Articles Posted in Construction Accidents

Although construction and other labor-intensive jobs have an especially high incidence of work-related accidents, injuries occur in every type of job. In Massachusetts, employees across all industries, from healthcare and education to manufacturing and technology, are typically protected by workers’ compensation insurance.

Coverage is Almost Universal

Workers’ compensation is a system designed to provide compensation for employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses. The beauty of this program is that it covers almost all workers in the state, whether you’re employed full-time, part-time, or seasonally. Even employees in small businesses and nonprofits are typically entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

Of all the hazards employees face every day on the job, one regularly appears near the top of the list: falls. From defective ladders to uneven surfaces, dangerous work conditions can result in serious falls. In 2020, 805 employees in the United States died in slips, trips, and falls and 211,640 were hurt badly enough to need days off of work.

Falls are an even bigger danger in certain jobs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, slips, trips, and falls are the leading cause of death in the construction industry, accounting for over a third (38%) of all fatalities from 2015 to 2019. In a typical year, around 300-400 construction workers fall to their deaths.

Frequently Cited OSHA Violations

While anyone can get hurt on the job, certain professions are significantly more hazardous than others. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a total of 5,190 fatal work injuries occurred across industries and regions in the United States in 2021. The following jobs represent the 10 civilian occupations with the highest fatal work injury rates (out of 100,000 full-time equivalent workers).

Logging Workers

With a staggering fatal injury rate of 82 per 100,000, logging workers have the most dangerous job in America. Loggers tend to work on isolated sites with variable weather conditions, where they face falling debris and contact with heavy machinery. In fact, loggers died at a rate almost 23 times greater than the average across all professions in 2021 (3.6 out of 100,000).

Dangerous jobs continued to hurt and kill workers in “alarming numbers” last year, according to a report by the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH) and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Specifically, the report found that 51 workers suffered job-related fatalities in 2022. Although this represented a drop from the Commonwealth’s 62 workplace deaths in 2021, the report noted that many such fatalities are preventable.

Workplace Injuries and Deaths in Massachusetts

Published in April, the report showed that 39 workers died of traumatic work injuries and 12 died of work-related disease in 2022. The true numbers may be much higher, however, because the data does not include all people who died after contracting COVID on the job. In addition, injuries and illnesses are not always reported or properly recorded.

Falls are a leading cause of workplace fatalities and serious injuries across industries in the US. In 2021, 850 workers died from accidents involving slips, trips, and falls, with 680 dying specifically from falls to lower elevations. In addition to being one of the most significant causes of workplace deaths, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), falls are also one of the most preventable.

As a result, OSHA recently announced a new National Emphasis Program (NEP) to reduce or eliminate injuries and fatalities associated with falls. NEPs are special temporary programs that target particular hazards or hazardous industries. To accomplish its fall prevention goals, OSHA will use a combination of enforcement, employer outreach, and compliance assistance.

Which Industries Will OSHA Target?

If you thought you missed your chance to file a Massachusetts workers’ comp claim, you may be in luck: the Commonwealth has one of the longest workers’ compensation time limits in the nation. Unlike Michigan, where claims must be filed within two years of the injury, or Arizona, which has a one-year statute of limitations, Massachusetts allows you to file within four years of the date you learned your injury was job related. In the case of a fatal work injury, eligible dependents can file workers’ compensation death benefit claims within four years of the employee’s date of death.

What Causes Delayed Filings of Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Claims?

In order to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits in Massachusetts, you must be disabled for five full or partial calendar days (not necessarily consecutive). At that point, your employer should notify the Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) of your injury. If you are disabled for less than five days, your employer can file a “medical only” claim with their insurance company.

Designed to promote employee health and safety, OSHA standards aim to reduce injuries from foreseeable hazards in the workplace. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) regulations govern over 130 million workers at 8 million worksites across the United States. While covered employers should always follow OSHA standards, inspections happen only occasionally, such as when a severe injury occurs, someone files a complaint, or a work site has high rates of injury or is part of a high-hazard industry.

Most Common Massachusetts Workplace OSHA Violations of 2021

Each year, the federal agency publishes a list of the 10 most frequently cited OSHA standards following inspections. According to OSHA, far too many preventable workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths are related to these top 10 standards.

