Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog

Truck drivers will have to soon undergo more rigorous health exams to be able to keep their commercial trucking licenses. According to Ray LaHood with the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), medical examiners will have to be better trained, certified and tested when conducting physical examinations on truck driving employees.

Under the new final rule, from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a national online database will also be created to keep track of the medical professionals who complete this training and certification process. Those who fail to complete the process will be deleted from the system. This new rule is aiming to keep our roadways safe and keep our trucking employees out of a work-related traffic accident in Methuen and elsewhere.

“This new rule will ensure that healthcare professionals conducting exams keep in mind all of the demands required to operate large trucks and passenger buses safely,” said LaHood.

Our Methuen workers’ compensation attorneys understand that truck and bus drivers have some very risky jobs. You may not think that driving a motor vehicle is very dangerous, but when you think about the rigorous work conditions that these workers endure, you’d change your mind. With more requirements from our healthcare professionals, we can help to ensure that these drivers are better taken care of and better monitored.

The database, the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners, is a part of the FMCSA’s commitment to bettering the oversight of these workers and to help prevent work-related traffic accidents. All of this is to ultimately reduce the number of injuries and fatalities from these accidents. The new database is built off of the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) recommendations for comprehensive training for medical professionals who are in charge of medical certificates for these drivers.

In a month, the FMCSA will be posting its training and testing standards on its website. During this time, medical examiners, employers, drivers, law enforcement officers and members of the public will be able to review these standards and will be able to sign up for updates on the new rule.

In just a few years, all medical examiners conducting exams on truckers will be required to be listed in the database. Truck and bus drivers will also be required to get an examination at least once every two years from one of these qualified medical examiners. Failing to complete an examination can result in a loss of a commercial driver’s license.

Healthcare professionals who are looking to be a certified examiner can start registering on the Registry later this summer.
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There is a new campaign that is being led by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and it is being used to help to prevent fatal fall accidents in Milton and elsewhere for those who are involved in the construction industry.

According to Hilda L. Solis, the Secretary for OSHA, the new safety campaign will be providing employees and employers with important life-saving education and informational materials to help to better protect workers who work on roofs, scaffolds, ladders and other high levels.

In 2010, there were over 10,000 workers in the construction industry who died in fall-related work accidents. Nearly 300 additional workers were killed in these kinds of accidents during the year. These numbers are far too high considering the preventative measures available to help curb these incidents.

Our Milton workers’ compensation lawyers understand that these kinds of accidents are completely preventable when the proper safety precautions are met on each and every work site. It’s important to spread the word and to help raise awareness about this problem to help to correct these dangerous work conditions that many workers throughout the U.S. face.

The recent announcement of the new campaign was made at this year’s Action Summit for Worker Safety and Health. The summit was held at a community college in Los Angeles and was one of the many events recognizing Workers’ Memorial Day. The U.S. Department of Labor sponsored this event and it is observed each year on the 28th of April to remember workers across the country who have lost their lives while working on the job. This event is used to raise awareness about these preventable work-related injuries.

Solis says that this is one of the best ways to honor these workers, to make sure that other families across the country don’t have to go through the same pain and heartache of losing a family member in one of these tragic accidents
Fall-related accidents continue to be the most common of all of the work-related accidents among construction workers. These kinds of accidents account for about a third of all construction worker fatalities. The message of this year’s campaign is “safety pays, and falls cost.” Employers and employees are urged to hop on board and make the changes to help make their work sites safer for everyone and to reduce the risks of fall-related accidents.

The new fall prevention program of this campaign was developed by OSHA, the National Occupational Research Agenda program and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. These organizations and programs work together to help provide employees with educational materials, common-sense training as well as equipment strategies to help to halt these kinds of accidents.

“The busy summer months are upon us, and now is the time to ensure that workers and employers understand what is required to prevent falls,” said Dr. David Michaels, with the OSH.
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Distracted driving is becoming a bigger and bigger problem on our roadways with each passing day.

