Articles Posted in Massachusetts Work Accident

There were nearly 440 citations issued to one of BP Products North America Inc. refineries. The company was cited by safety officials back in 2009. Nearly 410 of the citations have been resolved. Under a new agreement, the company will hand over more than $13 million in fines and has already abated or will abate all other violations by the end of the year.

The 2009 inspection was the result of an agreement that was made back in 2005.

In 2005, the leading oil and gas company was cited and fined more than $20 million for an explosion that happened at the company’s Texas City refinery. In this accident, nearly 20 workers died. When the citations were issued, both BP and officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) formed an agreement that the company had to uncover and correct any and all deficiencies.

Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers understand how important it is for companies to work to ensure the safety of employees. You would think that large corporations like BP would have their act together and would have the resources to provide employees with all of the safety equipment and training necessary to keep them safe on the job. The unfortunate truth is that employees at companies of all sizes across the country are at risk for a potentially fatal work accident. Be sure to speak up if you spot a hazard on the job!

“Protecting workers and saving lives is the ultimate goal of this agreement,” said Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Labor.

Solis adds that everyone who works in the oil and gas industry deserves to feel safe when they walk into work every day. Work should never feel like a threat.

Under the newest agreement between OSHA officials and BP officials, the company says that it will correct any and all of the current violations by the end of the year. It will be using the same procedures that were established in the 2010 agreement. In that agreement, independent third-party officials were on hand to provide oversight of BP processes for relief and safety instrumented system evaluation. These same officials also provided OSHA officials with quarterly reports on the progression of the company. The agreement also made sure that the company allocated $500 million to help to improve worker safety at the refinery.

Dr. David Michaels with Occupational Safety and Health says that this agreement and these repercussions should set the tone for other employers. OSHA officials are determined to make sure that companies nationwide take safety seriously, especially among these dangerous industries that help to provide America critical natural resources.
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Cives Steel Co. has been recently cited and fined more than $130,000 for failing to reduce the risks of work accidents in New England. The steel company was slapped with a number of serious, repeat and willful violations of workplace safety standards after a recent inspection from safety officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The fines were for violations including laceration, crushing, electrical and a number of other hazards. The inspection started back in January.

“The sizable fines proposed in this case reflect the severity and recurring nature of a number of these hazards,” said William Coffin, OSHA’s area director for OSHA.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys understand that employers are required to take expeditious and effective action to eliminate all work hazards. The safety of employees is the employer’s responsibility in all fields of work. Hazards much be eliminated on the job and the proper safety equipment must be provided to all workers to help ensure that they can complete their duties safely. Employees have a right to a safe and healthy work environment. When these conditions are not met, injuries and fatalities can result.

When OSHA conducted the inspection at one of the Cives Steel Co. work sites, officials saw that maintenance workers were not being supplied with and were not using the proper personal protective equipment needed to complete the job with minimum risks for injury. Protective equipment is important for employees who work with electricity. These employees should have been provided with equipment to help to minimize the risks of electrical shock, arc blast and arc flash. Many of these employees performed diagnostic work on electrical equipment, putting them at high risks for a potentially fatal accident. Because employees didn’t have this equipment, the company was hit with about $70,000 in fines.

The company was also cited for using extension cords in place of fixed wiring. This is a problem that was previously cited at one of the company’s work sites in New York back in 2010. Because it was previously sited for this problem, the company received a repeat citation that came with a fine of more than $20,000.

Lastly, the company was slapped with nearly $50,000 in fines for nine different serious citations. Some of these citations included:

-neglecting to test and label the weight capacity of one of its in-house fabricated lifting device. These devices are only designed to life plates that weigh up to 900lbs.

-a number of laceration hazards resulting from starting chainsaws unsafely.

-neglecting to provide employees with leg protection while using chain saws.

-neglecting to have a comprehensive space entry program.

