Work Injury

March 19, 2015

OSHA Confirms that Workers Have Not Been Helped by Workers Comp. Reforms

In a recent Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyer Blog post, we wrote about an NPR and ProPublica probe that found that recent workers’ compensation reforms are hurting more than helping injured workers. Now, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued its report that reflects similar findings.

According to OSHA’s report, statistics show that over three million workers are hurt every year, with thousands killed while doing their job. These figures do not include incidents that go unreported and chronic illnesses that continue even after exposure on the job to hazardous substances has stopped.

Many workers who were seriously hurt find it hard to keep working—especially as modifications to workers comp. insurance programs have made it harder for someone who was hurt on the job to get full benefits. Employers are now taking care of just a small portion of overall workplace injury and illness costs through their work injury compensation programs.

February 25, 2015

Teen Worker Falls 25 Feet While Shoveling Roof in Westwood, MA

by Altman & Altman

A 17-year-old student, part of a work crew shoveling snow off of a department store roof, was injured after falling through a skylight.

Officials say the teen was helping to remove snow at Frugal Fannie’s clothing store in Westwood yesterday morning when he fell. Witnesses say he fell nearly 25 feet; his fall was broken by one of the store’s clothing racks. However the extent of the young man’s injuries remains unclear. The teen was flown to an area hospital by helicopter.

This unfortunate story is one of many that we’ve heard in Massachusetts and throughout the Northeast as our region continues to be blasted with heavy snowfall. Last week, two people in Canton were fatally injured due to roof falls and two horses died when the barn they were kept in collapsed.

According to The Patch, MEMA (Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency), there have been more than 130 reports of roof collapses in just two weeks in the state. Many of the injuries sustained were directly from roofs collapsing under weight of snow, or people falling while attempting to remove snow from their roofs.
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February 12, 2015

Massachusetts Nursing Assistants Sustain Back Injuries, Repetitive Trauma, Other Work Injuries

by Altman & Altman

NPR reports that according to statistics from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor, nursing employees sustain over 35,000 back and other injuries each year. These injuries are serious enough that they warrant taking time off from work.

Nursing employees are also three times more likely than construction laborers to suffer musculoskeletal injuries. Registered nurses aren’t far behind after warehouse workers, truck drivers, and store clerks.

The main causes of these injuries are the duties of lifting and moving patients, which nursing employees do every day. During a typical day, a worker might lift a patient weighing much more than the employee at least a dozen times a day. This may lead to back pain, sprains, strains, and shoulder injuries.

January 15, 2015

Liberty Research Institute Names Overexertion, Fall Accidents As Leading Causes of Work Injuries in 2012

by Altman & Altman

According to Liberty Research Institute for Safety’s 2014 Workplace Safety Index, the five leading causes of work injuries in 2012 were behind approximately 65% of all workers’ compensation expenses. The research examined claims data for injuries that lasted at least six days. The rankings given for the injuries were determined by total compensation costs.

Here are the top five causes of injuries on the job that year:

Overexertion: This may have involved the acts of pushing, lifting, pulling, carrying, holding, or throwing.

December 18, 2014

Massachusetts Truck Drivers Are at Risk of Serious Injuries on the Job

by Altman & Altman

Massachusetts truckers are subject to serious injuries when doing their job and not just when they are involved in a truck crash. That said, although truck drivers are often portrayed as safer than most people when involved in a collision-seated behind all that truck metal and at a more elevated height in their cab than other motorists in smaller vehicles-they they too can suffer catastrophic injuries and die.

If you or someone you love sustained such a serious injury, you should speak with a Boston workers’ compensation lawyer right away rather try settling with your employer or their insurer on your own.

While truck drivers cannot sue their employer for Massachusetts personal injury, depending on what exactly happened and who else was involved, a trucker may be able to pursue civil damages from third parties, such as the negligent other driver, the company that hired the trucker, and others.

December 4, 2014

Worker Killed in Peabody, MA Industrial Accident

by Altman & Altman

A male worker was killed after he was struck by a front-end loader in a Massachusetts industrial accident at Allied Waste Services in Peabody last month. According to police, the worker was clearing a drain when the incident happened. Joshua Black, 26, was from Wilmington.

First responders say that he was not breathing by the time they arrived. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the Peabody work accident.

In another recent Massachusetts industrial accident, also last month, co-workers found a 33-year-old worker injured on a conveyor belt in the Cargill Salt Company in Westfield. The belt is used to service a salt pile.

November 30, 2014

How Cold Is Too Cold? Tips for Protecting Workers During the Winter Months

by Altman & Altman

With the winter upon us, workers and their employers should begin considering the risks and hazards of working is a cold environment. Those workers who regularly work outdoors for extended periods of time, such as snow cleanup crews, sanitation workers, police officers and emergency response and recovery personnel, are at a nominal risk for experiencing cold stress.