According to a recent article in USA TODAY, attention needs to be shifted off teen drivers and placed a little more on company drivers when discussing the risks of distracted driving. Now, companies are coming around and are starting to focus more on liability issues tied in with the dangerous habit and are looking into developing more policies to curb this behavior for their fleet drivers.

The emphasis is on helping to protect drivers from a work-related car accident in Boston and elsewhere.

Their policies are coming with the authority of a new federal law, too. There’s a new law on the books that makes it illegal for drivers of commercial vehicles to use any kind of handheld cell phone behind the wheel. This law impacts roughly 4 million bus and truck drivers across the country in addition to the tens of millions of other fleet drivers. This law pertains to those who drive a commercial vehicle that weighs more than 10,000 pounds and passes over a state border for business purposes.

Our Boston trucking accident lawyers understand that this law took effect back in January to get commercial truck drivers to hang up the phone behind the wheel! The law, enacted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), comes with a near $3,000 fine and the loss of a license if drivers break it. Companies can face fines of more than $10,000.

“The new (federal) law does put the onus on business owners,” says Chris Hayes with Travelers insurance company, which is the country’s largest commercial vehicle insurer.

Right now, there are no states than prohibit all cellphone use for all drivers. Nine states prohibit handheld use and 35 states ban drivers from text messaging.

Don Taylor with the Los Angeles-based Reliance Steel & Aluminum says that liability is a big issue when it comes to work-related driving and cell phone use. His company has nearly 2,000 trucks on the road and they ban all drivers from using communication devices at the wheel. A driver can only use a phone or an electronic device if the vehicle is legally parked. This helps them to reduce the risks of accidents and help to keep drivers and innocent motorists safe.

One of the challenges facing companies with the new ban is not being able to get in touch with workers whenever they’re on the road. Companies are able to overcome the obstacles though. As Hayes says, if you get one driver in an accident because of distracted driving, then you’re losing out on important deliveries and that will cost you money along with the damages you’ve caused because of the accident. Driving without distractions is a win-win for everyone.
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More than $170,000 in fines were recently issued to Bath Iron Works. The company in Maine was cited for a number of serious and repeat violations for neglecting to help to protect workers from an on-the-job accident in New England, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The recent safety and health inspection comes from OSHA’s Augusta office. The inspection was conducted as a part of the Administration’s Site-Specific Targeting Program and its local program that is currently being used to focus on the dangers that workers face in ship- and boat-building and repair work environments. The safety and health inspection discovered that the company allowed a number of electrical, mechanical and fall dangers, among other dangers.

Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers understand that workers on this New England work site were not provided the proper fall protection and were working on roof edges that were unguarded. The roofs had openings and various holes posing serious and potentially fatal fall risks to employees. In addition to these fall hazards, the company’s work site was also cited for having various trip and fall dangers, obstructed walkways, under-trained employees, failing to keep flammable chemicals properly stored, exposing electrical sheathing, not inspecting equipment properly, etc.

Because of these safety and health citations, the company was fined nearly $94,000 in repeat violations and another $78,000 in serious violations. The serious violations come indicate there was a high probability that serious injury or even death could have resulted from these specific hazards in which an employer probably knew or should have known about. The other half of the safety and health citations, the repeat violations, are filed by inspectors when a company has already previously been cited for the same or a similar violation within the last five years.

“We’ve focused on this industry because establishments primarily engaged in ship- and boat-building and repair…have higher-than-average injury and illness rates,” said William Coffin, OSHA’s Maine area director.

This recent safety and health inspection was all a part of the Administration’s effort to encourage employees to enact and enforce a sustained, effective, proactive and ongoing safety campaign aimed at workplace dangers and making the changes to eliminate these hazards.

The New England company now has 15 business days from the date of the citations to either comply, meet with an OSHA director or completely appeal the findings.
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Shawnlee Construction LLC has been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for neglecting to do its part to help to reduce the risks of work accidents in New England. The company, based out of Plainville, Massachusetts, is now facing roughly $50,000 in proposed fines. The fines come as a result of an OSHA inspection that determined employees faced fall risks of more than 11 feet. These fall risks could cost an employee their life if not fixed immediately and correctly.

