Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

While climbing a scaffold at a Brookline, Massachusetts job site, an employee of a masonry contractor fell 30 feet. After the fall accident, when OSHA inspectors visited the job site, they found that it lacked a ladder or other safe means of accessing its upper levels. They also discovered that the contracting company had not provided workers with fall protection while working on the scaffold. Safety regulations require employers to provide fall protection for each employees on a scaffold that is higher than 10 feet above a lower level.

As a result of these alleged unsafe conditions, OSHA issued two willful citations against the masonry company, totaling $56,000 in proposed fines. OSHA also determined that the scaffold was not fully planked and that workers were at risk for electrocution, because the scaffold was located less than 18 inches from uninsulated and energized power lines. The company also received two serious citations in $5,600 in proposed fines.

The Weymouth-based company faces $61,600 total in proposed fines and has fifteen business days from receipt of the citations to comply, contest the findings, or take part in an informal conference with OSHA's area director.

Source: OSHA Fines Contractor $61,000 Following Worker's 30-Foot Fall, OHSonline.com, May 27, 2010

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Following complaints filed to OSHA by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, Tufts Medical Center has agreed to pay $5,000 to settle issues in record-keeping. OSHA cited the hospital for failing to properly record employee injuries that occurred on the job, including back strains, broken thumbs, needle-stick injuries, and cuts from sharp objects.

The Nurses Association distributed a press release several weeks ago saying the hospital showed a lack of concern for the health and safety of its workers. The union also picketed the hospital earlier this year to protest changes in nurses' staffing patterns.

In response, the hospital issued a statement saying the incomplete employee injury logs were caused by recent changes in recording requirements. They also say the employee injury logs were corrected soon after OSHA notified them of the omissions.

Source: Tufts Medical Center to pay $5,000 to settle record-keeping issue with OSHA, Patriot Ledger, April 30, 2010

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Last week, a trench collapse killed a 56-year-old worker in Hudson, Ohio. The workplace accident also injured a 58-year-old worker who remained in serious condition at a local hospital.

Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the 15-foot-deep trench was unsafe and lacked safety protections in the area where the two workers were digging a sewer line at the time of the collapse. According to OSHA, trenches of that depth should be protected by sloping the walls or strengthening the sides with a shield or shoring materials to prevent a collapse.

OSHA is continuing to investigate the cause of the fatal construction accident.

Source: OSHA: Hudson trench lacked basic safety protections, Vindy.com, April 9, 2010

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Earlier this week, at least 25 workers died in an accident at a coal mine owned by Massey Energy, the country’s fourth largest coal company and the single largest coal producer in Central Appalachia. While the company’s website boasts that it has a safety record above the industry average, the Washington Post reports that the company has a history of safety violations, including roughly 50 citations last month alone.

The United States Mine Safety and Health Administration reportedly fined the company for a laundry list of safety hazards, including failure to maintain proper escape ways, the accumulation of combustible materials, and poor ventilation of dust and methane. MSHA records show that a miner died in an electrical accident in 2003 and another died in a 2001 roof fall.

Federal records show that from 2005 through Monday, the company had amassed 1,342 safety violations with a total of $1.89 million in proposed fines. Companies are permitted to contest such violations. According to federal officials, the company has contested about a third of the violations with over a million dollars in associated penalties.

Source: Massey Energy has litany of critics, violations, Washinton Post, April 6, 2010

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has compiled data on work-related injuries and illnesses since 1996. Now the agency has made that information public through a searchable online database which allows people to look at company and industry-specific data on injury and illness.

The data is used by OSHA to calculate illness and injury incidence rates. These rates inform OSHA's strategic plan and allow the agency to focus its Site Specific Targeting (SST) Program. According to the Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, making this information public is part of the presidential administration's commitment to transparency.

Users can go to Data.gov or OSHA.gov to view an establishment's name, address, associated Total Case Rate (TCR), Days Away from Work (DAFWII) case rate, and other information. However, the database does not include rates calculated by OSHA for companies submitted unreliable or questionable dadta.

Source: OSHA releases workplace injury and illness data, ReliablePlant.com, January, 2010

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A Methuen-based contractor has received 23 citations with proposed fines of $166,950 from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for trench safety hazards at two Massachusetts worksites, one in Quincy and one in Lynnfield. OSHA’s citations include alleged willful, serious, and other-than-serious violations of safety standards.