Compiled from the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s website, we’d like to share some FAQ’s, tips and information to prevent cold stress during this imminent winter weather.

How cold is too cold?

Extreme cold and its effects ultimately vary across different areas of the country; in regions that are not used to winter weather, near freezing temperatures are considered “extreme cold.” When the temperatures dip too low, the body is forced to work harder to maintain its temperature. Additionally, colder-than-normal temperatures can cause body heat to leave the body more rapidly. Wind chill is the temperature your body feels when air temperature and wind speed are combined. For example, when the air temperature is 40°F, and the wind speed is 35 mph, the effect on the exposed skin is as if the air temperature was 28°F.

Cold stress occurs by driving down the skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature (core temperature). This drastic change can easily lead to serious health problems including serious tissue damage and even death.

What are the risk factors that contribute to cold stress?

Some of the risk factors that contribute to cold stress are: wetness or dampness, dressing improperly, and exhaustion. Additionally predisposing health conditions such as hypertension, hypothyroidism, diabetes and poor physical conditioning increase a person’s risk for cold stress.
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November 30, 2014

Billerica Freight Shipping Terminal Fined by OSHA for Exposing Workers to Hazardous Conditions

by Altman & Altman

Employees at the Central Transport LLC freight-shipping terminal in Billerica were exposed to numerous hazardous conditions including potential electrocution, falls, crushing and other injuries. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the workers’ employer knowingly and repeatedly disregarded basic worker safeguards to prevent such injuries from occurring; the company now face $330,800 in fines for those hazards.

According to a press release published by OSHA last week, OSHA’s acting deputy regional administrator for New England Jeffrey A. Erskine said, “several hazards were brought to management’s attention, but the company took no corrective action, while other conditions were strikingly similar to violations for which Central Transport was previously cited at its locations in Illinois and Mississippi. The cited conditions put employees at risk of deadly or disabling injuries.”

An inspection revealed that the company’s building leaked water on to the work floor where electrical cabinets and forklift battery chargers were located; employees were forced to stand in water while plugging in the battery chargers and drove forklifts on slippery surfaces. These conditions ultimately exposed individuals to possible electrocution, as well as forklift tip-overs and slipping hazards.

Additionally, OSHA investigators found that workers were exposed to fall hazards from the loading dock entrance ramp, which was lacking required safety guardrails. Finally, inspectors found workers faced potential crushing or struck-by injuries from defective forklifts that were not removed from service. OSHA alleged that the company had ample knowledge of all of these hazards and did not address any of the conditions. Thus, OSHA fined Central Transport for 4 willful violations, which carry $242,000 in fines, as well as two repeat violations totaling $44,000 in fines (for unstable and insecure stacking of materials and failure to inform employees of the dangers associated with hazardous chemicals) and 8 serious violations carrying $44,800 in fines (for inadequately evaluating workers’ abilities to operate forklifts; unattended forklifts; lack of fire extinguishers; and tripping and electrical hazards).
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November 10, 2014

Newburyport, MA Construction Accident Leaves Worker with Burn Injuries

by Altman & Altman

Two workers sustained burn injuries in a Newbury, MA construction accident on Tuesday. The incident took place in a trench close to a gas line.

At the time, crews were replacing old gas pipes when a flash fire ignited as a worker was welding a cap onto the old gas line. According to firefighters, there was still some residual gas, which was ignited by the welding torch.

Another worker ran to the trench, pulling the other man out. Both men were taken to the hospital. The worker who was in a trench when the fire happened sustained severe burn injuries to his face. The other worker sustained minor burns from the rescue.

October 24, 2014

OSHA Fines MA FedEx Ground Packaging System, Inc. for Guarding Machine Hazard

by Altman & Altman

The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration fined FedEx Ground Packaging System, Inc. upon finding an unguarded conveyor belt at the company’s Wilmington, MA shipping distribution center.

After inspecting the Wilmington facility, OSHA officials discovered that the belt conveyor system’s rotating parts were insufficiently guarded on the periphery to prevent employee’s fingers and hands from potentially becoming caught. Failing to guard the conveyor belt could have resulted in injuries, including pinched and crushed fingers and hands, concussions, abrasions and serious nerve damage. Proper machine guarding would ensure that no part of an employee’s body would come into contact with the machine’s moving parts.

According to OSHA’s records, the company has already twice been cited for similar safety violations in 2010 and 2011 at facilities in Grove City, Ohio, and in Syracuse, New York.

“It is critical for workers’ safety and health that an employer with multiple facilities, such as this, ensures that required safeguards are in place and maintained effectively at all times in all locations,” Jeffrey Erskine, OSHA’s acting deputy regional administrator for New England said.

Considering the company’s prior violations, OSHA cited FedEx for a repeat violation with a proposed fine of $44,000. According to OSHA, a repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.
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