Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority employee fell down 30 feet into a concrete shaft below the tracks at the Charles/MGH Red Line Station in Boston early this morning. Identified as Edward Rowe, 46, of Haverhill, the employee has worked for MBTA since he was 18 years old.

According to officials, the accident happened around 4:30 a.m. this morning. Rowe, an electrician for MBTA, was shutting off the power to a Red Line rail at the station. He was walking on a plank of plywood that was being used to cover up the deep shaft and subsequently fell through the hole as the plywood gave way. Rowe was stuck for hours before Boston firefighters were able to lift him to the surface around 8 a.m.

A fire department spokesperson, Steve MacDonald, said that, “The only way to get him out was to hoist him straight up…It’s very tough, confined conditions.’’ Firefighters ended up rigging a pulley system and lowered a firefighter down to where Rowe was trapped so that he could evaluate Rowe and attach him to a safety harness in order to pull him out. After having to adjust the safety harness so that Rowe was not in too much pain, firefighters eventually were able to safely pull him out.

Rowe is now in critical condition at Massachusetts General Hospital where he is reported to have two broken legs. After this early-morning workplace accident, the MBTA General Manager, Richard A. Davey, requested that all plywood used as shaft covers be removed and replaced with metal shaft covers.

If you have been injured at work, our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers can help you explore your legal options with advice and a free consultation.

Source:

Boston firefighters save MBTA worker who fell 30 feet , Boston Globe, March 30, 2011

Continue reading " MBTA Worker Falls Down 30-Foot Concrete Shaft at Charles/ Massachusetts General Hospital Station in Boston " »

After citing a Danvers, Massachusetts, roofing contractor for inadequate guards to protect workers from falling, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has warned all construction employers in Essex and Middlesex counties to take safety precautions against falling hazards. OSHA cited A.C. Castle Construction Co. Inc. of Danvers for potential fall hazards at their residential job site located at 5 Collins Street, in Danvers.

Jeffrey A. Erskine, OSHA's area director for Essex and Middlesex counties, said, "These citations address basic construction safety hazards that should not have existed in the first place. They should be of vital concern to all employers whose workers labor at heights and near power lines…Employers should take the time to perform a spring tuneup, including reviewing their safety programs, equipment, employee training and applicable OSHA regulations to ensure that their workers are effectively protected against falls and other hazards."

The company faces almost $61,000 in fines for 21 citations. They were charged with three repeat citations amounting to $15,200 in fines for falling hazards as high as 19 feet, along with the lack of head protection. Eighteen serious citations were issued with $45,600 in fines for numerous additional safety hazards including exposure to electric shock, frayed electrical lines, lack of head, eye, or foot protection, and for the lack of a competent person overseeing the site who should have been able to identify such hazards.

For all construction and roofing contractors, OSHA provides detailed online information on these mandatory and recommended fall hazard safety topics:

•Employers’ mandatory job to provide fall protection
•Criteria and practices of fall protection systems
•Training requirements for employers and employees
•Determining roof widths
•Guardrail systems
•Fall arrest systems and positioning device systems, such as lifelines that should be connected to the body-belt or harness and attached to anchorage

If you have been injured on a construction site due to your employers lack of safety measures, contact one of our experienced Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers for advise on your case and a free consultation.

Source:

US Labor Department's OSHA urges employers to guard against fall hazards after citing employer at Danvers, Mass., jobsite, OSHA Regional News, March 24, 2011

Continue reading " OSHA Warns Construction Industry in Essex and Middlesex Counties after Citing Danvers Roofing Company for Fall Hazards " »

A company in Lawrence, Massachusetts, C.I.L. Inc., has been cited and charged with $49,289 in proposed fines carry out metal finishing and processes that increase metal corrosion resistance, such as anodizing and hard coat services. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the company had not fixed their prior hazards cited and that workers were exposed to high chances of electrocution or shock.

OSHA first inspected the company’s plant in 2005 and then in 2007 before their most recent inspection in December of 2010. Because the company has a “higher-than-average” injury or illness rate, OSHA inspected this company under their Site-Specific Targeting Program. This program is in place to target and monitor the most dangerous companies based on injury and illness rates, employee days away from work, and transfer rates. OSHA’s most recent inspection of C.I.L. Inc. revealed that the company had not fixed their previous electrocution hazards, such as the use of extension cords in place of what should have been permanent wires. They also cited them for a repeat violation of inadequate air-flow to a paint booth. These repeat violations amounted to $26,950 in fines.