OSHA conducted the inspection on the Cives Steel Co as a part of its Site-Specific Targeting Program.
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There will soon be a three-day training event conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to help keep workers safe on the job. It’s important that these companies are properly trained in best practices, after all the safety of their workers is their responsibility. OSHA’s Office of Federal Agency Programs is teaming up with the OSHA Training Institute (OTI) to create these seminars.

They will be used to discuss workplace violence, indoor air quality, global harmonizing systems, and a number of other safety topics. The aim is to reduce the risks of work accidents in Boston and elsewhere. Officials want to make sure that federal work areas have the proper safety programs in place, the ones just like the private sector are supposed to follow too. No one is exempt from safety on the job.

In 2010, there were nearly 100 federal employee fatalities reported by federal agencies. In addition to these fatalities, there were along 30,000 workers’ compensation claims filed by workers in the federal sector after employees lost time at work following an injury. The training events are being held to help federal managers to implement and manage their own programs that can be used to deal with illness and injury prevention. One of the keys to these kinds of programs is locating and fixing on-the-job hazards and dangers, before they can strike.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys understand that supervisors are required to make sure that work areas are safe for employees. Under federal law, workers need to be provided with a safe work environment and the safety gear needed to complete the job. This even includes federal agencies. Whether you work at a desk or you work 100 feet in the air, you need to be protected from job-related hazards just the same. The OSHA event is to help to focus in on federal positions in an attempt to remind them that they’re not exempt from the requirements.

Event Details:

-When: July 31st through August 2nd.

-Where: OSHA Training Institute.

-Address: 2020 South Arlington Heights Rd., Arlington Heights, IL.

-When to register: Registration is open until the 24th of July.

-Where to register: Visit OSHA’s event website and fill out the appropriate forms. You will then have to email your forms to the Student Services Department at OTI.

Those who are a part of a government agency will not be required to pay any of the fees or the tuition of the training courses. On the other hand, those who are in the private sector as well as federal government contractors, will be required to pay, according to Department of Labor (DOL) regulations.
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A general contractor that was hired to reconstruct the Pawtucket River Bridge has recently been cited with a number of violations for failing to protect its employees from a work accident in New England.

Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have cited the company, S&R/Pihl, with nearly $61,000 in fines for a number of violations including inadequate rescue procedures and for having a number of fall hazards on site.

The company did not have any procedures in place to help to rescue an employee who was working nearly 100 feet in the air had anything of happened or had he of fallen, according to the accusations. The response plan didn’t ensure that the other employees were properly trained to deal with these hazards and the right rescue equipment was not on site, the government alleges.

Our New England workers’ compensation attorneys understand that this company, and all other employers, are required to make sure that all workers are kept safe from work hazards, including having the proper procedures and plans in place to rescue workers should one of these hazards cause an accident. When this happens and an employee is accused of knowing and disregarding of one of these hazards, they’re slapped with a willful violation, which are costly. In the case of S&R/Pihl, that citation cost them more than $55,000.

“S&R/Pihl has thus far refused to take steps to abate this hazard to its employees,” said Patrick Griffin, Area Director for OSHA.

When workers are performing duties above ground, they need to be provided with a personal fall arrest system. They also need a way to get off of the elevated work area should an emergency take place.

The company was also slapped with nearly $5,000 in fines for not having fall protection for one of its employees who was working on top of the bridge deck. This constitutes as a serious violation, meaning that there is a good chance of serious injury or death because of a hazard that the employer should have, or did, know about.

Back in April, officials with OSHA and other safety advocates across the county pushed a national campaign to help to raise awareness about fall-related injuries and ways to prevent these kinds of accidents. The campaign addressed the dangers that workers face who work on roofs, scaffolds, ladders and other areas above ground.

According to recent statistics, there were more than 10,000 people who worked in the construction industry who were injured because of a fall-related accident in 2010. There were also nearly 300 workers who were killed in these same accidents. Employers are urged to check out OSHA’s fall protection standards.
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With the Fourth of July holiday, there are increased risks for work-related accidents in Boston and elsewhere, especially if you handle fireworks for public events or work in the fireworks and pyrotechnics industry.

