Declarations

Obesity Benefit

“(It’s) a huge public health problem. In the space of a few decades, we’ve gone from having a very large percentage of occupations involving regular activity to one where those jobs are very rare.”

—Russell Pate, a professor who has served on the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, commenting on obesity in the workplace after a New Jersey appeals court ruled that 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. Millions of Americans have sedentary desk jobs. The case raised questions whether poor health contributed to her death or whether poor work environment did.

Rigger License

“We have determined that Mr. Rapetti took shortcuts while erecting the tower crane by using damaged equipment and failing to follow the manufacturer’s specific instructions. Those shortcuts sacrificed the safety of the job site and led to horrific consequences.”

—New York Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri commenting on the stripping of the license of the rigger who worked on a massive construction crane that collapsed and killed seven people in New York City. An administrative judge said the rigger’s sloppy work was to blame for the collapse, despite his acquittal on all criminal charges last year.

Reinsurance Pricing

“Although there has not been an overall change in market pricing in the wake of further natural catastrophes in the second quarter, including storms and tornadoes across the United States, the global insurance market remains under pressure.”

—Nick Bacon, CEO of Bowring Marsh.

Hurricane Season

“Typically we see five or six hurricanes but with the conditions forecast we could see as many as eight to 10.”

—James Elsner, director of the Hurricane Climate Lab at Florida State University.