During inspections, OSHA discovered workers at both locations who were exposed to cave-in hazards while working in trenches more than 6 feet deep. In Quincy, the workers were also exposed to struck-by hazards from material stored at a trench’s edge, and the trench was missing a safe means of exit. In addition, access ladders were damaged or misused, and OSHA found an incomplete injuries and illnesses log.

The contractor has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, contest the findings, or participate in an informal conference with OSHA’s area director.

Source: Contractor Cited for Treacherous Trenching, OHSonline.com, January 29, 2010

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Last year, OSHA cited a Framingham, Massachusetts-based company after an aerial lift accident injured one employee and killed an employee for another roofing contractor. This incident and several other roofing accidents highlight the need for better safety training.

That's why the American Work Platform Training (AWPT) subsidiary of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) is launching free warning stickers that ask if the operator has been properly trained in the operation of that equipment. The stickers are to be placed on an aerial work platform (AWP) or mast climbing work platform (MCWP), both of which require safety training prior to use.

AWPT also offers free stickers that remind operators to wear a full body harness with a short lanyard in boom type platforms. In addition, the organization distributes Technical Guidance Note H1 that explains the ANSI requirements for personal fall protection in boom-supported work platforms. The hope is that these materials will improve safety awareness and reduce the number of construction accidents related to lack of training.

Source: AWPT stickers could help prevent more accidents, Access International, January 12, 2010

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After an inspector from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) observed an employee working unprotected in a 6-foot deep excavation at a worksite in Randolph, a Pembroke-based company now faces over $55,000 in proposed fines. The inspection in December, 2009 revealed that the trench lacks cave-in protection and a safe means for workers to leave the trench. OSHA mandates that any excavation deeper than five feet be protected against collapse.

OSHA has given the construction company two willful citations for the missing ladder and unprotected excavation. The fines total $50,000 for the willful citations. In addition, the company also received two serious citations for the excavator at the trench's edge and the lack of a high visibility vest for an excavator exposed to vehicular traffic. The fines for the serious citations total. Lastly, the company also received one other-than-serious citation for an incomplete injury and illness log. That citation comes with a $1,200 fine.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, participate in an informal conference with their area director for OSHA, or contest the findings.

Source: Contractor Digs Up $55K Penalty for Cave-In, Other Hazards, OHSOnline.com, January 9, 2010

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A New England contractor with worksites in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, was recently cited by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and faces a total of $308,500 in new proposed fines.

Two recent inspections of the company's worksites in Methuen and Plymouth uncovered numerous hazards, including untrained fork truck operators, lack of fall protection for workers at heights greater than six feet, improperly constructed and uninspected scaffolds, and a lack of fire extinguishers.

Since 2003, OSHA has cited this company eight times. This time, OSHA issued the company one willful, six repeat, and 13 serious citations. According to OSHA, a willful violation occurs when the violation is committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. A serious citation results when death or a serious accident is likely to result from safety hazards which the employer knew or should have known about.

Safety: Fall Hazards at Massachusetts Sites Net $308,500 in OSHA Fines, OHSonline.com, November 7, 2009

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Earlier this year, a worker died after he became caught in the moving parts of an industrial ice-making machine. The machine activated as the worker performed maintenance work inside it. When officials from Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated the New Bedford company, a seafood processor, they discovered 23 alleged safety violations.

Following the fatal machinery accident, the company received 19 serious citations and four other-than-serious hazards. OSHA found that the company's seafood processing plant did not have specific steps and procedures to power down and lock out the ice machine's power source before workers entered it.

Investigators also found that employees were not trained to deal with the hazard of the machine's operating without warning. The plant was also missing a program to train employees to work in confined spaces such as the ice machine. OSHA regulations aimed at preventing serious injuries require that machinery be powered down and power sources locked out before employees enter the machine to perform maintenance.

The combined proposed penalties total $66,800.

Source: Seafood Processor Cited for Worker's Death in Ice Machine, OHSonline.com, November 9, 2009

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Massachusetts is among the six states that currently require construction workers to complete OSHA's 10-hour construction safety training course before they can work on certain construction projects. The other states includes Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, and Missouri. Nevada's new OSHA training law will go into effect on January 1, 2010.

