Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog

Business owners have a lot on their plate as they focus on complying with new laws for employee health benefits and struggle to compete in an economy where growth is still relatively slow. A recent survey, however, shows that for many small businesses, the top concern is not necessarily cyber security or professional liability. Instead, many small business owners say that one of their biggest worries is keeping employees safe on the job.

While it’s good news that small business owners place a premium on employee safety, the fact is that limited budgets and a lack of widespread OSHA enforcement can make it difficult for workplaces to be as safe as they could be. Even when employers are careful and do everything right, a worker could still be hurt. This is why workers’ compensation benefits provide coverage for any on-the-job injury no matter whether any negligence was involved or not. Victims who are hurt because of their work duties can get benefits and a workers’ compensation lawyer can help.
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The Occupational Safety & Health Administration is evolving to protect workers’ rights, although the agency is largely understaffed and can be slow to react to pass rules to protect workers.

The political climate in Washington is largely gridlocked, making it difficult for a lot of advancement in work-safety legislation, while ongoing efforts at austerity mean that OHSA is unlikely to get a lot more money to protect workers anytime soon. Still, this doesn’t mean that OSHA isn’t making changes and Safety News Alert has recently highlighted some top OSHA efforts in 2014.

Workers cannot necessarily count on OSHA to provide a safe workplace. Instead, a workplace accident lawyer should be consulted by workers who fear an unsafe workplace or who have been hurt on the job. While an attorney can be the best advocate for an employee, keeping up-to-date on OSHA’s actions is useful to know what steps the agency is taking to protect the workforce.
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Winter weather creates a variety of hazards that can significantly impact everyday tasks and work activities. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), common winter work dangers include environmental cold, strong winds and slippery surfaces.

As the wind picks up, so do the risks for a injury/illness, especially to those who work outside for prolonged periods of time. Construction workers, snow cleanup crews, police officers, recreational workers and firefighters are at greater risk. Also at risk, and less commonly thought of are landscapers, water transportation, baggage handlers, transit and other outdoor operations.

Cold stress may be present in many different forms, affecting the whole-body heat balance as well as the local heat balance of extremities, skin and even lungs. The natural means of dealing with cold stress is by behavioral action–in particular, change and adjustment of clothing. Sufficient protection prevents cooling. Our workers’ compensation lawyers know prolonged exposure to cold, often associated with insufficient clothing or physical activity, may result in whole-body cooling and a decrease in core temperature. This type of cooling is further aggravated by exposure to wind or cold water, which increases especially the convective heat loss to the environment.
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Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently sited Packaging Corporation of America after launching an investigation into the company back in December at the Chelmsford location. The company now faces more than $65,000 in fines for a number of violations, including two repeat violations.

“For the safety and well-being of its workers, an employer must take effective steps to ensure that required safeguards are in place and constantly utilized at all facilities,” said OSHA area director Jeffrey A. Erskine.

Our Chelmsford work injury lawyers understand that inspectors observed workers at the plant exposed to caught-in, struck-by and crushing risks while working with the machinery on site. Workers were not taking the proper safety precautions when shutting down and locking out power sources. They were also facing some serious risks for being caught in a number on conveyor belts, and were not provided with/using the proper protective guarding.
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Federal officials are looking into the death of a man who was caught in machinery while working the night shift at a New Bedford seafood processing plant. According to the Boston Globe, the 25-year-old worker was cleaning a shellfish-shucking machine just before 2:00 a.m. at Sea Watch international when he “became entangled in a rotary turbine engine.

It tough roughly an hour to get the man out of the machine, after dismantling much of it. He was pronounced dead. He had been with the company for close to 20 years.

Our New Bedford workplace injury attorneys understand that the investigation into this accident could take several weeks. Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will be looking into the happenings to determine if it was a mere accident or if the company was negligent at protecting its employees. Officials will have to carefully comb through safety standards regarding this type of machinery to determine if the company was at fault.
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Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently unveiled a new educational online resource, Worker Safety in Hospitals, to help hospital workers to avoid injuries, implement safety and health management systems, enhance safe patient handling programs and assess workplace safety needs.

“These new materials can help prevent hospital worker injuries and improve patient safety, while reducing costs,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health.

Our Cambridge workers’ compensation lawyers understand that there were close to 20 hospital workers killed on the job in 2012. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) there were roughly 235,700 workers who were injured on the job in the same year. This is almost twice the rate for private industry. Many of these accidents, injuries and fatalities could have been prevented with better work practices.
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A final rule to update the current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards for power line workers has made it through the regulatory phases and could be published in March.

According to Safety and Health Magazine, the Office of Management and Budget finished its review of the Electric Power Transmission and Distribution; Electrical Protective Equipment rule back in December and now officials with OSHA can move forward with publishing it in the Federal Register.

Our workplace accident lawyers understand that there are about 50 power line employees per 100,000 who are killed on the job each and every year. It’s clear that working on power lines can be extremely dangerous. What’s more, the pace of world change make working safely in the electric power industry even more challenging. The problem requires new thinking to improve the ranking of power line worker on the scale of most dangerous professions.
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Nail guns are used on construction sites across the county on a daily basis. Many workers hardly think twice before using time. They help to increase productivity, but they also cause tens of thousands of serious injuries each and every year, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

It’s so bad one study determined 2 out of every 5 residential carpenter apprentices experience a nail gun injury at least once in a 4-year period. Unfortunately, we may never know the severity of these injuries as they’re oftentimes not treated and not reported properly.

Our workplace injury attorneys note common causes of nail gun injuries are well known and there are six practical steps that contractors can take to prevent these injuries. These include use of full sequential trigger nail guns, provide training, establish nail gun work procedures, provide personal protective equipment (PPE), encourage reporting and discussion of injuries and close calls, and provide first aid and medical treatment. These steps are simple and take very little time, but they can mean a world of difference in helping to protect your workforce.
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Officials with the National Safety Council (NSC) are working to raise awareness about the risk of the #1 cause of workplace fatalities — distracted driving.

Did you know that cell phone distracted driving policies are the best way to do just that?

Distracted working drivers cause close to 2,000 workplace fatalities each and every year. It is imperative that employers eliminate financial or other incentives that encourage workers to text while driving. Employers who require their employees to text while driving–or who organize work so that doing so is a practical necessity even if not a formal requirement – violate the OSH Act.

Our work injury attorneys urge employers to download a sample cell phone policy kit, customize it to your organization’s needs, and let your employees know that you support distraction-free driving. Hang up posters in the office to remind employees that “One Text or Call Could Wreck It All.” As it stands now, Massachusetts’ state law already bans drivers of all ages from using text message devices behind the wheel. But these laws are not effective without enforcement. Some of the most important enforcement efforts must come from employers. Step up today and help to save lives.
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