of the lifetime costs of medical care and home modifications.

A worker in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, fell to his death from a building under construction.

Andrew Smith fell six stories from a platform on top of a concrete elevator shaft and died at the scene, according to The Canadian Press.

Below, John Falcon was bending over to pick up tools when Smith fell on top of him.

Now, Falcon is in the hospital with broken vertebrae in his neck, a broken jaw and a concussion.

Falcon’s wife says his hard hat saved him from more serious injuries or death.

In light of a recent court decision, you might be paying workers’ comp for employees who are injured while they’re on break.

Here’s what happened:

An employee was on his paid 15-minute break, and he was required to stay on site.

The worker played basketball using a hoop and court on company property and injured his knee. Then, he filed for comp.

The company argued it shouldn’t have to pay because the worker was engaged in voluntary recreational activity.

But the court disagreed.

He was on the clock

The court said the injury technically arose during the course of employment.

How so? The worker was on the clock. Although he wasn’t paid to participate in the game, he was getting paid while participating, so the company had to pay comp.

While workers’ comp laws vary from state to state, in many cases, companies will have to pay if a worker is injured in recreational, social or athletic injuries if they happen during the course of employment. For example, you might have to pay comp for an injury if:

• The activity took place on company premises during lunch or a recreational event
• Your company required participation, or
• Your company received direct benefit from the worker’s participation, such as advertising the company logo on shirts or hats during games or practice.

Has your company ever been forced to pay a questionable comp claim? Tell us about it in the Comments Box below. You don’t have to give your company’s name.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released its annual report, Nonfatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Requiring Days Away From Work. 

The survey for 2007 uses four case characteristics: 

• Nature: Sprains and strains were the most frequent nature, accounting for 38% of injuries. 
• Part of body: The trunk, including the shoulders and back, is most often affected, accounting for 33% of injuries. 
• Event or exposure: Injuries from repetitive motion continue to be the event with the highest median days away from work (20 days). 
• Source: Floors, walkways and ground surfaces were the source of injury for 20% of all days-away-from-work (DAFW) cases and increased by 7% from 2006 levels. 

How many days away from work? 

The 2007 DAFW rate was 122 per 10,000 full-time workers, a decrease of 4% from 2006. 

The median days away from work was seven, the same as the previous three years. Cases resulting in 31 or more DAFW totaled 26%. 

Fractures required the highest median days away from work: 30. Falls accounted for 48% of fractures. Carpal tunnel syndrome came in second at 28 days. Injuries involving the shoulder took 18 days to recuperate.

For more information on the BLS report, click here.

Meat factory worker Hans Kelders cut off a chunk of his hand in a ham slicer while chatting with a co-worker.

Kelders took Kerry Foods to court, claiming he was put to work on dangerous machinery.

But the judge dismissed the case, saying Kelders himself was responsible.

The judge noted Kelders had been trained on the machine, which was “straightforward” and found in many delis.

Kelders said he’d let his mind wander while talking to a colleague and when he went to grab the cutter’s handle, his hand came into contact with the spinning blade.

It tore a piece of skin off his right hand.

The judge said Kerry Foods was in no way negligent in this injury case.

OSHA has fined International Paper Co.’s Vicksburg, MS, plant $77,000. The agency investigated the plant following a May explosion that killed one employee and injured 22 others.

International Paper received one willful and one serious violation.

The willful violation is for failing to start a recovery boiler with adequate steam and not developing safe procedures to start the boiler. (OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.)

The serious violation is for failing to have written procedures to determine that an adequate amount of odorant was being added to the natural gas supply line coming into the power plant. (A serious violation is one that could cause death or serious injury and the employer should have known about.)

A recovery boiler at the plant exploded in May during a start-up. Employees were exposed to a fire and explosion.