Boston Work Accidents

December 28, 2015

Armed Robberies Can Lead to OSHA Citations for Employers

Violence in the workplace is a major issue year-round, including during the holiday season when financial stress can lead to criminal acts. Employers must be aware of the risks of violence faced by employees and must ensure that they take steps to prevent injuries and deaths from occurring. While employers cannot prevent every single act of violence which occurs, they are required to take reasonable precautions to reduce the chances employees will be victimized by violence.

Preventing Employee Injuries and Fatalities Due to Workplace Violence

Safety BLR reports on a situation where an employer was held responsible by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for a failure to protect workers from threats of violence. OSHA standards do not specifically address the obligation of a company to protect against violent acts, but a failure to provide adequate safeguards can be a violation of the general duty clause. In the case reported on by Safety BLR, it was this standard used to impose liability on an employer and the proposed penalty to be levied against the company was $7,000.

December 20, 2015

Keeping Boston Employees Safe During the Busy Holiday Shopping Season

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The holiday season brings significant workplace safety risks to employees within the hospitality field and within the retail field. An influx of customers can mean added dangers that leave employees vulnerable. Workers need to be aware of the added risks they face, but ultimately it is employers who are going to be responsible for making sure working conditions are safe no matter what the season brings.

December 18, 2015

Seasonal Temp Workers in Boston Present Workplace Safety Challenges

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

To meet excess demand during the holiday season, many companies need to hire part-time or seasonal workers. The hiring of seasonal help is common in the retail industry and the hospitality industry, but other companies may also bring in extra help as well, including landscape companies hired to do holiday decorations for their customers.

Whenever seasonal workers are hired, these temporary employees often come into the job unfamiliar with workplace safety protocols. This means these employees are at added risk of injury, and their lack of knowledge of safety processes can also endanger all full-time workers on-the-job as well. Employers need to be aware that seasonal temp hires can present added risks of accidents and must take all reasonable steps to reduce the dangers.

November 30, 2015

New Wearable Safety Technology for Industrial Workers

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Industrial workers often find themselves working in harsh environments. We have workers in steel mills and metallurgy plants working in and around molten metals, which are not only glowing hot but may also be emitting toxic gases. When conditions get dangerous, workers may have no clue until a serious or fatal accident occurs. This is also true of first responders who are constantly rushing into burning buildings or putting themselves under vehicles that are on the verge of collapse.

According to a recent news feature form EHS Today, Intel and Honeywell are teaming up to produce a wearable safety system for industrial workers and first responders. The wearable sensors can monitor employees’ present vital signs as well as conditions in the room. If the workers are wearing an air pack or other respirator or ventilator, the system can monitor that too. The wearable technology will send its data to a local hub that can allow scene commanders to monitor all employees or first responders at one time. They will know if conditions are getting worse, and they will know if someone is hurt. This will increase the rate at which a rescue team can respond, which will help save lives of those injured on the job. Continue reading

November 25, 2015

Report: Three Construction Workers Injured in Boston Area

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news report form 7 News Boston, three construction workers were injured in an accident in Lowell, Massachusetts, just north of Boston. Lowell Police are reporting that three workers had dug a trench in the road to install a new natural gas line when a 76-year-old woman approached the construction site in her Mazda at high speed.

After she allegedly failed to slow down or move out of the way the of the active construction site, she swerved to get around slower moving traffic and crashed into a Bobcat (small bulldozer) alongside the trench. This caused the Bobcat to spin around, throwing one construction worker high in the air. He suffered a large gash on his head. The Bobcat driver and another construction worker were injured when they tried to jump clear of the spinning piece of construction equipment. Continue reading

November 23, 2015

Report: Worker Inured at Psychiatric Hospital

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Recently, there has been an increasing amount of coverage about the dangers faced by workers at the psychiatric hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts. This is one of a few state-run mental health facilities where inmates in the criminal justice system are sent for competency restoration and, in some cases, long-term inpatient commitment. This is a dangerous job, because healthcare workers are asked to care for patients who suffer from serious psychological illness, including schizophrenia and paranoid schizophrenia, as well as bipolar disorder and a variety of other disorders that can manifest themselves with violent tendencies. Many of the inmates are also classified into what is known as a dual diagnosis, with alcohol or drug addiction being the second diagnosis. This can amplify the psychotic behavior significantly.