The company’s five new serious violations, amounting to $22,330 in fines, were cited for the following reasons:

• Lack of ventilation in an area where flammable materials were stored
• Waste cans and other materials stored too close to paint spray booths
• Cleaning hose with dangerous amount of air pressure
• Electrical circuits that were not labelled
• Unapproved electrical equipment in an area with flammable paints and solvents

OSHA’s Jeffrey Erskine, the Area Director for Essex and Middlesex counties, warned that, "Left uncorrected, these conditions expose employees to the hazards of fire, electrocution and electric shock…It's imperative that the employer address these issues thoroughly to ensure their correction and prevent them from happening again."

A repeat violation is given when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard within the last five years. A serious citation is given when there is a high chance that injury or death can result from the safety hazard.

If you have been electrocuted or injured in the workplace, our experienced Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers can help. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

Source:

US Labor Department's OSHA proposes more than $49,000 in fines against
Lawrence, Mass., metal finishing plant for repeat and serious safety hazards, OSHA Regional News Release, March 24, 2011

Continue reading " C.I.L. Inc. Fined for Safety Hazards Amounting to $49,289 " »

Following the death of a 20-year-old worker in Ohio last September, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has drawn national attention to grain storage facility deaths. After inspecting Gavilon Grain LLC, OSHA charged this company with over forty citations and $465,500 in fines for safety violations at their three Ohio facilities in Morral, West Jefferson and Harpster .

OSHA’s Assistant Secretary of Labor, Dr. David Michaels, explained that this death, in which the employee got caught in a discharge auger when cleaning out a grain bin, should have been avoided: “This tragic death could have been prevented had the grain bin owner and operators followed occupational safety standards and learned from the tragedies that have occurred at other grain bins…Grain elevator owners and operators must implement well-known safety practices to prevent workers from being hurt or killed in a grain bin.” Purdue University researchers report that approximately 25 workers in the U.S. were killed in grain equipment last year and that 2010 saw the highest number of grain deaths since they started collecting this data in 1978.

Because the number of deaths related to grain processing is on the rise, OSHA sent a notification letter in February 2011 to grain storage facility operators warning them of grain equipment safety standards. OSHA explains that entrapment deaths occur due to employer negligence, poor safety practices, and non-compliance with OSHA standards. Michaels said that "OSHA will not tolerate noncompliance with the Grain Handling Facilities standard…We will continue to use our enforcement authority to the fullest extent possible."

Although grain equipment deaths are not as frequent in Massachusetts as in other farming states, grain equipment can nonetheless pose a threat to workplace safety and employers should always take action for a safer workplace. Since 2009, OSHA has cited and fined numerous other grain operators nationwide in order to prevent further workplace injuries or deaths due to grain equipment.

If you have been injured in the workplace, please do not hesitate to contact one of our experienced Massachusetts Work Injury Lawyers for advice on a case and a free consultation.

Source:

US Labor Department's OSHA cites Gavilon Grain for willful, other safety violations following death of 20-year-old worker at Morral facility, OSHA National News Release, March 16, 2011

Continue reading " OSHA Cracks Down on Rise of Grain Equipment Deaths " »

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited PEP Direct LLC, a mailing and printing company based out of Wilton, New Hampshire, with 17 willful and serious citations for violating workplace safety protocol, accompanied by fines of $170,000.

OSHA has cited and fined this company for the following serious safety breaches of workplace safety:

· Three of their four printing presses lacked guarding to protect operators and other workers against being caught or falling into the presses and despite the employer’s knowledge
· Workers were fixing electrical equipment without training, lack of protection equipment, and were fixing live electrical equipment without first turning off the power, all resulting in possible electrocution
· Untrained industrial truck operators

Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA's New Hampshire Area Director, said that "These conditions, left uncorrected, expose workers to potential death or serious injury from being caught in operating machinery, struck by powered industrial trucks and electrocuted. The employer must comprehensively address all these hazards to eliminate them and keep workers safe…The sizable fines proposed here reflect the breadth and gravity of the hazards found at this plant as well as the employer's knowledge of and failure to correct some of these conditions."

Here in Massachusetts, the US Postal Service was charged earlier this year with similar citations and $238,000 in fines for electrical hazards at their Shrewsbury mail processing facility, as previously reported in the Altman & Altman's Workers' Compensation Blog.

If you have been injured in the workplace, our experienced lawyers can help. Please do not hesitate to contact us for advice on a workers’ compensation case and a free consultation.

