Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

13.  Commitments and Contingencies

General

We are subject to various other claims and contingencies arising out of the normal course of business, including those relating to governmental investigations and proceedings, commercial transactions, product liability, employee related matters, antitrust, safety, health, taxes, environmental  and other matters.  Litigation is subject to many uncertainties and the outcome of individual litigated matters is not predictable with assurance.  It is possible that some litigation matters for which reserves have not been established could be decided unfavorably to us, and that any such unfavorable decisions could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We are generally self-insured up to certain limits for product/general liability, workers' compensation, auto liability and professional liability insurance programs.  These policies have deductibles and self-insured retentions ranging from $150 thousand to $1.5 million per occurrence, depending upon the type of coverage and policy period.  We are also generally self-insured up to certain stop-limits for certain employee health benefits, including medical, drug and dental.  Our policy is to estimate reserves based upon a number of factors including known claims, estimated incurred but not reported claims and outside actuarial analysis, which are based on historical information along with certain assumptions about future events. Such estimated reserves are classified as Other Current Liabilities and Other Long-Term Liabilities within the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.