For this reason, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reminds all employers to take the proper safety precautions to make sure that all workers are provided with the resources they need to avoid a potentially fatal accident.

“As we look forward to celebrating July 4 with fireworks and festivities, we must also consider the safety of workers who handle pyrotechnics,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSH, Dr. David Michaels.

Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers understand that individuals in this industry will be busy putting on fireworks shows for residents and visitors across the state. Workers who display, make, sell and handle these dangerous materials need to be safe and cautious before, during and after every event. One wrong move could produce catastrophic results.

To help get everyone started, officials with OSHA are sharing their Firework Safety web page with those who work with fireworks displays and retail sales of fireworks. On this web page, you can find a plethora of information regarding the dangers, hazards and risks that are prominent through all aspects of the industry. To help to better educate employers and employees, the web page offers free downloadable posters as well as a video that shows the proper ways to handle fireworks and other details of retail sales and manufacturers. This information is based on the National Fire Protection Association’s consensus standards.

In 2011, there were nearly 10,000 fireworks-related injuries suffered throughout the United States. Of these injuries, about 70 percent of them were sustained during the 30 days surrounding the Fourth of July. Both employers and employees are urged to check and double check their work before the big bang!

You may remember the fireworks accident from back in 1997 in which 3 employees were killed. It happened when one of the workers used a hand-held road flare to ignite the fuse of the one of the mortars. When he lit the mortar, it only got about 10 feet in the air before it started to come back down. As it did, he yelled “fire in the hole,” as the shell hit the deck of the barge, landing between the “ready box” that contained additional shells. The shell exploded upon impact with the steel floor. The explosion and the flames killed three of the employees and injured another.

If you’re working around fireworks or you’re going to be around them this Fourth of July, you’re urged to take the proper safety precautions to avoid a potentially fatal accident. Employers are to make sure that workers are provided with all of the necessary safety equipment to complete the job. Enjoy the holiday and make it a safe one. Happy Fourth of July!
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If you or someone you love works in hydraulic fracturing operations, listen up! Safety Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as well we the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently issued a hazard alert to help to protect workers from silica-related work injuries in Boston and elsewhere.

Safety officials are working to help make sure that employers are taking the proper steps to protect these employees, the ones who are at serious risk for cancer and other lung-related diseases.

Recently safety officials concluded a study that illustrated the side effects and the risks to workers’ health that hydraulic fracturing operation positions can cause. The main topic of this study was silica exposure, which can be found in large quantities in these industries, and the dangers that are associated with it.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys understand that officials with NIOSH took air samples at 11 work sites in various states and determined that the most common source of silica exposure was workers in sand movers and blender operations. These conditions were even worse during hot loading. Those who breathe in silica all day, each day are at the highest risks for developing silicosis. Silicosis is a disease which causes lung inflammation and can even cause scarring, which can hinder the lung’s ability to absorb oxygen. Silica has also been linked to various forms of lung dangers and a number of other diseases, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, kidney and autoimmune disease as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Many of these diseases are irreversible and can cause a lifetime of pain and suffering.

The recent alert comes on the heels of these findings. Within this alert, employers are to make sure that employees are protected from the overexposure to silica. In the recent silica alert, employers can learn about how to protect employees, how to protect machinery, as well as about various engineering controls, worker training, product substitution, work practices, etc.

Safety officials say that work practices and engineering controls and the best ways to protect employees. What happens is when silica sand is pushed through sand movers, into blender hoppers, along transfer belts, etc., that dust can be released into the air. Unfortunately, this dust contains nearly 99 percent silica that employees breathe.

“Hazardous exposures to silica can and must be prevented,” said Dr. David Michaels, with OSH.