Source:

US Labor Department's OSHA cites Wilton, NH, direct mail printer and distributor for 17 willful and serious safety violations, OSHA Regional News, March 16, 2011

Continue reading " PEP Direct LLC Receives Citations for Electrical and Mechanical Hazards " »

The Occupational Safety Health Administration has recently updated procedures to help whistleblowers who believe that their employers are not following safety laws in relation to nuclear and environmental safety or security, clean air, safe drinking water, solid waste, and toxic substances. Now consistent with OSHA’s other whistleblower procedures, the new rule also helps workers to bring the violations of their employers to the attention of authorities and helps those who might have difficulty filing a written complaint or filing a complaint in English. The new rule will ultimately help to prevent workplace safety hazards by providing workers easier access to filing complaints.

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. David Michaels said "Silenced workers are not safe workers…Changes in the whistleblower provisions make good on the promise to stand by those workers who have the courage to come forward when they believe their employer is violating an environmental or nuclear safety law."

The rule provides final regulations of the employee protection agreement, known as the "whistleblower agreement”, of the original Energy Reorganization Act of 1974. OSHA maintains whistleblower regulations for nuclear and environmental workers and also protects workers who report violations of airlines, commercial carriers, consumer products, financial reform, health care reform, pipelines, public transit, railroads, maritime and securities laws. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers must provide healthy and safe workplaces for their employees.

For a complete guide to environmental workplace safety standards here in Massachusetts, please visit the Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs website.

If you are a whistleblower and work in an environmentally unsafe workplace or have been injured in the workplace, please do not hesitate to contact one of our experienced lawyers for assistance and a free consultation.

Source:

OSHA publishes final rule establishing procedures for handling nuclear and environmental retaliation complaints, OSHA Trade News Release, March 10, 2011

Continue reading " OSHA Updates Procedures to Help Workers Report Employer Violations of Nuclear and Environmental Safety " »

Attorney General Martha Coakley's Office announced last week that an agreement has been reached that will prevent an increase in rates paid by businesses for workers’ compensation insurance in Massachusetts until September of 2012. The Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau of Massachusetts (WCRIBMA), the organization that oversees workers’ compensation rates in Massachusetts, had proposed a 6.6 percent increase in premiums.

Coakley claims that by freezing these rates instead of increasing them, Massachusetts employers will save up to $65 million. Coakley said “The industry’s request to raise rates could not have come at a worse time for small businesses in Massachusetts…We told the industry that we believed the rate was unjustified and that we would litigate to stop it.” Although the agreement still needs approval from state regulators, President of WCRIBMA, Paul Meagher, said “with the economic recovery just beginning to gain traction, the workers’ compensation insurance industry is willing to assist Massachusetts employers by waiting another year before requesting a rate increase.”

These rates for workers’ compensation insurance are negotiated and set approximately every other year in a hearing before the Commissioner of Insurance. Coakley’s office will also be able to review this year's insurance data before determining whether a further rate freeze will also be necessary in 2012. Businesses in Massachusetts are obligated to purchase workers’ compensation insurance to provide coverage for workers injured on the job and their lost wages.

If you have been injured at work or have a question regarding a workers' compensation case, our experienced lawyers can help. Please do not hesitate to contact us for a free consultation.

Sources:

Deal will keep Mass. workers comp rates flat, BusinessWeek, The Associated Press, March 2, 2011

Agreement Leaves Massachusetts Workers’ Comp Rates Flat, Insurance Journal, March 2, 2011

Continue reading " Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Rate Freeze " »

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recently released a compliance guide to help small construction businesses adhere to an important new rule for the use and operation of cranes and derricks. The new standard, Cranes and Derricks in Construction, was introduced in August of 2010, and had not been updated since it was first issued in 1971. Since then, there have been a large number of deaths and injuries related to cranes and derricks and also significant technological improvements to the cranes, both of which the new standard aims to address. It is estimated that crane and derrick accidents are the cause of approximately 22 fatalities and 175 injuries per year.

The compliance guide that was released on Tuesday, March 8, 2011, aims to help smaller businesses understand the changes and adhere to the new standard in order to promote a safer work environment for the construction industry. Some of the updated requirements include inspections of crane parts before they are assembled and assessment of ground conditions. The guide also outlines the new requirements which include, but are not limited to:

• Crane operators will need to be officially qualified or certified as of November 10, 2014.
• Clearance distances from power lines and to protect workers against electrocution hazards.
• Use of synthetic slings when climbing tower cranes and other assembly activities, and use of approved riggers, to ensure the structural stability.
• The new standard includes equipment that was not covered or had very few requirements in the prior standard, such as floating cranes.

Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, said "Over the past four decades, we've continued to see a significant number of worker injuries and deaths from electrocution, crushed-by and struck-by hazards while performing cranes and derricks operations...This guide will help employers understand what they must do to protect their workers from these dangerous, sometimes fatal incidents." For the complete guide, visit OSHA’s Small Entity Compliance Guide for Final Rule Cranes and Derricks in Construction.

If you have been injured while working on a construction site or have a question about a case, feel free to contact one of our experienced attorneys for a free consultation.

Source:

OSHA issues guidance document to help small businesses comply with cranes and derricks rule, OSHA Trade News, March 8, 2011

Continue reading " OSHA Produces Guide for New Crane and Derrick Standard " »

The Philadelphia retail and car service company, Pep Boys, has been charged by the US Labor Department’s OSHA with repeat and serious citations. After an inspection at the company’s Hamden, Connecticut, facility, OSHA found that workers were exposed to numerous work safety hazards, including potential electric shock due to damaged power cords and laceration hazards due to the lack of a safety guard on a grinder. The company was previously charged with similar citations at their Orange facility in Connecticut, and were thus charged with $70,000 for these serious repeat violations. They were also charged with $5,000 for the lack of cover plates on electrical outlets and a snap switch box.

OSHA’s Area Director in Bridgeport, Robert Kowalski, said "The size of these fines reflects the fact that Pep Boys previously was cited for a number of similar hazards at its Orange, Conn., location…It would be to the benefit of its workers' safety companywide for this employer to determine if similar hazards exist at other stores and to eliminate them if they do." Here in Massachusetts, Pep Boys has facilities in Everett, Dedham, Salem, Springfield, and West Springfield.

OSHA issues a serious citation when there is a significant probability that death or physical harm could happen from a workplace safety hazard that the employer knew about and/or should have already fixed. OSHA issues a repeat citation when the employer was previously cited for the same or similar violations of workplace safety within the last five years.

If you have been injured at work, feel free to contact one of our experienced lawyers for a free consultation.

Source:

US Labor Department's OSHA cites Pep Boys for machine guarding and electrical hazards at Hamden, Conn., location, OSHA Regional News Release, March 3, 2011

Continue reading " Pep Boys Charged With $75,000 for Workplace Safety Violations " »

Two Massachusetts contractors have been cited for similar trench violations by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration within the past week.

On February 25, 2011, the first contractor cited was A.A. Will Corp., of Stoughton, for willful and repeat violations of workplace trench safety at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Wonderland Station in Revere, where they were installing electrical vaults in the parking lot of the station. Prompted by complaints of an unsafe jobsite, OSHA found workers in a ditch deeper than 5 feet without collapse protection or a ladder, which is a repeat violation for this contractor for a similar situation in February 2010 at a Boston jobsite. The company faces $69,300 in proposed fines.

The second contractor cited, Trainor Construction Co., of Canton, Massachusetts, was cited on February 28, 2011, for willful and serious violations of workplace safety at a jobsite at 270 Centre Street in Boston. Upon the inspection of the jobsite, where Trainor was replacing a water main, OSHA found that a 7-7 1/2 foot trench had inadequate protection against collapse and lacked the needed bracing for an unsupported concrete structure next to the excavation. Furthermore, employees were not wearing reflective vests or bright clothes to protect them from oncoming vehicle traffic. The company faces a total of $29,000 in proposed fines.

OSHA recognizes trenching and excavating as one of the most dangerous aspects of construction because of the risk of cave-ins. Thus, OSHA requires that all trenches deeper than 5 feet need to be guarded and braced for potential collapse. Soil analysis is also important before digging starts. Additional hazards, such as underground power lines or natural gas, also need to be noted. Prior to workers entering the trench, it needs to be inspected by someone who is trained in trench safety. OSHA provides a complete overview of their trench safety requirements on their Trenching and Excavation page.

OSHA's Area Director for Boston and Southeastern Massachusetts, Brenda Gordon, said, "An unprotected trench can become a prison or a grave in seconds if its walls cave in on workers…Employers should never allow employees into a trench until it has been effectively protected against collapse. Workers' lives depend on it."

Our lawyers have over 25 years of experience representing clients who have been injured on the job. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like a free consultation.

Sources:

US Labor Department's OSHA cites Stoughton, Mass., contractor for failing to provide cave-in protection at Revere, Mass., jobsite, OSHA Regional News Release, February 25, 2011

US Labor Department's OSHA cites Canton, Mass., contractor for failing to provide cave-in protection at Boston jobsite, OSHA Regional News Release, February 28, 2011

Continue reading " OSHA Cites Two Massachusetts Contractors for Trench Violations " »