Citation

Bale A. Am. J. Ind. Med. 1988; 13(4): 499-513.

Affiliation

Center for Mental Health Service Research, Yale Psychiatric Institute, New Haven CT 06519.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2966577

Abstract

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, new knowledge of work-related illness became part of discourses in several institutional spheres on the relationship between aspects of the economy and workers' health. Appeals courts and state legislatures invoked this knowledge in their deliberations on legislation to ease the coercive aspects of the employment relationship. Insurers used the knowledge to help determine what types of coverage would be available to different occupational groups. In the courts, a narrow compensation remedy evolved for illness caused by employers' failure to warn of latent risks. This small, legal zone of protection of workers' health was separated out from the massive amount of uncompensated, preventable work-related illness.

Language: en