Workers' Compensation

August 29, 2013

OSHA Proposes New Rule to Protect Workers from Toxic Silica Exposure

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration filed a petition last week intended to reduce the instance of chronic respiratory illness and cancer among U.S. workers. The plan seeks to lower worker exposure to crystalline silica, a toxic particle that kills hundreds of workers and sickens thousands each year. OSHA’s proposed rule includes two separate standards-one for general industry and maritime employees and one for employees in the construction industry.

Currently, OSHA enforces a rule dated 40 years to regulate permissible exposure limits (PEL) for silica exposure, which is inconsistent between different work industries. The proposed rule would bring these PELs up to workplace standards and into the 21st century; greatly lowering the amount of silica exposure to workers. OSHA predicts that this new mandated policy would save nearly 700 lives per year and prevent 1,600 new cases of silicosis annually.

What is Crystalline Silica and Where Is It Found?

Crystalline silica is a micro component of soil, sand, granite, and other types of materials. Quartz, cristobalite, and tridymite are three types of crystalline silica. When materials containing crystalline silica are grinded, cut, or drilled the particles become respirable-sized. Crystalline silica is considered a human carcinogen, and can cause a variety of respiratory issues including lung cancer, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease. When inhaled, crystalline silica causes scar tissue formation on the lungs, and debilitates the lungs’ ability to absorb oxygen. Silicosis, aside from being incurable, can lead to other infectious diseases and debilitating conditions including tuberculosis.

Silica exposure is a threat to nearly 2 million workers in the United States and is most common in construction jobs including abrasive blasting, foundry work, stone cutting, rock drilling, quarry work, tunneling, as well as maritime work. The most common exposures to workers in construction occur during abrasive blasting with sand to remove rust and paint from bridges, and other surfaces, as well as concrete mixing, concrete drilling, brick cutting, and rock drilling.

General industry employees are often exposed to crystalline silica particles from asphalt paving jobs, painting industries, cement and ceramic manufacturing, as well as soap and glass manufacturing.
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July 30, 2013

How to Make the Most of Witness Interviews after a Workplace Injury

by Altman & Altman

When an employee is injured at work, a certain protocol is taken to investigate how and why the accident occurred. Witness interviews are a crucial part of this protocol, and are heavily relied upon by investigators, as these testimonies provide important information that can help piece together the situation. While the purpose of investigations is not to specifically find fault for an accident, investigations are used to identify the root cause of the incident and help both employers and employees prevent similar accidents in the future. Investigations are also conducted to fulfill legal requirements, determine the costs associated with the accident, determine compliance (on behalf of the employee and the employer) with safety regulations and to determine and correct safety hazards, and to correctly process workers’ compensation claims.

Conducting Witness Interviews

As a general rule, witness interviews should be conducted by experienced safety personnel as soon as possible after the accident occurs. Witnesses are typically the best source of information to determine the sequence of events leading up to the accident. Though it is standard procedure for a unit administrator or law enforcement personnel to take witness statements prior to the investigation team’s arrival, those statements should not be heavily relied upon as the sole witness statements.

Witnesses’ mental states should be taken into account when an investigator is conducting the interviews. Sometimes witnesses are traumatized or may be on medication, and thus are unable to give accurate accounts of the events. On the other hand, witnesses may be anxious to speak about the accident, and providing them with that opportunity may help them. In some cases, family members of the injured person(s) can help the investigation by offering insight into character traits or behavior patterns of the victim. To ensure that witness accounts are accurate and witnesses are being truthful, individuals should be interviewed alone. Interviewing witnesses together may cause confusion and may cause witnesses to give inaccurate versions of what happened.

The first step to conducting an interview is to explain to the witness the purpose of the investigation. Interviewers should listen carefully and take notes that do not distract the witness. A tape recorder may be used to record the witness statements, but only at the consent of the individual. Investigators should also use sketches or diagrams to help the witness better describe the accident.
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July 8, 2013

Medford Postal Worker’s Collapse Reminds Outdoor Workers Dangers of Heat Exhaustion

by Altman & Altman

A 45-year-old Medford postal carrier died after he collapsed while making a delivery on Friday afternoon.