OSHA developed its 10-hour construction outreach training course as a voluntary safety course to teach workers about the hazards of construction work and the regulations that apply to their worksite. While several states have made the training mandatory in an attempt to reduce the number of construction accidents and injuries, some larger companies also have an authorized OSHA trainer on staff. OSHA has also authorized workers to take the required class online and receive the wallet card through the mail.

Several states only require the training for workers on publicly funded construction sites, but Nevada will require all construction workers to complete the training.

OSHA 10-Hour Construction Safety Course Now Mandatory in Seven States, Reuters, September 1, 2009

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In Gloucester, Massachusetts, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will lead an all-day safety training workshop this Thursday, April 23. The workplace safety seminar is presented by the Contractor's Division of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and leads to the awarding of an OSHA 10 Certificate, which is a requirement for workers in many states.

Massachusetts has required an OSHA 10 certificate on all prevailing rate jobs since August of 2006 and many places are increasingly requiring the certificate on non-prevailing rate jobs. Understanding safety regulations is especially important for construction workers, as their jobs may expose them to hazards such as explosions, crane accidents, fires, welding accidents, and more.

Randy Purser of Crane's Safety Institute in Ashland will lead the workshop. Contact the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce at 978-283-1601 or info AT CapeAnnChamber DOT com to register.

OSHA seminar for tradespeople planned for April 23, WickedLocal.com, April 17, 2009

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A Massachusetts construction company has been issued $60,000 in proposed fines for allegedly failing to provide cave-in protection for workers at an excavation site in Taunton.

Inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration drove by the site on October 28, 2008 and noticed employees installing a drain line in the 6-foot, 3-inch deep excavation. The excavations sidewalls were not properly shored to prevent a collapse and workers did not have a ladder or other safe means of exit. OSHA standards require cave-in protection when an excavation is 5 feet or deeper.

Because of these safety concerns, OSHA issued G. Lopes Construction Inc. one willful citation with a proposed fine of $56,000 for the lack of cave-in protection and one serious citation for the absence of a ladder (that proposed fine is $4,000).

The construction company has 15 business days from the time they receive the citation to comply, request a conference with the OSHA area director, or contest the citations and proposed fine.

OSHA Proposes $60,000 in Fines Against Mass. Contractor for Cave-In Hazard, EHSToday.com, April 14, 2009

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The US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced a safety partnership with the Burlington-based construction company Erland Construction. The goal of the partnership is to maximize worker safety and health at the Covidien West Street construction project in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

According to Brenda Gordon, OSHA's South Boston Area Office director, "this partnership is designed to encourage, recognize and assist contractors who want to minimize hazards and enhance their safety and health performance."

As part of the agreement, Erland will develop a project-specific safety and health plan. A qualified safety and health representative will implement and supervise the project.

Since 1998, over 1.4 million employees and almost 28,000 employers have participated in strategic partnerships with OSHA.

U.S. Labor Department's OSHA Partners With Erland Construction To Enhance Safety And Health At Mansfield, Mass., Construction Project, SafetyOnline.com, April 9, 2009

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According to a report released by the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number and rate of non-fatal illnesses and injuries sustained on the job and requiring time away from work decreased from 2006 to 2007. Overall, the number of cases declined 2 percent for all injures. The report also states that sprains and strains were the most common type of workplace injuries and illnesses. The number of sprain and strain cases decreased 5 percent in 2007 as compared to 2006.

However, the median number of days away from work as the result of an injury has not changed since 2004. That number remains steady at 7 days, although it varies according to industry. Those in the goods-producing industry reported a median of 9 days. Transportation and warehousing had a median of 14 days, and the mining sector had the highest median days away from work at 27. Over a quarter of all days-away-from work cases resulted in 31 or more days away from work.

Workers age 65 or older tend to experience longer work absences as the result of an injury. Since men tend to work in jobs and industries with a higher risk of injury, they reported a 22 percent higher rate of injury than women. Men had an incidence of 134 per 10,000 workers as compared to 105 per 10,000 workers in women.

Non-fatal work injuries/illnesses drop in U.S. industry, ReliablePlant.com

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A recent white paper authored Ken Nogan, Risk Control Consultant at PMA Insurance Group, reports that the number of people ages 65 and older in the workforce has increased over 100 percent since 1977 and more than half of those workers are working full-time.

