Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog

In a previous blog posted on our Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog we reported that 2011 marks the centennial celebration of Massachusetts workers’ compensation law. OSHA will also be celebrating their 40 years of making the workplace safe.

Our Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers acknowledge the nation’s progress in workplace safety/ But we also recognize workers continue to be injured or killed and employers need to be held accountable.

Established in 1971, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is celebrating 40 years of making the workplace a safer place to be. In 1970, an estimated 14,000 workers died on the job. By 2009, approximately 4,340 were killed in the workplace.

Of course more people are working now then in 1970; an estimated 130 million employees are working at over 7.2 million job sites. Serious workplace illnesses and injuries have dropped from 11 per 100 workers in 1972 to 3.6 per 100 workers in 2009 since the passage of the OSH Act.

Some OSHA highlights over the last 40 years:

-In the 1970’s safety standards were established for Asbestos, Construction Safety, 14 Carcinogens, Diving, Lead and Protecting Textile Workers.

-In the 1980’s safety standards for Hearing Conservation, Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, Protecting Grain Workers, Benzene, Farm workers, Protecting Meatpacking Workers, Testing Laboratories Regulations, Excavation & Trenching and OSHA Coverage for Federal Workers were established.

-In the 1990’s safety standards for Laboratory Safety, Blood borne Pathogens, Confined Spaces, Stronger Asbestos Standard, Fatal Falls in Construction, Logging and Fatal Falls in Construction.

From 2000 to today safety standards were implemented for Protecting Healthcare Workers, Steel Erection, Fire Protection for Shipyard Employment, Payment for Safety Equipment, Falls in General Industry and Crane and Derrick.

In a message from Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels about the future of OSHA, “OSHA remains committed to protecting workers from toxic chemicals and deadly safety hazards at work; ensuring that vulnerable workers in high-risk jobs have access to critical information and education about job hazards; and providing employers with vigorous compliance assistance to promote best practices that can save lives.”
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate for January 2011 had dropped 0.4% to 9.0%. The last time it was that low was April 2009 when it was 8.9%.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys are glad to see the economy recovering. If you are a new hire make sure you receive proper safety training to avoid a Massachusetts work accident.

As reported by the Workers’ Comp Gazette it appears that some members of Congress blame OSHA for jobs lost because they are punishing employers rather than promoting prevention.

Common sense rules to protect employees have been in place for over 40 years but 12 workers die every day from injuries sustained at work. Another 3 million are injured. Safety regulations must be maintained and for some companies getting hit in the bottom-line is the only way they will get the message. Employees have the right to feel safe in the workplace. In fact, they have a right to BE safe in the workplace.

Assistant secretary of labor for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Dr. David Michaels, released the following statement as the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce holds a hearing on ‘Investigating OSHA’s Regulatory Agenda and Its Impact on Job Creation.’

“I think we can all agree that the American economy must succeed but never at the cost of the safety or health of American workers. OSHA’s goal is to ensure that everyone who goes to work returns home safely. I think we can also agree that the size of a business should not determine the level of protection that a worker receives. All workers have the same right to a safe workplace.”

“Despite concerns about the effect of regulation on American business, there is clear evidence that OSHA’s commonsense regulations have made working conditions in this country today far safer than 40 years ago when the agency was created, while at the same time protecting American jobs. The truth is that OSHA standards don’t kill jobs. They stop jobs from killing workers. OSHA standards don’t just prevent worker injuries and illnesses. They also drive technological innovation, making industries more competitive.”

“The failure to issue sensible regulations endangers not only workers’ health and safety but also hurts American competitiveness. For example, because OSHA has a weak noise standard and weak enforcement, U.S. employers have no incentive to buy modern, quieter machines, which means that U.S. manufacturers don’t build them, and there are few jobs in the U.S. for engineers who could design them. A recent study by the National Academy of Engineering concludes that European manufacturers are way ahead of us in designing and building modern, quieter machinery. Today, when businesses anywhere in the world want to buy quieter equipment, they look not to the United States but to Europe.”

“As we approach OSHA’s 40th anniversary, the agency’s success has been well documented. An estimated 14,000 workers were killed on the job the year that Congress created OSHA. That number had fallen to approximately 4,340 in 2009. At the same time, U.S. employment has almost doubled and now includes more than 130 million workers at more than 7.2 million worksites. Since the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the rate of reported serious workplace injuries and illnesses has declined from 11 per 100 workers in 1972 to 3.9 per 100 workers in 2008.”
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Lack of workplace protection can often lead to what should be preventable Massachusetts work injuries. Cave-in protection was lacking at a Revere, Massachusetts jobsite. As a result, a Stoughton, Mass., contractor was fined $69,300.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys know that excavation work is extremely dangerous and claims the lives of about 50 workers a year nationally.

A worksite located at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Wonderland Station has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for alleged willful and repeat violations of workplace safety standards. At the time of the inspection the station’s parking lot was having electrical vaults installed.

A complaint about unsafe conditions initiated a night time inspection by OSHA. Inspectors found workers of A.A. Will Corp. working without cave-in protection in a trench deeper than 5 feet. The trench also lacked any means for the employees to escape in the event of a cave-in or other emergency.

“The unprotected walls of an excavation can collapse in seconds, crushing workers beneath tons of soil and debris before they have a chance to react or escape. Employers must never allow an employee to face such a dangerous situation,” said Jeffrey A. Erskine, OSHA’s area director in Middlesex and Essex counties. “Employers also should not assume that they are exempt from an OSHA inspection when they work at night. Worker safety is a priority that extends beyond nine to five hours.”