James Baldassarre, of Haverhill, was found lying on the ground late Friday afternoon on Riverside Avenue. He was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital on Saturday morning. Baldassarre’s wife, Cathy, believed it was the intense heat and humidity that may have led to her husband’s death.

Temperatures reached the 90s on Friday, with high levels of humidity. When rescuers responded, they found Baldassarre unconscious with a temperature of 110 degrees.

Outdoor workers in agriculture, construction, public service (firefighters, postal workers, etc.), and other industries are at a great risk for heat stress, heat exhaustion, or heatstroke when they are exposed to high temperatures and humidity. Exposure to extreme heat can increase the risk of injuries for workers because often heat results in sweaty palms, fogged safety glasses, dizziness, and burns.

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are serious heat-related disorders. Heat exhaustion is a bodily response caused by loss of water and salt in the body; usually a result of excessive sweating.

Symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

• Heavy sweating • Extreme weakness or fatigue • Dizziness or confusion • Nausea • Clammy or moist skin • Pale or flushed complexion • Muscle cramps • Elevated body temperature • Fast and shallow breathing
Workers suffering from heat exhaustion should rest in a cool, shaded, or air-conditioned area, drink plenty of water or other cool (non-alcoholic) beverages and be sprayed with water.

Heat stroke is the most serious heat disorder and occurs when the body is no longer able to control its temperature, and its sweating mechanism (used to cool the body) fails. When heat stroke occurs, the body’s temperature the body’s temperature can ride to 106 degrees or higher, and may cause permanent disability and even death if emergency treatment is not administered.
Symptoms of heat stroke include:

• Hot, dry skin or profuse sweating • Hallucinations • Chills • Throbbing headache • High body temperature • Confusion or dizziness • Slurred speech Continue reading

June 25, 2013

Roofer’s Fatal Fall Reminds Workers of Risks of Working on Construction Sites

by Altman & Altman

A New Hampshire man died on Monday from injuries he sustained after he fell off of a ladder at a residential construction site.

The roofer, 58, was working at a home in Rye, New Hampshire, when he slipped off the ladder and fell 30 feet. Rye Fire Lieutenant Ron Hordon said the man, who has not yet been identified, suffered “significant” injuries to his chest, pelvic, and abdominal areas after landing on a deck. The man was working for a roofing company at the time of the fall, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently investigating the incident.

Unfortunately this incident is just another example of how dangerous construction sites can be. file0002014498486%20%281%29.jpg Whether it was a misstep by the victim, a manufacturing defect with the ladder or any other circumstance that caused the fall, ultimately the roofing company may be liable. By OSHA standards, employers are responsible for providing safe work environments for all of his or her employees to prevent hazardous situations that pose the threat of serious bodily injury or death. Though the details of this situation are still vague, what can be discerned is that had proper safety precautions been taken; such as the use of a safety harness, the man’s death may have been prevented.

Carpenters and roofers incur dangerous situations on a day-to-day basis, and among these types of workers, falls are the leading cause of injury or death. In a report published by The Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational and Safety Health, out of the 32 reported work-related deaths in Massachusetts last year, 6 of them were cause by falls. Unsurprisingly construction site causalities accounted for the greatest number of work-related deaths (19%) and remained the most dangerous industry for employees to work in.
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June 14, 2013

NY Fire Department Rescues Two Men from 46 Story Building Following Scaffolding Accident

by Altman & Altman

Two workers who became trapped at the top of the Hearst Building in New York City were rescued without injury Wednesday afternoon.

Rescue crews from the New York City fire department arrived around 2:40 p.m. Wednesday to help two window washers who became suspended on the 44th floor after the metal scaffolding they were standing on buckled and gave way.

According to officials, firefighters worked from both the roof and from a window on the 44th floor (which was level with the scaffold platform) to reach the two men. Firefighters eventually cut a 4-foot-by-4-foot panel of glass from the window and pulled the workers to safety. The men, ages 26 and 49, were both wearing safety harnesses, and neither was injured. Firefighters were also able to pull the scaffolding up to the roof, where they determined that it was the scaffolding’s motor that had failed and thus caused the incident.

