Court Rules: Desk Jobs are Deadly

[chanel]

The husband of an obese woman who died of a blood clot after working long hours at her home office is eligible to receive workers' compensation benefits, a New Jersey appeals court ruled Monday in a case that raised questions about the broader implications of the sedentary desk jobs of millions of Americans.

The case pits claims of whether poor health contributed to her death against whether poor work environment did.

Cathleen Renner, a 25-year employee of AT&T, died in 2007 from a blood clot that formed in her leg and lodged in her lung. She had been working overnight to finish a project in her home office in Edison, where she worked three of five days each week. Her husband filed a workers' compensation claim on her behalf after her death, claiming the clot developed while she was at her desk.

AT&T appealed, arguing that multiple risk factors unrelated to her job caused the clot. Renner, 47, had an enlarged heart and weighed more than 300 pounds, causing restricted blood flow, according to a medical expert enlisted by AT&T. She had also recently started taking birth control pills, which increase the risk factor blood clots for all women but especially those who are overweight, according to the Mayo Clinic.

"Sitting at your desk is a risk in and of itself," said Renner's husband's attorney, Patrick Caulfield. "It seems to be the No. 1 risk factor."

N.J. court rules extended hours at desk job led to obese woman's death | Courier-Post | courierpostonline.com

What a shame. Obese people and others with potential health issues may have an even tougher time finding employment in NJ.

Comments?

 

[Sallow]

In Japan..skinny people die at their desks.

 

[chanel]

Good point. But I'm also wondering what "broader implications" this may have for people who work from home. Health and safety standards? Inspections? People get injured. They get sick. They die. It's sad but it's not always someone else's fault.

 

[Mr. H.]

It's what she didn't do in her off time that killed her.

 

[chanel]

I agree. And also what she did. Birth control pills can cause blood clots. It's a risk women take.

It just seems to me that at least in NJ, anyone can sue for anything, and they usually win. A lawyer's paradise.

 

[Zoom-boing]

She was obese and inactive. Her desk job didn't kill her; her lifestyle did.

 

[Sallow]

It's what she didn't do in her off time that killed her.

Well not necessarily. My job use to require some 15 hours of sitting at a desk working on computer problems. No lunch break. 6 days a week..it was a data center migration.

Was a little on the tough side.

 

[chanel]

That's a bit much. But someone working AT HOME certainly has the option of taking a break. I have a few friends who work from home. They run errands. They vacuum and do laundry. That's one of the benefits. This woman CHOSE to do it differently. Huge implications, if you ask me.

 

[Zoom-boing]

To me it doesn't sound like the desk job -- 3 days out of the week -- was the cause of the blood clot. How would you prove that the job was the cause anyway?

She could have chosen to eat less and move more, but she did not.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Of course it isn't $.99 cheeseburgers and fries and potato chips and soda pop...nah...it's those damn desks.