Excavator Injuries

Between 1992 and 2000, the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health (NIOSH) identified 346 deaths caused by excavators or backhoe loaders in the united states. The data found that the most common causes of injury were

  1. Being struck by the machine or parts of the machine while the machine was in motion; and

What is OSHA?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates workplace safety on construction sites. Officials conduct inspections on worksites to enforce administration standards and publish reports detailing workplace safety. OSHA is a federal agency, but most states collaborate with it to create state-specific plans. These states create standards that apply to federal and state workers. States that choose not to create independent plans must comply with federal OSHA standards. These only apply to private workers. Massachusetts does not have a state plan with OSHA, therefore OSHA federal regulations apply to private workers.

What happens when OSHA gets involved in a construction accident?

When an accident occurs on a construction worksite, workers typically file a claim for workers compensation. This is a no-fault remedy where no negligence needs to be shown for a worker to recover. In other words, even if your employer used the utmost care, you can still recover from the workers compensation fund. OSHA representatives may come to a worksite following an accident to determine if the employer followed the standards of the administration. A violation of OSHA standards can be strong evidence of negligence on the part of your employer. A court is more likely to find the employer at fault for the workers injury, which will allow them to recover in a personal injury case in addition to workers compensation.

The depth of OSHA investigations typically depends on the seriousness of the accident. Any incident that results in any fatality or leads to the hospitalization of multiple workers is considered high priority. Employers are required to report serious accidents to OSHA within eight hours. These incidents will often prompt an immediate investigation. Inspectors will begin by researching any history of accidents on the worksite and review the employer’s operations. Representatives will set up a phone interviews with the employer and will then visit the site and document any hazards.

Workers may also file a written complaint with OSHA if they believe their employer is not following standards. OSHA staff will determine if the complaint is worth inspecting. They will evaluate the likelihood that there is a violation of their standards or another hazard. If OSHA has reason to know that the employer is fixing the hazard, they may not find it necessary to investigate. Inspections will often be limited to hazards listed in the complaint, but other readily observable violations may be recorded as well. Because of the way it prioritizes reports, it may take a while for OSHA to investigate. Continue reading

On October 12, a portion of a new Hard Rock Hotel under construction in New Orleans collapsed, killing three construction workers and injuring dozens more, and wreaking chaos in the city that has left family members of the victims searching for answers. Multiple investigations are under way to determine who was at fault. Cases like this showcase how important it is to know who to call when a tragedy occurs, and that is why the attorneys at Altman & Altman LLP are available around the clock to help.

The construction of a new building can be exciting, especially a large building in the middle of a downtown area – which brings with it the promise of new commerce and attraction, and will ideally bring about more tourism and financial incentives into the community.

However, when construction contractors, architectural engineering firms or others involved in the building process cut corners or fail to perform their duties in a responsible manner that treats safety as a top priority, people can be seriously hurt or killed. Additionally, in cases like this one, businesses around the collapsed property are affected as well – as many were forced to shut down for days and even weeks as a safety precaution while the building was secured.

What this event has amounted to is pain and suffering born by the families of the victims who have perished, pain and suffering born by those injured in the incident and financial damage to businesses that have had to close due to the building collapse – and for these damages, the liable party or parties may rightfully be held accountable.

Lawsuits filed

This past week, loved ones of the deceased construction workers have already filed suit against developers responsible for overseeing the project on the grounds of pain and suffering due to their relatives’ wrongful deaths. Some of those filing suit had to suffer the added burden of their loved ones being listed as missing prior to being announced dead, and then having to witness them pull their deceased loved ones from the wreckage – adding more trauma to an already horrible situation.

As with all ongoing investigations, it is not known at the time what ultimately led to the collapse. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is looking into the incident to find out if there were any apparent worker safety issues that contributed to deaths or injuries and if the contractors or developers failed to adhere to certain safety protocols.

There is apparently video posted from construction workers on social media that showed portions of the build that looked weak and unstable, with one worker even commenting in Spanish on one of the videos about the shoddy design and of the new construction and how it was unsafe. Videos like that, along with testimony of construction workers who were firsthand witnesses to the building process will be crucial in assessing whether or not safety standards were ignored. Continue reading

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