Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog

Employees in the fireworks/pyrotechnics industry consider yourself warned! The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a memo urging employers in this industry to protect their workers from the hazards they will be exposed to while handling fireworks for public events this Fourth of July.

Retailers across the United States are stocking up on the dangerous displays and planning their Independence Day celebrations. Many of these celebrations include impressive and elaborate pyrotechnic displays. These exciting celebrations also come with a high risk for a fireworks accident in Boston and elsewhere.

Our Boston workers compensation attorneys understand that these fireworks displays are in high demand during this time of year, especially because it’s illegal for private citizens to use fireworks in our state. For this reason, residents rely on those that are in the fireworks/pyrotechnics industry to complete their Fourth of July celebrations with their large displays of patriotic lights in the sky.

“Workers who are not properly trained and protected from hazards in this potentially volatile industry are at an increased risk of serious or fatal injuries,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Employers who manufacture, sell, display or work around pyrotechnics need to recognize potential hazards and prevent worker injuries. This holiday weekend is a time for family and fun, but it should not be at the expense of the workers who play such a large part of our celebrations.”

Massachusetts’ Department of Public Safety and State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan asks that all residents set a good example for your children and leave the fireworks displays to the professionals. These departments ask that you get out and enjoy some of the many displays of fireworks that are supervised by local fire departments and conducted by licensed professionals.

OSHA offers this fireworks display checklist to help make sure that professional fireworks operators are safe on site:

-Make sure that fire service and emergency medical service (EMS) units are nearby and ready to respond if needed.

-Establish good communications between crew, event sponsor and fire service/EMS units.

-Maintain crowd control.

-Make sure that everyone is using all required personal protective equipment, especially protection for the head, eye, hearing and foot.

-Make sure operators are wear long-sleeved and long-legged clothing made of cotton, wool or other flame resistant cloth.

-Avoid placing any part of your body over mortars when manually igniting them.

-Remember to check weather and crowd conditions often to maintain safety.

Our Boston workers compensation attorneys would like to thank everyone involved in putting on these elaborate fireworks displays. Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!
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Two New England companies face a number of work safety violations. These violations bring up the importance of work safety in Massachusetts. These two companies received a number of citations and thousands of dollars in fines for failing to take the proper steps to keep employees safe on the job and at theirwork sites.

The first of the long list of citations were handed down by the U.S. Department of Labor to Summer and Winter Construction LLC, a Pittsfield, N.H., roofing contractor. These serious violations came with nearly $90,000 in proposed fines. These proposed fines come from the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration after the company reportedly failed to take the proper safety measures to reduce the risk of a work accident.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys can’t stress the important of workplace safety enough. It is all too often that workplace injuries and fatalities occur because an employer neglects to take the proper safety precautions to keep employees safe. It is in these cases that they can face serious citations and penalties from OSHA and can face serious legal issues if an injury does occur to an employee on the job.

The company originally faced the fines from September of 2009 after inspections revealed that employees of the company were exposed to falls of up to 16 feet and to other hazards at work sites. The penalties and citations reflect the seriousness of the hazards and the company’s history of previous violations.

“Employers should be aware that the Department of Labor will actively pursue appropriate legal measures to protect the lives and well-being of America’s workers when their employers fail to do so,” said Michael Felsen, the Labor Department’s regional solicitor for New England.

These citations and fines are just now being resolved between the two parties because the company contested the violations. Administrative Law Judge Dennis L. Phillips conducted a hearing and issued a decision affirming the citations and ordering the roofing company to pay the penalties.

“This verdict is a complete victory for workers in New Hampshire and elsewhere,” said Marthe Kent, OSHA’s New England regional administrator. “Employers that repeatedly fail to supply basic, common-sense safeguards will face legal consequences, just as their employees can face death or disabling injuries when such safeguards are absent from their workplaces.”

A second company, The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and Grubb & Ellis Management, was slapped with a number of violations for exposing workers to electrical hazards. OSHA discovered that company’s data center policy required electricians employed by its maintenance contractor, Grubb & Ellis, to perform their work in live electrical panels for computer equipment without first de-energizing the panels, as required under the agency’s standards. Grubb & Ellis, for its part, failed to de-energize the electrical panels before having its employees perform installation work and grid upgrades on them, according to a recent news release.

“What employers must understand is that they or their contractors must first de-energize electrical equipment and circuits before employees work on them,” said Paul Mangiafico, OSHA’s area director in Hartford. “Working on live electrical equipment needlessly exposes workers to potential death or disabling injury from arc flash, arc blast or electric shock. Proper and effective safeguards must be in place and in use at all times.”