The OSHA findings of lacking cave-in protection yielded the company 1 willful citation, with a proposed fine of $61,600. Lacking a means of escape resulted in 1 repeat citation with a fine of $7,700. In February 2010, OSHA had cited the company previously for lacking a means of escape in an emergency.

A similar situation occurred as we reported in a previous blog posted on our Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog when another Massachusetts contractor faced stiff fines for endangering their workers in unprotected trenches.

OSHA safety standards regarding trenches and excavations 5 feet or deeper require protection against collapse.
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A Canon, Massachusetts contractor working at the Hultman Aqueduct project in Weston, Mass., has been cited for repeat and serious OSHA violations.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys continue to be concerned about Massachusetts construction workers whose employers repeatedly violate safety standards.

Inspectors for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Barletta Heavy Division Inc. for alleged safety standard violations. Proposed fines to the Canton contractor total $52,500.

Employees were observed working without hearing protection inside the excessively noisy aqueduct tunnel. Other observations included: the work area lacked fire extinguishers and workers were to close to an exposed energized electrical panel. Fall protection was lacking, thereby exposing employees to fall hazards of up to 14 feet, and ladders didn’t extend at least 3 feet above the upper landing, which caused a stability issue.

In a previous blog posted on our Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog we reported that employees working in high-risk occupations don’t use hearing protection enough. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there were 22,000 hearing loss cases reported in 2008.

Barletta Heavy Division Inc. was cited by OSHA back in 2008 for similar fall hazards at two worksites in Boston. Employers are issued repeat citation if they have been cited in the past 5 years for the same hazards. In this case proposed fines of $37,500 were issued for two repeat offenses.

We recently reported on our Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog on another Massachusetts contractor cited for failing to provide fall protection to their workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 11 fatal falls in Massachusetts in 2009.

Serious citations were issued for the fire extinguisher, noise and electrical hazards with proposed fines of $15,000.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) including hearing protection and fall protection are items employers are required to provide their workers.

The recently released directive from OSHA Enforcement Guidance for Personal Protective Equipment in General Industry lists PPE that employers must provide for its employees for free. This directive went into effect February 10th.
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The Enforcement Guidance for Personal Protective Equipment in General Industry was recently released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The new guidelines went into effect February 10th.

This directive provides inspectors with instructions for deciding if employers have complied with OSHA standards regarding personal protective equipment (PPE).

Our Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers frequently report about the importance of the use and access to personal protective equipment in the workplace.

Back in November 2007, OSHA issued a final rule on ‘Employer Payment for Personal Protective Equipment’. General industry, marine terminals, construction, longshoring and shipyard employers are required by this rule to provide, at no cost to the employee, most types of required personal protective equipment.

This new directive, Enforcement Guidance for Personal Protective Equipment in General Industry, replaces the very outdated (June 1995) directive, Inspection Guidelines for 29 CFR 1910 Subpart I, the revised Personal Protective Equipment Standards for General Industry. The main points to the new directive is to clarify when employers have to pay or not pay for PPE and clarify the type of PPE the employer must provide.

Personal protective equipment that employers need to provide, free of cost to employees include:

-Various foot protection.
-Various types of gloves.
-Goggles and face shields.
-Respirators.
-Hearing protection.
-Hard hats, fall protection, ladder safety belts.
-Medical/laboratory workers: lab coats, aprons, gloves, shoe covers, goggles.

Personal protective equipment that employers don’t need to provide includes:

-Rain gear.
-Back belts.
-Cold weather gear.
-Uniforms used only to identify a person as an employee.
-Hairnets and gloves used during food preparation.

A complete list of items can be found in the Enforcement Guidance for Personal Protective Equipment in General Industry directive.

Employers are required to train employees that have to wear personal protective equipment on how to: use the equipment properly, know when and what kind of personal protective equipment to use, understand that personal protective equipment has limitations, clean and maintain protective equipment properly, and demonstrate how to put on, fine-tune, wear, and remove personal protective equipment.
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Northeast Hospital Corp. in Beverly was recently cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for alleged violations of electrical safety standards. OSHA was alerted to the issues by a complaint from a worker. Proposed fines for repeat and serious violations would be $63,000.

Our Massachusetts workers’ compensation attorneys understand the extreme dangers and devastating injuries caused by electricity.

Inspectors found employees changing circuit breakers on live electrical panels. This is extremely dangerous and exposes the workers to the risk of arc flash incidents, burns, electric shock and electrocution. While working on live electrical panel’s employees either did not use or lacked personal protective equipment. Other issues found included a lack of consistent testing of electrical protective equipment; work practices related to electrical safety were not used; and no specific plans were in place for controlling electric current while replacing electrical breakers.

Four serious citations were issued following the inspection, resulting in $28,000 in fines. Serious citations are issued by OSHA when there is substantial risk of serious physical harm or death from hazards that the employer knew or should have known about.

One repeat citation was issued with a fine of $35,000 for not closing unused openings in cabinet motor control centers and electrical panels. The hospital was previously cited for this same issue during a May 2010 inspection. A facility receives a repeat citation if they have been cited for the same violation in the last five years.

“Electricity can kill or severely injure workers, literally in a flash. There is no margin for error here,” said Jeffrey Erskine, OSHA’s area director for Essex and Middlesex counties. “That’s why it is vitally important for the safety and well-being of employees working with electricity that they be properly trained and equipped with effective protective equipment.”

OSHA explains the three types of burns caused by electricity:

-Electrical burns occur, usually to the hand, when electric current passes through or goes near your body.

-Arc burns occur from an electric arc, which is when a very strong electric current jumps from a gap in a circuit. An example of an electric arc occurs in welding and an extreme example is lightning. The extreme heat from the arc causes the burn.

-Thermal contact burns are caused from extreme heat or fire from malfunctioning electrical equipment.
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