These workers are at a higher risk for falls and can take two to three times longer to heal from an injury as compared to a younger counterpart. Falls account for over a third all injuries in workers over age 65, according to the white paper.

The author suggests doing an ergonomic evaluation of workstations and workspaces to identify causes of fatigue and strain. He also recommends that safety measures include slip and fall prevention and that companies consider risk control measures to meet the needs of this demographic. The complete white paper is available from PMAGroup.com.

Safety Modifications Important for Aging Workforce, ClaimsJournal.com, March 10, 2009

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22News reported about the Massachusetts Labor department’s information fair, which was held recently in Springfield. Experts from the department offered information for concerned workers, answering questions about getting injured at work and other issues.

One man told 22News that he suffered injuries on the job but was hesitant to complain for fear that his boss might fire him. A representative from the occupational health division assured the man that he is covered under the law by OSHA.

Many injured workers fail to report injuries for these same reasons; however, they should understand that in many cases they are entitled to workers’ compensation to cover medical costs, disability payments, and 60% of their average income.

Information fair for Mass. Labor unions, WWLP.com, March 4, 2009

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Allston’s Brazilian Immigrant Center is partnering with the Massachusetts Occupational Safety Health Administration to offer a workplace health and safety training workshop for Brazilian workers next Saturday, March 14. The workshop will take place on Saturday from 8am to 6pm Framingham, but the location is still to be determined.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Occupational Health Surveillance Program, 16 Brazilian workers died on the job between 1999 and 2007. Some Brazilian workers lack adequate work safety training, so this workshop is aimed at teaching those workers to avoid lead poisoning, prevent falls, handle electrical wires, and other tasks. The workshop will be conducted in Portuguese by instructor Rony Jabour.

Jabour said that many immigrant workers are reluctant to work with federal agencies like OSHA because of concerns about deportation, so the workshop will also cover OSHA’s role in protecting workers from workplace hazards. The cost for the workshop is $80 and workers will receive a certificate for having completed a 10-hour OSHA safety course at the end of the day. Contact Jabour at 978-767-0630 or oshaclas AT hotmail DOT com for more information.

Preventing work injuries among immigrants, MetroWest Daily News, March 8, 2009

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A new alliance between OSHA and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO plans to give students in Massachusetts alternative high schools training in reducing and preventing on-the-job hazards. This alliance will provide students with OSHA’s 10-hour construction and general industry outreach courses and develop lessons to teach teens about workplace safety and health.

According to Marthe Kent, OSHA’s New England regional administrator, "These students will be able to carry this vital information with them on whatever career paths they choose to follow. Their employers will also benefit, since a motivated and safety-conscious workforce can lead to reduced injuries and illnesses and their associated human and financial costs, enhance productivity and increase employee morale."

Signed at the Boston Day and Evening Academy in Roxbury, this alliance in Massachusetts is one of 470 alliances across the country that are aimed at encouraging health and safety awareness in the workplace.

OSHA And AFL-CIO Provides Safety Training To Alternative High School Students, WorkersCompensation.com, January 19, 2009

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With recent temperatures in Boston and across New England in the single digits this past weekend, the weather poses a special challenge to those who work on construction sites. In addition to the discomfort of working in frigid temperatures, cranes cannot be operated when temperatures go colder than four below. Those who climb to the top of a crane ladder know that the temperatures at the top can be even chillier than on the ground.

High winds create another hazard for construction workers during the winter months, especially workers who climb scaffolding or ladders high above the ground. Cold temperatures can also cause workers to lose feeling in their hands, resulting in falls or other unsafe conditions.

Workers are advised to dress in layers and observe proper safety precautions to avoid weather-related accident.

Hard At Work Despite Frigid Temperatures, MSNBC, January 16, 2009

With a Forecast of Weather in the Single Digits, Workers are Warned by New York Construction Accident Lawyers to Think Twice Before Heading Off to the Construction Site, PR Web, January 16, 2009

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A Worcester, Massachusetts gun manufacturing plant and testing facility has been cited and fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Admininstration (OSHA) for unsafe working conditions. The plant was inspected by OSHA after employees voiced concerns about inadequate safety measures such as protecting employees from overexposure to lead and from being struck by fragments during test firing of guns.

During its inspection, OSHA determined that the manufacturing plant had not conducted the mandatory monitoring to check employees’ lead exposure levels nor did they use engineering controls to reduce exposure levels, resulting in two willful citations with a proposed fine of $98,000.