Employees were not trained on protective equipment needed to guard against electrical hazards and electrical safe work practices. The company also lacked specific hazardous energy control procedures meant to prevent the activation of, or the release of hazardous energy from equipment during maintenance and repair work. It also reportedly failed to develop and train employees on hazardous energy procedures and control for safely removing, using and applying energy control devices.

The Hartford, as the creating and controlling employer, was given a serious citation. This citation was for the maximum fine of $7,000, for requiring employees to work on live panels. Grubb & Ellis was handed six serious citations. These six citations totaled $34,000 in fines, for additional electrical and energy control hazards.
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A new compliance assistance tool is now available to employers to help reduce the risks of workplace falls that can cause serious injury or death to residential workers. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offers the new educational presentation on their website. This new tool is one of many that OSHA has created to help reach employers and employees to educate them about residential construction dangers and help them to stop these dangerous work accidents in Boston and elsewhere throughout the country.

Late last year, the Administration withdrew a former interim directive that allowed residential construction workers to bypass some fall protection requirements. OSHA sought to reverse this directive as falls continue to be the number one cause of death for construction workers.

Many of our laborers face a high risk of injury while on the job in our state. Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers would like to remind these employees that it is the responsibility of your employer to meet all federal safety regulations on the job site. If an employee suffers from an on-site injury, the company is responsible to provide adequate compensation for the injury, the recovery process and lost wages.

“Fatalities from falls are the number one cause of workplace deaths in construction. We cannot tolerate workers getting killed in residential construction when effective means are readily available to prevent those deaths,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. “Almost every week, we see a worker killed from falling off a residential roof. We can stop these fatalities, and we must.”

Statistics continue to show that fatalities from falls are always high for residential construction jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that roughly 40 workers die every year because of falls from residential roofs. About a third of these deaths represent Latino workers that oftentimes lack sufficient access to safety protection and information. Latino employees make up more than a third all construction employees across the country.

This new OSHA presentation illustrates a number of safety methods that should be exercised to prevent falls that oftentimes result in serious or fatal injuries. The presentation also explains techniques that employers currently exercise during the various stages of construction, including the use of personal fall arrest systems, safety nets, guardrails, lanyards and lifelines. Employees who should be using these safety measures usually perform activities including installing walls and subfloors, installing roof sheathing and weatherproofing a roof.

OSHA expects that even more advances in the design technologies of fall protection equipment will be triggered by the demands of employers, who may encounter compliance difficulties on various work sites.
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Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials have hit the scene and are now working to assess the damage to determine how much backup assistance is needed to help get Massachusetts back in working order after the string of severe tornadoes. FEMA crews are conducting the current search and rescue operations, according to Craig Fugate, regional administrator for FEMA.

As these cleanup and rescue teams offer their services to help Massachusetts residents, it is important for us to recognize the amount of courage and the risks of danger that these workers put themselves in. Local utility workers and emergency crews are also at increased risk of a work accident. Cleanup crews faced an extremely high risk for tornado cleanup injuries in Massachusetts.

Our Boston workers compensation attorneys would like to thank our FEMA crews and other rescue efforts that are assisting with the tornado cleanup and rescue. We ask that all workers be cautious in the area as there is scattered debris, fallen power lines and other dangers lurking in the damaged areas.

Cleanup work can involve removal of floodwater from structures, entry into flooded areas, cleaning up debris, tree-trimming, structural repair, roadway and bridge repair, restoring electricity, communications, water and sewer services; demolition work, use of cranes, hazardous waste operations and repair of dams and levees.

“Emergency response should not put you in the hospital emergency room,” said Cindy Coe, a regional administrator with OSHA. “Storm recovery work encompasses a wide range of safety and health hazards, which can be minimized by knowledge, safe work practices and personal protective equipment.”

A current assessment of those who have been most severely affected reports that several people are dead, others were left stuck in their car, some trapped by down power lines, and tens of thousands of resident are left without electricity. Emergency responders look to help all individuals affected by the storms.

A team from FEMA’s regional office in Boston has been deployed to the areas impacted by Wednesday weather to assess the damage.

“We’re working closely with the state Emergency Management Agency to determine if they have any needs they can’t meet that we can help with,” said Dennis Pinkham, External Affairs Officer with FEMA’s regional office.

Gov. Deval Patrick, said that the 19 communities that were affected by the severe weather have been declared a state of emergency. He also said that the state has already enlisted the help of roughly 1,000 National Guard troops to help residents and the physical damage left from the stormy weather.

As the road to recovery seems to be a long and tough journey, residents and cleanup crews are asked to navigate the area with much caution to prevent injuries or death:

Residents and cleanup crews are urged to follow these safety tips to help prevent injuries during the post-tornado cleanup efforts:

-Stay out of and away from damaged buildings.

