Worker exposed to toxic chemicals at Texaco awarded worker's comp for Parkinson's

[Guest guest]

Worker wins battle

By ERIN WALDNER, Californian staff writer

e-mail: ewaldner@...

Saturday February 09, 2002, 04:50:06 PM

How many years do I have left?

That's what Jim Oblak asked his doctor when he was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease in 1991.

Twenty to 25 years, his doctor said.

To work?

To live.

Oblak, 47, is still very much alive, but he is no longer working.

The debilitating affects of Parkinson's disease -- a chronic, irreversible

neurodegenerative disease best known for striking actor J. Fox and

boxer Muhammad Ali -- forced the Bakersfield resident to retire early from

Texaco in 1999.

Six months later, Oblak made the decision to file his disability as a

workers' compensation injury.

It is highly unique -- possibly unheard of -- for Parkinson's disease to be

covered under workers' compensation. While the cause of the disease is

unknown, it is widely thought to be genetically determined.

Yet Oblak believes his direct exposure to toxic chemicals at Texaco either

caused or accelerated his medical condition and that as a result, he was due

workers' compensation benefits.

The state's District Court of Appeals, Fifth Appellate District, recently

upheld an earlier ruling by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board in favor

of Oblak and against the defendants, Texaco and Ace American Insurance Co.

The judge awarded Oblak permanent workers' compensation benefits for his

injury. The Oblaks believe this case represents the first time Parkinson's

disease has been deemed an industrial injury, resulting in full disability

benefits to the employee.

" My medical will be taken care of for the rest of my life, " said Oblak,

sitting at home with his wife, Jan, who works in the marketing department at

The Bakersfield Californian. " We were really worried about that. "

It doesn't look like Ace will appeal the court's decision to the state

Supreme Court. Oblak just received a check from the insurance company for

back workers' compensation benefits, and he met with his attorney earlier

this week to discuss future payment options.

Ace's attorney did not return phone calls seeking comment for this article.

The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board ruled that based on two toxicology

reports, it is more likely than not that Oblak's Parkinson's disease was

caused by his exposure at work.

" The weight in the report leaned toward industrial (exposure) instead of

genetic, " Oblak said.

No one else in Oblak's family has been diagnosed with Parkinson's. And while

the average age of a Parkinson's disease patient is 60 to 61, Oblak was just

37 when he was diagnosed.

His job with Texaco was also unique.

From 1988 to 1994, his main responsibility was operating and maintaining a

mobile testing lab. It was his job to monitor emissions from oil field

equipment to make sure they met Cal/OSHA requirements.

" I don't know of another individual that had a job similar to mine, " Oblak

said.

The trailer he operated no longer exists, according to ChevronTexaco

spokesman Greg Hardy.

Oblak's Bakersfield attorney, Gay Lynne Natho, further argued that her

client's exposure to toxic chemicals was not a one-time thing. It occurred

often and for long periods of time.

Oblak's victory in the high-ranking District Court of Appeals could make it

easier for other Parkinson's disease patients to win workers' compensation

benefits, according to Fisk, a law professor at Loyola mount

University in Los Angeles who specializes in employment and labor law.

But there's no guarantee.

" Whether something caused something else is a question of facts, " Fisk said.

" It will depend on the evidence in the case. "

Natho agreed.

From a medical standpoint, it is difficult to link industrial exposure and

Parkinson's disease, according to Oblak's Ventura neurologist, Dr.

Sutton. Sutton specializes in movement disorders.

" In the past, I've seen patients who reported cleaning out solvent drums, "

Sutton said. " They reported that they had co-workers who also had

Parkinson's disease. But the problem is you look at it and it's hard to make

a scientific conclusion. "

Complicating the matter for doctors is that it's become clear that there are

probably several causes for each Parkinson's disease case, Sutton said.

" As we tease out genetic factors, we may find out you have a genetic

disposition (for Parkinson's disease), " Sutton said. Coupled with industrial

exposure, " That's enough to give you Parkinson's disease. "

In the 10 hours a day he averaged in the mobile testing lab, Oblak ran

heated sample lines from exhaust stacks into a conducting system, which

distributed the samples to various analyzers in the lab.

The sample lines were black rubber hoses.

According to court documents, " the sample lines leaked. There would be a

major break every other week. Minor leaks occurred possibly weekly. As gases

accumulated in the trailer, his sense of smell would be deadened and he

might not recognize a leak. "

It could take all day for Oblak to fix a leak.

" During this time, the exhaust usually continued to flow and leak, " the

court documents state.

Oblak did not wear protective head gear.

He went to the doctor in 1992 complaining of neck and shoulder problems. He

thought he had strained his neck.

A year later, after a tremor in his right arm developed, a neurologist

diagnosed Oblak with Parkinson's disease. Tremors are the most obvious and

familiar symptom of the disease.

Oblak said the symptoms at the time were not that bad. His wife sometimes

forgot he had Parkinson's.

Oblak did not quit his job. He had just earned a chemistry degree from Cal

State Bakersfield and wanted to put his education to use.

Oblak said he initially kept quiet about his diagnosis at work because he

did not know how it would affect his job. He said when he did tell his

supervisors, they said they would do everything they could for him, but they

still expected him to produce.

After his diagnosis, Oblak received a promotion and was transferred to

Texas. He started thinking about retiring after returning to Bakersfield to

take a new job with Texaco.

" The stress of the new job got to be too much, " Oblak said. " I knew I was

getting worse. " He tired easily, forgot things people told him. He was 39.

Oblak decided to apply for workers' compensation benefits after learning

that some researchers were linking Parkinson's disease with exposure to

carbon monoxide, manganese and methanol -- the same substances that entered

his lungs at work.

In a letter submitted to the courts, Dr. M. Luros concluded that

" the greatest medical probability was based on the conclusion that the

patient developed Parkinson's disease due to occupational exposures during

employment at Texaco. "

The defense's doctor, Dr. O'Neill, maintained that Oblak could not

meet his burden of proof.

However, O'Neill conceded that Oblak's exposure was unique and his condition

evolved prematurely. Nathos said this was key in Oblak's court victory.

Oblak now finds himself in a situation he never imagined.

When not at the doctor -- he sees three -- Oblak is mostly homebound.

" I'm kind of bored most of the day, " said Oblak, who has two grown

stepchildren. " I putter around. I keep the house picked up. "

He likes to fish and enjoys making things, but anything he does depends on

how he's feeling.

" You're always thinking about what you want to do, " Oblak said last week,

his arm noticeably trembling. " But you have to limit what you do. "

Oblak tires easily. The medications he takes -- he's on seven -- tend to

keep him up at night.

Depression is another symptom of Parkinson's that Oblak has experienced.

Like other patients, he stutters sometimes. And sometimes, he forgets words.

What he can't forget is the fact that he has Parkinson's disease.

It won't let him forget, Oblak said.

Oblak misses working.

In the working world, " I'd get to talk to people a lot, " he said. " That's

all gone now. "

But Oblak is not bitter about his situation.

" I just feel it's unfortunate it happened to me, " Oblak said. " I'd like to

be working because I thought I could do a lot. But that's not going to

happen. "

While his body may be weakened, Oblak refuses to give into the disease that

has invaded his life.

" I expect to have a normal life expectancy, " he said.

http://www.bakersfield.com/business/story/760413p-811860c.html