In addition, the company received seven serious citations totally $17,500 in penalties. The citations cover a lack of lead monitoring and controls, shortcomings in the plant’s respirator program, a lack of protective clothing, and several other deficiencies. OSHA standards are designed by protect employees from potentially harmful lead exposure and other workplace hazards.

OSHA Fines Arms Plant for Lead Exposure and Firing Range Hazards, Safety.blr.com, January 13, 2009

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On Friday, the National Council on Occupational Safety and Health, which includes 21 local and state committees/coalition and the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, released its agenda for protecting workers on the job in 2009.

Their seven-item platform includes making health and safety a high priority for President Obama and the incoming Congress and ending the exemption for federal or state workers and farms with less than 11 workers in an effort to count all injuries and illnesses occurring on the job.

National COSH also plans to reduce or eliminate the use of toxic chemicals, reform workers’ compensation programs so that all injured workers gain access to health care, and boost worker involvement in identifying and eliminating workplace hazards. Also on the agenda is creating programs to assist vulnerable segments of the workforce including Hispanic workers.

NCOSH, APHA Urge New Agenda for Protecting Workers, Ohsonline.com, January 6, 2008

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Despite the current economic climate, the AFP reports that China is in the midst of a rapid construction boom, putting up buildings at a rapid pace. However, this growth has come at a high cost to China’s workers.

In fact, the State Administration of Work Safety estimates that 99 people died on construction sites between January 1 and December 14. The total death toll from work-related accidents during that period was 1,942.

Last Saturday, 32 more people died as the result of two difference accidents in China. The first, in the village of Donggangcheng, involved an explosion that killed fifteen people and injured nine. The accident is under investigation.

The second accident, in the city of Changsha, killed seventeen people after a construction lift plummeted to the ground. The lift was designed to carry only twelve people, so the police are questioning the construction company’s project chief, general manager, and lift operator.

China adds 32 deaths to dismal work safety statistics, AFP, December 26, 2008

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The Worcester Business Journal reports that according to a state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development Division of Occupational Safety survey, Massachusetts’ rate of work-related injuries and illnesses for 2007 was lower than the national average and the lowest in New England.

Massachusetts reported four injuries or illnesses per 100 full time workers, compared to the national incidence of 4.2 cases per 100 full time workers. That rate includes the nearly 90,000 non-fatal injuries and illnesses reported among Massachusetts’ 2.8 million private-sector workers.

The highest rate of injury (6.1 per 100 workers) occurred in construction workers, while workers in the financial services experienced the lowest rate (1.3 per 100 workers).

Work Relatively Safe In Massachusetts, Worcester Business Journal, December 18, 2008

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The Journal of the American Medical Association recently reported on statistics involving work-related injury deaths among Hispanics in the United States. The period studied was 1992-2006 and during that period, a total of 11,303 of Hispanic workers died from work-related injuries.

One positive finding was that death rate for Hispanic workers declined during the period; despite this, the rate was still consistently higher than the rate for all U.S. workers. The study found that Hispanic workers in the construction industry are at a particularly high risk of fatal injury. In fact, between 2003 and 2006, 34% of Hispanic worker deaths occurred in that industry.

Potential factors cited included potential miscommunications caused by language barriers among non-native English speakers and employment in work that puts them at high risk for injury. The most common fatal events included highway accidents, homicide, and falls to a lower level.

Work-Related Injury Deaths Among Hispanics—United States, 1992-2006, Journal of the American Medical Assocation, December 3, 2008

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Yesterday, the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety announced that We Care Environmental, a recycling and composting facility based in Marlborough, Massachusetts has been approved as a Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) participant. This is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s highest honor given to small businesses.

The purpose of the SHARP designation is to identify and acknowledge companies that model best practices in health and safety management. To be chosen for this honor, businesses must complete an extensive OSHA consultation and meet program requirements, after which the state may recommend a workplace for SHAPR certification.

OSHA sets the nationwide standard for safety in the workplace, promoting the health and safety of workers by providing training, building partnerships, and enforcing standards designed to minimize on the job injuries. The only other SHARP-certified company in Central Massachusetts in the Worcester-based printer LaVigne Inc.

Marlborough Recycler Gets Top OSHA Designation, Worcester Business Journal, December 3, 2008

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