-Stay tuned to local radio and television to get the latest emergency information.

-Only use your telephone for emergency phone calls.

-Do not drive through or near standing water. Depths can be misjudged and cars can be overhauled.

-Be careful and on the lookout for fallen power lines. Downed or hanging electrical wires can be hidden by trees or debris and they could still be live. Never attempt to touch or move any downed power lines. Keep children and pets away from them. Always assume a downed line is a live line. Call your utility company to report any outage-related problem.

-Be sure to clean up any spilled medicines, bleaches, gasoline or any other flammable liquids immediately.

As residents recover from the damage that has resulted from the recent storms and tornado , the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration urges that all workers and residents that are engaged in cleanup activities be aware and cautious of the hazards they can encounter. Everyone should be educated and prepared with the necessary steps they should take to help to protect themselves.
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A recent article in Cape Cod Today reported a worker amputated several digits on his hand in a lawn mower accident.

Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers know that injuries from power lawn equipment can result in amputations and severe lacerations. Due to the nature of maintenance and landscaping work, these wounds are prone to infection and can accumulate substantial medical costs if not treated right away.

According to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, 1,142 ground maintenance workers died on the job from 2003 to 2008, averaging 190 deaths a year. Major incidents leading to workers’ deaths were: transportation incidents (31 percent), contact with equipment and objects (25 percent), falls (23 percent) and traumatic acute exposures to harmful substances or environments like drowning and electrocution (16 percent).

Lawn mower safety tips:

-Know how to operate the equipment, read the operator’s manual and pay attention to the warning labels.

-Never disable or bypass safety devices like grass catchers or discharge chute guards.

-Clear the work area of people and debris before starting. Objects like rocks and sticks become dangerous projectiles when thrown by the mower blades.

-Never unclog a discharge chute or the grass catcher when the mower is running.

-Don’t leave a running mower unattended.

-Always mow in a forward direction when possible and mow up and down hillside slopes – never across the slope.

-Handle fuel safely and stop the engine while refueling.

We recently posted to our Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog about the hazards outdoor workers face regarding heat-related illnesses.

Recognizing warning signs of heat stroke:

-Hot, dry and red skin, and no sweat.

-Strong, rapid pulse.

-Pounding headache.

-Nausea and Dizziness.

-Confusion.

What to do:

-Get worker out of the sun.

-Cool the worker off, even if that means spraying them with a hose.

-Don’t give him or her something to drink.

-Get medical assistance.
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Folan Waterproofing and Construction Co. Inc. received nine serious violations from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for seriously violating the standards of work safety in Boston at their Lowell work site.

The company received these violations because of inadequate safeguards when working on aerial lifts, possible fall hazards of up to 40 feet due to a lack of required fall protection and a number of other hazards. The contractor faces a total of nearly $49,000 in proposed fines.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys understand that a number of local work sites can prove to be very dangerous if not regulated by employers and officials. On-the-job accidents can happen at virtually any time and it is the responsibility of the employer to secure all work sites in an attempt to keep employees safe. Work-related injuries can oftentimes include auto accident, lifting injuries, exposure to harmful chemicals, heavy machinery accidents, slip and fall accidents, construction accidents or burn accidents. If you are injured on the job, it is critical for you to contact a workers’ compensation attorney to help you fight for your rights and the proper compensation for your injuries and lost time at work.

Late last year, OSHA witnessed a Folan employee climbing out of an elevated aerial lift. The employer was attempting to access the roof of Immaculate Conception Church.

Immediately following the observation, OSHA opened an inspection on the company and discovered that the workers lacked sufficient fall protection while working on the aerial lift. OSHA found that the crane had not been inspected annually for defects and a defective wire rope used to lift construction materials had not been inspected as it was recently removed from service. To make matters worse, employees had not received proper training to help them to recognize and address aerial lift hazards. Employees were also exposed to electric hazards from ungrounded electrical equipment and lacked helmets to protect against falling objects.

A company will receive a serious violation when there is substantial probability that serious harm or death could result from a hazard that the employer recognized or should have recognized.

“Left uncorrected, these conditions exposed workers to falls of up to 40 feet, electrocution and being struck by a falling load,” said Jeffrey A. Erskine, OSHA’s area director in Andover. “While it is fortunate that none of these employees was injured or killed, workplace safety should never be a matter of fortune, good or bad. Ensuring the safety of workers means ensuring that proper and effective equipment and work practices are in place and in use every day at every job site.”

The waterproofing and construction company has 15 business days from date the citation was issued to comply, contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission or meet with OSHA’s area director.
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