Articles Posted in Massachusetts Work Accident

Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are working to make sure that workplace safety is improved through better recording of work accidents and injuries. They recently proposed a new rule to achieve this, and released the news to coincide with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ release of its annual Occupational Injuries and Illnesses report. This report estimated that roughly 3 million people were injured on the job last year.

“Three million injuries are three million too many,” said Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor.

Our workers’ compensation lawyers in Massachusetts understand that under the OSHA’s current recordkeeping regulation, covered employers are required to prepare and maintain records of serious occupational injuries and illnesses, using the OSHA 300 Log. This information is important for employers, workers and OSHA in evaluating the safety of a workplace, understanding industry hazards, and implementing worker protections to reduce and eliminate hazards. With the changes that have been proposed, officials with OSHA look to make sure that everyone in the workplace has better access to accident information to help to better create rules, regulations and standards for preventative measures to avoid on-the-job accidents. The proposal was created to modify an employer’s obligation to transmit records to OSHA.
Continue reading

The “Winter Alert” campaign is in full effect, according to the U.S. Department of Labor‘s Mine Safety and Health Administration. This campaign works to warn coal mine operators and miners of the risks and hazards that accompany winter weather. According to the latest statistics, we most commonly see deadly mine explosions from the months of October through March. These incidents are much more likely during cold periods than during warmer periods.

“Operators of underground coal mines need to be fully aware of the precautions they can take to avoid tragic accidents at their mine sites,” said the assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, Joseph A. Main.

Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers understand that during winter months, huge decreases in barometric pressure allow potentially explosive methane to move from remote areas to working areas of an underground coal mine. These conditions increase the risks that methane could mix with an ignition source and an explosion could occur. As a matter of fact, more than 100 miners have been killed in mine explosions over the last 20 years.
Continue reading

Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently cited New England’s Palumbo Trucking Inc. and ordered the owner of the company to withdraw a retaliatory lawsuit filed against two former workers of the commercial motor carrier who raised safety concerns, pay them $60,000 in damages and take other corrective actions.

“Filing a baseless, retaliatory lawsuit against workers who engaged in protected activity has a profound chilling effect,” said OSHA’s New England regional administrator, Marthe Kent.

Our workers’ compensation lawyers in Massachusetts understand that there are laws in place to protect employees who report violations of various workplace safety. As a worker in the United States, you have a right to a safe workplace and you also have the right to speak up about any safety-related concerns. In the recent incident, OSHA found that the company violated federal protection provisions when they filed a lawsuit against two of its workers. The two workers allegedly filed complaints about issues they had with one of their work trucks.
Continue reading

Workplace violence or injuries involving assault or attack are a leading cause of work-related injury. For workers in convenient stores, bars and gas stations, late hours could pose additional risk of injuries. These workers are especially at risk if they work late hours alone on the job. An increased risk of confrontations or violence should put late-shift workers and their employers on notice. If you are a late-night worker and suffered an attack or other injury on the job, you may be entitled to compensation, including workers’ compensation benefits.

Anyone in customer service must deal with short-tempered or abusive customers. For late-night employees, vulnerability to a late-night crowd could create additional risks of a confrontation. Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys are experienced with helping employees collect the compensation they are entitled to after an injury. We are dedicated to worker safety and are committed to staying abreast of the potential dangers faced by our local workforce.
Continue reading

Employers will soon be looking for more workers who have been unemployed for 6 months or longer, as well as those who are Massachusetts veterans. According to the Massachusetts Department of Labor and Workforce, officials with the Patrick Administration in Veterans Services have more than doubled the amount of cash grants that are available to companies who hire these individuals, and it’s all available through the state’s Hiring Incentive Training Grant (HITG).

“This grant program is a valuable incentive for employers who want to boost their workforce but may need additional resources to add new hires,” said Joanne F. Goldstein, Secretary for the Labor and Workforce Development.

Our Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers understand that employers can receive $5,000 for each new hire that meets the qualifications of this program. Employers are eligible to receive nearly $80,000 each year. Once the worker is hired, they have to remain employed for a minimum of 120 days to qualify. But is this the best or safest way to get people back to work?
Continue reading

Transportation accidents continue to be some of the deadliest on the job. That’s why officials have designated an entire week of October to “Drive Safely Work Week.”

According to the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS), this year’s safety week is highlighting how being at your physical and mental best — along with the “health” of your vehicle–are all connected in making us safer drivers.

Our workers’ compensation attorneys in Massachusetts understand that employers have the ability to reach more than half of the driving population in the country to help to make our roadways safer. And this reaches out to even more people when you factor in workers’ friends and family members. Employers should not only educate driving workers about safe habits behind the wheel, but they should also keep an eye on accident trends to help to make safe changes for the future. Back in January of 2009, officials with the NSC called for a nationwide ban on all cell phone use while driving. Those who use cell phones behind the wheel are much more likely to get into a fatal accident, and it’s our working drivers who are most likely to use the phone behind the wheel.
Continue reading

With each and every job position we face workplace risks that could potentially leading to serious injury or disability. Some of these risks are more prominent that others. Once again, fall protection takes the number one spot on the list of Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s most-cited workplace safety violations, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). This year’s list of Top 10 was announced at the 2013 National Safety Council Congress & Expo.

“Today’s presentation reminds us that it’s very important to learn from the past and address these top violations to help make our workplaces safer,” said Janet Froetscher, President and CEO of the NSC.

Our workers’ compensation lawyers in Massachusetts understand that you have the right to a safe workplace under federal law. There are regulations in place to prevent workers from being killed or seriously harmed on the job. Almost always, workplace deaths and injuries are clearly preventable. Workplace hazards are well-known and painstakingly researched, and employers have a responsibility to follow established safety and health laws and common sense safety practices that prevent tragedies. Still, close to 5,200 Americans die from on the job accidents & injuries each and every year. That is more loss of life than during the attacks of September 11th.
Continue reading

A work site in Chelsea was recently slapped with close to $35,000 in fines for what Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials called potential cave-in hazards.

The Medford contractor, Tufts Inc., was cited and fined following a complaint filed back in July. Upon receiving this complaint, officials from the Andover Area office claimed that they witnessed employees putting in a sewer pipe along 30 High Street in an unprotected 7-foot-deep excavation.

Our Medford workers’ compensation lawyers understand that excavation and trenching are among the most hazardous construction operations. What OSHA found on this work site is that workers did not have the proper protection against a wall collapse, and they were also working without a ladder or any other safe ingress or egress. Water had also accumulated at the bottom of the project, while the asphalt at the top of the project was not supported to keep it from falling.
Continue reading

As we have discussed in prior posts, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is charged with ensuring safe environments for America’s workforce. In addition to creating regulations, performing inspections, and providing safety training, OSHA also has the authority to fine employers and businesses when they are in violation of OSHA regulations.

According to