Luckily both men’s safety harnesses were functioning properly and they were uninjured. However, this is not always the circumstance. Earlier last month for example, two men working at Hingham High School were injured after they both fell off of the roof’s scaffolding. While both of the men were equipped with safety harnesses, one of the men was seriously injured after his safety harness failed.

Scaffolding is used as a temporary platform that is used to help build, install, repair, or reach any surface that cannot be reached by ladder. Scaffolding incidents can occur for a number of reasons including incorrect assembly and improper manufacturing. Accidents can also happen when supports fail or collapse, when scaffolding is broken, scaffolding is wet and a worker slips and falls, or when workers are inadequately trained on how to operate equipment.

Due to the height of scaffolding, injuries sustained during scaffolding incidents are often serious and sometimes fatal. Injuries might include fractures, head injuries, broken bones, or spinal trauma that could lead to paralysis or death.
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June 7, 2013

GAO Report Finds State-Run OSHA Programs Failing to Meet Workplace Safety Goals

by Altman & Altman

A report done by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that some of the state-run occupational safety and health organization’s programs (OSHA) have failed to meet many of the minimum requirements for workplace safety.

The major issue that OSHA faces is the amount, or lack thereof, of essential staffing within their agencies. OSHA has specifically cited that they do not have an adequate number of personnel on hand to monitor and inspect workplaces, and therefore have fallen short of meeting their goals for workplace safety.

Much of the reason for this lack of staffing comes from constrained budgets and budget cuts by the state government. In most states, including Massachusetts, OSHA is a state-funded agency that requires federal funding to operate successfully. Not only does short staffing affect safety goals, but many staff members, as OSHA stated, lack essential training and competence. OSHA’s biggest challenge is not having any control over staffing because they don’t have the resources or the power to change the state and federal funding they receive.

The GAO recommended that Congress members pass a law to compensate for inadequate staffing and to give state-run OSHA officials more authority when it comes to ensuring safe work practices. Essentially, the GAO advised that OSHA should have more of a role in assessing the needs of states’ occupational health and safety programs. That is, OSHA officials should be able to directly address issues and solve them most efficiently, rather than go through tedious chain of command to assess and solve problems.

OSHA was founded to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for employees across the nation by adopting and enforcing federal occupational safety and health standards. It is the responsibility of every employer to ensure safe working environments for all employees, and to safeguard workplaces from conditions that threaten to well-being and safety of themselves and employees. Employers have the responsibility to make sure employees are properly trained and are able to perform their job efficiently and in a way that does not pose a threat to their safety. Employers are also responsible for maintaining equipment and certifying that all tools or machinery are operating properly. If an incident does occur on their premises where an employee becomes sick or is injured or killed, the employer must accurately record the incident and notify OSHA personnel immediately.
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May 23, 2013

National Study Looks at Preventing Amputation Injuries in the Workplace

by Altman & Altman

Massachusetts workers take note; there has been a recent study conducted that sheds new light on the frequency and prevention of amputation injuries in the workplace.

Amputations are one of the most severe and debilitating types of workplace injuries. A moment’s inattention or single misstep, as well as defective or unguarded mechanical equipment can lead to irreparable damage of a limb and result in permanent disability or even the end of a career.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, there were 5,280 non-fatal amputations in the United States (a rate of 6 per every 100,000 workers); the lowest ever recorded. The greatest number of incidences occurred in 2005, with 8,450 non-fatal amputations. The majority of these types of workplace injuries occur in manufacturing plants and more than 50% occur in construction, agriculture, wholesale and retail trade, and service industries, collectively. Not surprisingly, about 96% of amputations involve loss of a finger.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recognized four types of hazardous exposures that can cause amputation including: machinery and workplace equipment, parts or materials that may collapse on and crush a worker, motor vehicles including forklifts and tractors, and hand tools. While this Minnesota study was national, the findings and information relate to all Massachusetts workplace employees.

Types of Hazardous Machines
Some of the most common machines that pose amputation hazards include:

• Mechanical power presses • Powered and non-powered conveyor belts • Printing presses • Roll-forming/bending machines • Sheering machines • Food slicers • Meat-cutting saws • Drill presses • Milling machines
• Grinding machines • Slitters Continue reading

May 3, 2013

OSHA Launches a New Plan to Keep Temporary Workers Safe on the Job

by Altman & Altman

This week the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a new initiative to help protect temporary workers from workplace injuries. The memo and plan comes after a series of reports OSHA received about temporary workers suffering serious and fatal injuries during some of the first days on the job.