“The sizable fine proposed in this case reflects this employer’s history of fall protection violations, having been cited for similar hazards in three different states over the past five years,” said Paul Mangiafico, and area director for OSHA.

Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers understand that fall accidents continue to be the number one cause of fatal work accidents for employees who work in the construction industry. In this most recent inspection from OSHA, workers were observed being just a small step away from what could be a life-changing and debilitating or fatal accident. These kinds of work-related accidents end the careers of hundreds of workers every year. To help keep these workers safe on construction sites in New England and elsewhere, it’s important that they’re provided with the proper fall protection and safeguards. These measures can mean the difference between life and death.

After Swanlee Construction LLC was inspected by OSHA, they received one repeat violation. This was the violation for failing to provide workers with fall protection. It was a repeat violation because the company had already been cited with this violation at least once in the last 5 years.

Workplace injuries and illnesses in Massachusetts in 2007, according to the Massachusetts Occupational Injuries and Illnesses Report:

-The most work-related injuries and illnesses were experienced by workers between the ages of 35- and 44-years-old.

-The health and education industry represented about 30 percent of all work-related injuries and illnesses.

-The most common work-related injuries resulted from overexertion (30 percent), contact with equipment/objects (25 percent) and falls (nearly 20 percent).

-The most commonly experienced work-related injury is a sprain or a strain.

-The construction industry had the highest rate for work-related accidents, at more than 6 per 100 workers.

-More than 40 percent of work-related injuries and illnesses required employees to take time away from work to recover.

-Most commonly, work-related injuries happen to the trust, or an employee’s shoulders or back.

According to a recent study conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health:

-More than 70 percent of Hispanic workers who had been involved in a work-related accident had never heard of OSHA.

-Nearly 50 percent of White workers were unaware of workers compensation benefits.
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Workers across the nation who work in the nursing and healthcare field are getting some help from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to help to reduce the risks of work-related injuries in Boston and elsewhere.

OSHA recent announced the launch of its new National Emphasis Program (NAP) for these workers. The new program is going to help make sure that more inspections are conducted in these workplaces and that outreach programs are provided for safer work environments for a three-year period. Outreach programs will be used to help get all workers and employers on the same page and with safety as a top priority. This particular industry was chosen by OSHA officials because of the alarmingly high rate for work-related accidents and injuries.

According to 2010 statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers in the residential care and nursing industry had some of the highest injury rates and rates of days away from work. These rates are a direct result of on the job injuries and illnesses. The rates in this industry were more than 2 times higher than the rates of all private industry as a whole. This is alarming considering all of the controls available to address hazards in this industry. That’s why OSHAs stepping in, to help these workers to use their available resources and to help make workplaces safer for everyone involved.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys understand that a large majority of the injuries and illnesses that were experienced in this industry were a result of slip, fall, trip and overexertion type accidents. When you combine these kinds of accidents, they accounted for nearly 65 percent of the cases in which employees were hurt so bad that they had to take time away from work in 2010.

Throughout this NEP safety program, officials with OSHA will be going after facilities around the country that had high rates for days-away-from-work. Officials will be targeting facilities with a days-away-from-work rate of 10 or higher per 100 full-time employees.

According to Dr. David Michaels, it’s important to remember that it’s these workers who spend day after day looking after us and our loved ones when we need help. There’s no reason that these workers should face such high injury risks.

Common Hazards Associated with the Nursing and Residential Care Industry:

-Dangers associated with exposure to blood.

-Risks associated with the exposure to dangerous materials.

-Exposure to dangerous diseases, like tuberculosis and others.

-Various ergonomic stressors related to moving patients.

-Slips, trips and falls.

-Workplace violence.

-Exposure to dangerous drugs and chemicals.
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is continuing its fight against employee exposure to work-related physical and health hazards. OSHA recently announced its renewed partnership with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) to do just that and to help to reduce the risks of work accidents in Massachusetts and elsewhere.