Respirable crystalline silica is the portion of crystalline silica that is small enough to enter the gas-exchange regions of the lungs if inhaled; this includes particles with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 micrometers (μm).
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Tribe Mediterranean Foods was recently cited by safety officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with more than $702,000 in fines for violating a number of federal safety standards after a fatal work accident. The hummus manufacturer was cited with 18 violations for failing to protect employees from work-related accidents in Taunton. Officials with OSHA’s Boston office inspected the work site back in December of 2011 after an employee got caught in a machine and was crushed to death.

Officials concluded that the employee involved in the accident and six others weren’t properly trained on hazardous energy control procedures. According to federal law, these kinds of procedures need to be in place and need to be put into effect. Employees need to be properly trained to shut these machines down as well as how to lock out the power sources before performing maintenance on them. These procedures are in place to help to make sure that these machines are not working when employees perform these duties and that they have no chance of turning on while the work is being done.

Our Taunton workers’ compensation attorneys employees face higher accident risks if they’re not being properly trained. If you’re on the job and you’re not receiving the proper training, you’re urged to speak up. Not having workplace knowledge can result in serious injury and even death. Not only are you required to be provided with the proper training, but employers are also required to make sure that all machinery is properly safeguarded and that employees are provided with the proper safety equipment to perform each job.

“The employer knew it needed to train these workers so they could protect themselves,” said Dr. David Michaels with the Occupational Safety and Health.

Tribe Mediterranean Foods was cited once for each of the employees who were not properly trained and once for each hazard that they were exposed to.

When there is a particularly blatant lack of compliance and exposure to dangers on the work site, officials can choose to issue violations on a per-instance basis, meaning that they can be cited for each employee that was exposed to a particular hazard instead of just once citation for the hazard itself.

In addition to these violations, the company was also cited with neglecting to train maintenance employees to point out dangerous energy sources and another for neglecting to create and enforce a comprehensive lockout/tagout procedure.

Lastly, the company was handed three repeat violations, meaning they were cited for dangers that it had already been cited for in the past.
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Did you know that a recent study from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) concluded that there were nearly 15 people who were killed on the job during each day of 2010?

The recent report also concluded that the number of fatal work accidents in Boston and elsewhere is on the rise. This is all in the face of a struggling economy and relatively high unemployment rates, both factors that should typically decrease the number of injuries on the job. The number of work hours has seen a significant decrease recently, yet the number of fatal work accidents continues to rise, according to World News Report.

Officials with AFL-CIO say that the recent discoveries should be enough to cause some change, that employers should take the time to look over their workplace hazards, policies and procedures to help to protect their employees. It is every employer’s responsibility to provide a safe workplace for workers.

Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers understand that there were nearly 5,000 people in the United States who were killed on the job in 2010. And this statistic doesn’t even include those who died from work-related diseases. When you include that number, officials think you can add on another 50,000.

Typically, Latino employees had a workplace death rate that was nearly 10 percent higher than the death rate for employees nationwide. The construction industry lost the most workers. Some of the states with the highest work-related fatality rates included the Dakotas, Wyoming, West Virginia and Alaska.

Luckily, the state of Massachusetts joined Rhode Island and New Hampshire with some of the lowest work-related fatality rates. Still, we lost far too many employees throughout the year. t’s important that workers throughout the state keep safety as a number one priority on each and every work site.

In addition to these fatalities, there were another 4 million people who were injured on the job. Researchers and authors of the newly-released report believe that this number is actually much higher as they feel that many of the accidents were never reported. Officials believe that the actual number of more than 11 million. Together, workplace injuries and illnesses cost the country close to $300 billion every year.

Since we’re seeing an increase in the number of workplace accidents, injuries and fatalities, it’s important for companies and employers to review their policies and to make sure that their work sites are safe. All known hazards need to be eliminated and employees need to be offered the proper safety equipment.
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Hilda L. Solis with the U.S. Department of Labor recently made an announcement saying that about $12 million in federal funds was awarded through the Workforce Data Quality Initiative.