However, as one could expect, Massachusetts is not the only place where this problem exists for hospital workers. According to a recent news article from Utica Observer Dispatch, a worker at central New York state psychiatric facility was recently assaulted. Authorities say the woman assaulted was a treatment assistant at a secured hospital facility. Continue reading

November 19, 2015

Sorensen v. Harbor Bar, LLC: Workers’ Compensation Appeals

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Sorensen v. Harbor Bar, LLC, a case from the Supreme Court of South Dakota, involved a claimant who graduated from high school and then enrolled in culinary school. However, she dropped out of culinary school in her first year and moved back home, but found her own apartment. She took a job as server at a restaurant in 2009.

Court records indicate that, while she was working on New Year’s Eve as a server for her employer, there was a fight, and claimant tried to break it up. One of her co-workers saw her in the middle of the fight, and he tried to help her. At this point he saw another customer hitting a person who was lying on the floor. He pulled the customer off the person on the floor, and he discovered it was claimant who the man was attacking as he laid on the floor. Claimant managed to get up and ran to the bathroom in an attempt to clean herself up. Later on, others in the bar noticed she had two black eyes and was complaining of a headache. Continue reading

November 11, 2015

Several Workers Injured In Massachusetts Wall Collapse

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from Mass Live, police are looking into a wall collapse that resulted in several construction workers being injured at a home in Merrimac, Massachusetts.

Authorities have said that just after noon, first responders, including police, firefighters, and EMTs were called in response to a report that second floor wall collapsed on the jobsite of home still under construction. When they arrived on the scene, they learned that the wall had fallen from the second story of the home and fell directly on top of several construction workers. Continue reading

November 1, 2015

Deli Worker Shot and Killed by Customer

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In most workers’ compensation cases, we are generally dealing what would be considered an accident. This could be an industrial accident, such as person being hurt by a machine or other piece of equipment such as forklift, or we could be dealing with a car accident while driving on the job. In some cases, we are dealing with merchandise or an inventory item falling from a high shelf and injuring claimant. However, in some cases, we are dealing with an injury or death caused by what is definitely not an accident. In some cases, a worker is injured by the intentional acts of a customer, vendor, or third party. Workers’ Compensation may still be the appropriate remedy in these cases.

According to a recent news article form the New York Times, a deli worker in Brooklyn was shot and killed on a Sunday morning during an argument in the deli in which he was employed. Officers say the three men in the deli got into an argument with the worker. At some point, the three men left the deli, but allegedly one of the three men came back to the deli and shot the worker in his chest before running out of the shop. This worker was rushed to a level-one trauma center in the area, but unfortunately, there was nothing doctors could do for him, and he was soon pronounced dead. He was 45 years old at the time of his death. Continue reading

October 15, 2015

Ball v. Multiple Injury Trust Fund: Work-Related Injuries

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Ball v. Multiple Injury Trust Fund, a case from the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, involved a claimant who was injured while working at a tire plant. The injury occurred in July of 2009. Workers filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits, and a full hearing was eventually held. The judge concluded that worker was 24 percent partially permanently disabled due to her back injury and 5 percent partially permanently disabled as a result of psychological illness. She was awarded just under $50,000 in workers’ compensation benefits.

However, the court also found there were preexisting back conditions in the amount of eight percent of her total disability, and the award was adjusted to reflect the partial preexisting condition. To avoid any further litigation, the parties ultimately reached a settlement, and claimant received an award of $75,000 in addition to the previous award of $50,000. Continue reading