The continued alliance between the two will proceed in addressing workers who cannot speak English or those who are just slightly fluent. The Alliance will also be addressing on-the-job motor vehicle safety, as well as working to raise awareness of work site safety and health for public sector employees.

Our Boston injury lawyers understand that the organizations renewed their Alliance for another two years, in which time they will continue working alongside ASSE’s Safety Professionals. Through this Alliance, the Latino Workforce group will be translating the Alliance-developed products for those who have difficulty understanding the current English versions. The two-year Alliance will also be promoting this year’s North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week. This year’s event will be taking place from May 6th through the 12th. “Safety, What Every Business Needs” is this year’s campaign theme.

“Our continued Alliance with ASSE will help ensure that workers are aware of on-the-job hazards and help reduce occupational illnesses and injuries,” said David Michaels, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.

The ASSE was founded back in 1911 and currently represents nearly 35,000 environmental, health and safety practitioners around the world. All of these individuals are committed to helping to protect property, people and the environment.

Members of ASSE are involved in the design, safety engineering, standards development, education and management in almost every single industry, labor, governmental agency and institutions of higher education.

The two will be working with trade and professional organizations, unions, faith- and community-based organizations, consulates, businesses and educational institutions as well as faith- and community-based organizations to help to improve worker health and safety and to help to eliminate work-related illnesses, injuries and fatalities.

In 2010, there were more than 4,500 people who were killed on the job in the U.S., according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is just about the same number of work-related fatalities that our country experienced in 2009, illustrating little change in workplace safety.

Economic factors in these kinds of incidents are common. As our economy continues to grow and more people head back to work, historical statistics warn us that we’re going to see an increase in the number of work-related accidents. For this reason, it’s more important than ever to keep an eye on workplace safety and to focus on hazard-eliminating practices.
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According to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, the preliminary numbers for the month of January 2012 conclude that the state of Massachusetts added nearly 7,000 new jobs throughout the month. At last calculations, there were just about 3,218,500 jobs in the state of Massachusetts. The unemployment rate still sits at roughly 6.9 percent, which illustrates absolutely no change from the month before. While we’re still sitting at the same unemployment rate, we’re still sitting well below the national unemployment rate of 8.3 percent. That national rate is the lowest it’s been since 2008.

With the current unemployment rate, we’re still facing the same risks for work-related injuries in Massachusetts. When our unemployment rate drops and more people head back to work, we can expect higher accident risks. We need to start working on safety policies and on-the-job protection now!

Our Waltham workers compensation lawyers understand that we also saw 8,000 jobs added to the private sector in January of 2012. Seven out of the 10 private sectors illustrated gains with the largest in Professional, Scientific, and Business Services as well as Trade, Transportation, and Utilities.

Job Overview:

-Professional, Scientific, and Business Services were able to add nearly 4,000 jobs through the month of January.

-Trade, Transportation, and Utilities were able to add nearly 2,000 jobs throughout the month of January.

-Leisure and Hospitality was able to add more than 1,500 jobs throughout the month of January.

-Construction was able to add about 1,000 jobs over the month of January.

-Other Services were able to add about 1,000 job during January.

-Information was able to add about 700 jobs over the month of January.

-Financial Activities added nearly 500 new jobs in January.

-Education and Health Services lost more than 1,500 jobs during January.

-Manufacturing lost nearly 500 jobs in January.

-Mining and Logging lost about 100 jobs in January.

-Government lost nearly 1,500 jobs over the month of January.

While we are listing a lot of fields that were able to add jobs in the month of January, it’s important to remember all of the jobs that were lost in previous years. Still, this shows that the job market in Massachusetts is finally picking up where it left off.

As we said before, there were about 3,218,500 people who were employed during the month of January. That means that there were nearly 238,000 who were unemployed during the same time. This means that there was a total labor force of nearly 3,456,000.

Officials calculate the unemployment rate by taking monthly samples of random households. Job numbers are estimated through monthly samples from random employers.
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