With the new initiative, 12 more states will be able to build or grow longitudinal databases of workforce data. This information will be linked to educational data to help to make workplaces safer, to help to reduce the risks of work accidents in Boston and elsewhere and to help to improve the performance of various workplace development programs.

It’s comprehensive programs like this that help to keep communication alive in the workplace and help to warn employers and employees about the risks for accidents on the job.

Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers understand that Massachusetts was one of the 12 states to be chosen to receive funds from this grant through this second round. The funding is going to help companies and workforces to create the means to provide policymakers, practitioners and consumers with info regarding the relationship between workforce development programs and education.

Those who have received the funds should be able to use the databases to conduct analysis and research that can be used to determine just how effective workforce and various education programs can be used.

The grants will be distributed through a three-year grant time. Throughout this time, there are a number of goals that officials with the Department of Labor intend on achieving:

-Creating and improving existing data systems.

-Improving the breadth and the quality of information and data in these kinds of systems.

-Using this information to help to provide information about various program operations.

-Analyzing the performance of employment training and education programs.

-Providing consumers with user-friendly info to help employers and employees to create the programs that best suit the needs of their workplace.

The states that were awarded this grant:

-Washington
-South Dakota
-Rhode Island
-Pennsylvania
-Oklahoma
-New Jersey
-Nebraska
-Michigan
-Illinois
-Idaho
-Hawaii
-Arkansas
In 2010, there were more than 2 million total recorded work-related injuries in the private industry throughout the United States. Of these reports, nearly 1 million of them required time away from work. In addition to these injuries, there were nearly 5,000 fatalities reports. Some of the top causes of work-related fatalities in the country were highway accidents, falls and homicides.

Some of the most common injuries sustained on the job by workers throughout the country include sprains, strains, tears, various injuries to the back and injuries resulting from fall-related accidents.

Employers have a responsibility to minimize the risks for accidents on the job. Safety should always be a number one priority at work. Safety and preparation help to keep workers safe!
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As we recently reported on our Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog, the entire month of June is being dedicated to worker safety by the National Safety Council (NSC).

During this time, officials are working to educate employees about the risks they face on the job and they are also offering simple ways to help to reduce these kinds of risks. We recently discussed the importance of ergonomics.

For the third week of the month-long campaign, we will be discussing the risks that are associated with slips, trips and falls as well as ways to prevent these kinds of accidents. This is an important topic to discuss through this campaign as falls are among some of the top causes of unintentional injury. These accidents account for nearly 10 million emergency room visits every year in the U.S.

Our Boston personal injury attorneys understand that fall-related accidents are completely preventable. Most people think fall accidents are the result of being clumsy or simply not paying attention, but the truth of the matter is that there are many factors that are involved in fall accidents. Some of these factors include your environment, your health condition and various age-related issues. Luckily, there are simple ways to help to reduce the risks for a slip, a trip or a fall in your home and in your work environment.

Simple Ways to Reduce the Risks of Fall Accidents:

-Make sure that floors are clear of clutter at all times.

-Make sure that all walking areas are well lit.

-Keep electrical cords out of walkways. If they need to be there, be sure to keep these cords secure.

-Consider putting non-skid rugs in slippery areas. Bathrooms are a common place for these items.

-On stairways and porches, consider installing handrails.

-Use a sturdy step stool when climbing or reaching for something up high.

-If you spill something on the ground, clean it up immediately.

-Make sure you wear non-slip, sensible footwear.

-You never want to stand on anything that has wheels, like a table or a chair.

-Make sure that your furniture is arranged so that there’s plenty of walk room.

-In outdoor walkways, be sure to clear fallen leaves, snow and other hazards.

-Remember that alcohol and medications can increase your risks for a fall. Many medications can alter a person’s balance. Know the side effects of your medications.

Chances are that you have a friend or someone in your family who has suffered a fall-related accident. Maybe you have experienced one of these accidents personally. Falls took the lives of about 25,000 people in 2009. Take the time to remove slip, trip and fall hazards to keep your family and your workplace safe.
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