Good Attendance at Medical Issues Seminar

The MFL compensation committee was very pleased with the excellent turnout for their Medical Issues Seminar which was held on May 30 for compensation and health and safety activists. The participants were from every union of the MFL and were generally the most senior advocate and activist from each affiliate.

Two doctors, Allen Kraut and Robbie Chase from the MFL Occupational Health Center, did an excellent job of demystifying the medical terminology that advocates encounter when dealing with illness and injury claims and prevention.

The morning session with Dr. Kraut covered the various systems of the body and how they interact. There was also discussion about the different types of tests that doctors order to assist in diagnosis, and what kind of results advocates should expect to see and how best to understand the difficulties in occupationally caused illnesses. Quite some time was spent on the effects of industrial and workplace materials and how our bodies are impacted over both short and long periods of exposure.

The afternoon session covered a range of issues and injuries related to the musculoskeletal system. Dr. Robbie Chase took the participants through a step by step understanding of the bones, tendons and ligaments that make up the body as well as how the muscles attach, act and interact. Participants were asked to provide five questions each that Dr. Chase would address in his presentation. Even though there were many duplications of issues and injuries, Dr. Chase was able to cover them all.

Most of the discussion in each session dealt with the difficulties in diagnosis of occupational cancers and the complexities of lower back injuries. The seminar was scheduled to run for eight hours, but actually ran half an hour longer than scheduled due to the amount of discussion generated.

The MFL Compensation committee will discuss the seminar at their next meeting and plan for a follow-up session in the fall. Further information on injuries, illnesses and medical issues can be obtained directly from the MFL Occupational Health Center.