Workplace Disease/Illness

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 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 9, 2015

Tougher OSHA Reporting Rules for On-the-Job Injuries Are Now in Place

by Altman & Altman

Under Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s rules, private-sector employers must fulfill tougher reporting requirements for injuries on the job. Now, employers have to report all work-related deaths within eight hours and give notification of any eye losses, amputations, and inpatient hospitalizations within 24 hours of discovery.

The new requirements went into effect on January 1. Employers can report an incident either by calling the closest OSHA area office, contacting the OSHA hotline, or submitting a report online.

Previous to that, employees had to notify the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration of all workplace deaths or when at least three workers injured in the same incident were hospitalized.

October 30, 2014

Ebola Crisis Puts the Focus On Workplace Safety for Healthcare Workers, Nurses

by Altman & Altman

The recent outbreak of the Ebola virus is raising questions about whether or not the proper precautious are in place to protect healthcare workers, including nurses, who are often front and center when it comes to taking care of patients with infectious diseases. In the U.S., nurses Amber Joy Vinson and Nina Pham were infected with Ebola while working at a hospital. They both treated Thomas Eric Duncan, who is the first person to die in from the virus in this country.

Fortunately, both women received the necessary medical care and they no longer have the disease. Early diagnosis of their condition may have helped.

Last week, over 200 nurses gathered outside the National Nurses United headquarters in California to call for tighter protections for healthcare workers from Ebola. The NNU believes that Vincent and Pham were exposed to the Ebola virus because the necessary safety controls were not set up at the hospital where they worked. In a recent survey, four out of five nurses said that have not been instructed on how to handle patients with Ebola.

August 13, 2014

Why returning to work after an injury may be a hassle, according to GENEX study

by Altman & Altman

Last year more than three million American employees experience a work-related injury. For employers this represented around $1 billion per week, in addition to the employees’ social costs. Aside from the financial loses, employees may also be face other disadvantages because of their injuries: if employees are off work for more than six months, they have less than a 50% chance of returning to the workforce. It is an imperative then to establish effective measures to aid employees return to work.

Instituting official return-to-work programs has proven a successful strategy in many private organizations. Firms with RTW programs are 1.4 times faster than those without one in returning the employee to work. That translates into about 3-4 weeks of a time difference. However, in spite of the advantages, not all firms –especially small ones –possess an established RTW program.

Even with an official RTW program in place, employers often face barriers to provide effective, immediate care. According to GEXEX Services, LLC, one of the nation’s largest providers of managed care services, these are the top five barriers return-to-work programs face:
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February 28, 2014

Massachusetts Office Accidents Can Cause Serious Boston Work Injuries

by Altman & Altman

An office setting can be rife with potential safety hazards. Yes, sitting behind a desk is definitely safer than hauling lumber at a construction site, but don’t think Boston injury accidents still don’t happen. If you were injured at the office, please contact our Massachusetts workers’ compensation law firm today. You may want to explore your options.

Common Office Accidents:

• Fall accidents are the most common kind of office accident (includes slip and fall accidents, trip and fall accidents, step and fall accidents, and other falls.) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, office workers are at least two times likely to sustain a disabling injury in this type of incident. Common causes include wet floors, poor lighting, bending or reaching for an object while in an unsteady chair, electrical cords on the ground, an open drawer, uneven flooring, objects left on the floor, or standing on a chair instead of a ladder, and dark hallways and stairwells.

January 31, 2014

OSHA Extends Comment Period of Proposed Crystalline Silica Rule to Feb. 11

by Altman & Altman

In August 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration filed a petition for a new rule that would reduce the instance of chronic respiratory illness and cancer among U.S. workers, by putting limits on the amount of crystalline silica a worker can legally be exposed to. In a statement published by the organization last week, OSHA decided to extend the public comment period on the proposal from January 27, to February 11, allowing stakeholders additional time to raise concerns and make further recommendations. Public hearings on the proposed rule are set to take place on March 18, 2014.

Crystalline silica is a toxic particle that kills hundreds of workers and sickens thousands each year. The proposed rule includes two separate standards-one for general industry and maritime employees and one for employees in the construction industry.

OSHA presently enforces a rule dated 40 years to regulate permissible exposure limits (PEL) for silica exposure, which has proven itself 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.

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.
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August 29, 2013

OSHA Proposes New Rule to Protect Workers from Toxic Silica Exposure

by Altman & Altman

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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