Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration has announced immediate changes to how companies must conduct outreach safety training programs after concern that employers were cramming training into unreasonably long workdays, thereby endangering employee safety.

Our Boston work injury lawyers are too often called to represent an injured employee after a Massachusetts work accident that could have been prevented with proper training and/or safety equipment. Unfortunately, employers sometimes put profits before safety. Amid the current economic challenges, OSHA became concerned that employees were not being provided adequate time to digest information provided in 10-hour and 30-hour training courses — primarily because companies were holding the training sessions in one-day or three-day marathon sessions.

The revisions permit a maximum of 7.5 hours of safety training a day. Ten-hour sessions must be held over at least two days. Thirty-hour sessions must occur over a minimum of four days.

“Limiting daily class hours will help ensure that workers receive and retain quality safety training,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels.

The government was also concerned that the minimum training hours were not being met during 13- or 16-hour training days after breaks, lunch and other down time was taken into account.

A safety training fraud hotline has also been established, where fraud can be reported by employees or other interested parties.

The Outreach Training Program involves more than 17,000 independent trainers who teach employees workers’ rights and how to identify and prevent workplace hazards. The 10- and 30-hour classes are for construction, general industry and maritime, while a 16-hour class is provided for disaster site workers.
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A Boston work accident resulting from a collapsing gas-line trench has resulted in a $36,500 proposed fine, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration reported.

OSHA cited National Grid for six alleged serious violations of trenching safety standards after an employee was injured by a falling rock. The June 21 collapse of the gas line trench happened on Woodbine Avenue in Boston.

Boston workers’ compensation lawyers understand the inherent dangers faced by workers in trenches. Excavated dirt left at the edge of the trench can increase the pressure on trench walls. Heavy equipment working at the edges can increase vibrations in the ground and increase the risk of a trench collapse. Employers have an obligation to provide employees with the proper training and equipment necessary to stay safe when excavating or working in trenches.

Construction accidents caused by trench collapses result in an average of more than 70 deaths a year. Ten times as many workers are injured.

In this case, OSHA found the trench lacked protection against wall collapse and exposed workers to being struck by falling rock and soil. The workers also lacked proper training and the trench had not been properly inspected.

“This is precisely the type of incident OSHA’s excavation standards are designed to prevent,” said Brenda Gordon, OSHA’s area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts. “A competent inspection would have identified and allowed these hazardous conditions to be fixed before workers ever entered the trench. I urge employers to prevent incidents such as this one by always following proper procedures and ensuring effective trenching safeguards at all jobsites.”
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The risk of Massachusetts work accidents caused by hazardous chemicals was highlighted by a forum this fall held by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, which aims to update exposure reduction strategies and other safety measures.

Serious or fatal injuries caused by hazardous chemical exposure are among the most complex work injury cases handled by our Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers. While some cases result from a chemical spill or work accident, many other cases result from the impact chemical exposure has on an employee over a long period of time.

OSHA reports that many of the government safety agency’s 400 permissible exposure limits (PELs) date to the agency’s founding a half-century ago. The government has implemented more protective regulations on only about 29 chemicals.

“Many of our permissible exposure limits are based on 1950s-era science that we now realize is inadequate to protect workers in 21st century workplaces,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels. “We must assure the protection of workers currently exposed to well-recognized chemical hazards for which we have an inadequate PEL or no PEL at all. I am hopeful that this forum will assist us in achieving that goal by helping us to identify those chemicals on which we should be focusing our efforts.”

Exposure to harmful chemicals in the workplace can damage virtually all parts of the body, including lungs, skin, liver, kidneys and eyes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 55,000 workers suffered illnesses related to chemical exposure in the workplace in 2007 — though the government knows that estimate does not begin to account for those injured by chemical exposure that will not present physical symptoms for years or decades to come.

Massachusetts work accidents caused by exposure to harmful chemicals or environments claimed 11 lives last year — another 7 employees died as a result of fires or explosion.
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