The most recent fatality report was in February when a 21-year old employee was crushed while on his first day at the Bacardi Bottling Corporation. The man was not a regular employee, and was hired as temporary. Bacardi Bottling received twelve safety violations, including nine serious violations which totaled fines of $192,000 after the incident.

The new memo and subsequent initiative, which OSHA has already begun implementing, acknowledged the often lack of training given to temporary workers because of their short-term status, and the need for more regular inspection of workplaces and enforcement of safety regulations on behalf of OSHA officials. The memo also acknowledged the need for regular interviewing of employees to ensure they have received the proper training in their native language, because temporary employees are often foreign and do not natively speak English.

The memo called for OSHA officials to:
1.) Do more regular inspections of workplaces to assess whether employers are complying with their responsibilities under OSHA laws.
2.) Use a new code to denote when temporary workers are exposed to safety and health violations.
3.) Assess if temporary workers have received required training in a language they understand.
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May 2, 2013

Dangerous Workplace: MA Construction Site Accidents Are Most Serious and Most Fatal Study Recent Finds

by Altman & Altman

Each year thousands of workers are injured in workplace incidents around the Commonwealth. Last year alone, over 50,000 workers were injured and more than 30 were killed on Massachusetts job sites. A study published by The Massachusetts AFL-CIO and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health found that construction is the most dangerous work industry and far surpasses any other industry in the amount of workplace injuries and fatalities.

Forklift accidents are one type of incident that most often occurs on construction sites, manufacturing and storage warehouses, and accounts for a great number of workplace injuries.
Accidents with forklifts can be caused by numerous factors such as unsafe workplace conditions, inexperience, or unsafe practices while operating the machinery. Accidents caused by those types of factors are almost 100% preventable if the proper safety precautions are taken.

Some of the most common physical conditions that contribute to forklift accidents include slippery or uneven surfaces, floor and load limits, and obstructions. Slippery and uneven surfaces pose hazards such as skidding and tip over, especially when a forklift is traveling over oil, grease, water, mud, gravel, and other uneven ground conditions. It is most advised to avoid these types of surfaces whenever possible and spread material, such as sand or other absorbent material, over slick areas you cannot avoid to prevent skidding. Workers should always report unsafe conditions, and warning signs should be implemented to warn others of danger, until the area can be properly cleaned.
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April 26, 2013

Report Shows 32 Workers Died in Massachusetts Workplace Accidents in 2012

by Altman & Altman

A report published by The Massachusetts AFL-CIO and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health found there were 32 work related deaths in Massachusetts in 2012. Though the number is lower than that of 2011 (58 deaths), the organizations are calling for change at both deferral and state levels to further prevent workplace injuries and deaths in the Commonwealth.

The Facts

According to the study, motor vehicle accidents and falls were among the leading causes of workplace death, with 5 deaths being related to transportation accidents, and 6 deaths caused by falls. Construction site fatalities accounted for 19% of the total number of work related deaths, and remained the most dangerous work industry. The average age of death was 50 years old, but individuals ranged from ages 17 years to 73 years old. Of the total number deaths, 7 individuals were firefighters, and 4 were fishermen.

Though the number of fatalities over the past several years is “relatively low by historical standards,” there were significantly high numbers of non-fatal work injuries and occupational disease diagnoses. According to the study, 50,000 people sustained serious injuries at work. More than 300 workers died from occupational disease and 1,800 workers were diagnosed with cancer or other diseases related to workplace exposure.

The major contributing factor in the number of workplace fatalities in Massachusetts, according to the report, is a lack of funding for OSHA regulators and lack of adherence by both employees and employers to exercise necessary safety precautions on job sites. There is, according to the organizations, little enforcement of safety policies by OSHA as well as ramifications for businesses that fail to institute proper safety measures. OSHA still remains seriously underfunded and understaffed, and lacks the ability to inspect each worksite and enforce protocols at every business.
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