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Assuming the risks: occupational disease in the years before workers' compensation.
1Center for Mental Health Service Research, Yale Psychiatric Institute, New Haven CT 06519.
American Journal of Industrial Medicine
|January 1, 1988
Summary
New knowledge on occupational illness in the late 19th and early 20th centuries influenced legal and insurance spheres. A limited legal remedy for worker illness emerged, leaving much preventable harm unaddressed.
Area of Science:
- Occupational health
- Legal history
- Economic history
Background:
- The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw emerging understanding of work-related illnesses.
- This knowledge intersected with economic factors impacting workers' well-being.
Observation:
- New insights into occupational disease influenced legal and insurance sectors.
- Appeals courts and legislatures considered this knowledge in policy and legislation.
- Insurers utilized this information to structure occupational coverage.
Findings:
- A narrow legal compensation for illness, specifically due to failure to warn of latent risks, developed in courts.
- This legal protection remained limited, excluding a vast scope of uncompensated, preventable occupational illnesses.
Implications:
- The findings highlight the historical evolution of workers' compensation and occupational health law.
- This period established a precedent for recognizing but narrowly defining employer liability for workplace illnesses.
- The study underscores the persistent gap between recognized occupational hazards and comprehensive worker protection.