Workplace Hazards

June 7, 2013

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

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 10, 2013

Construction Worker Injured after Fall at Hingham Middle School

by Altman & Altman

A worker was injured Tuesday after falling from the Hingham Middle School construction site.

The 45-year-old man from New Bedford, MA, apparently fell from the third story scaffolding of the building around 1 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. According to Hingham Police Sergeant Steven Dearth, the worker was conscious when paramedics arrived, and was taken to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, MA.

Construction at the school has since stopped while officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigate the incident. The identity and injuries of the worker are still unknown.

While it is still unknown the reason to why the worker fell in the first place, there are factors that may have played a role into his fall. Scaffolding is a temporary platform that is often used on construction sites to reach areas that are not accessible by ladder. These types of accidents occur for a variety of reasons including incorrect assembly, manufacturing defects, collapse or failure, broken platform, slippery surfaces, and inadequate training or experience with the equipment. And because of the height of these structures, injuries are severe or fatal and may include fractures, broken bones, spinal cord and traumatic head injuries, and even death.

Scaffolding and general requirements on construction sites are the number one safety violation cited by OSHA officials. Construction falls are also the number one cause of death and injury in workplace settings in the United States, accounting for 251 deaths (35% of total workplace deaths) in 2011.

Safety Tips for Workers

All laborers who regularly work on scaffolding must be properly trained with suspension scaffolding and fall protection equipment. In most scaffolding fall cases, the accident was completely preventable.

When working on scaffolding, workers should take the following precautions:

-Learn the proper OSHA standards and regulations for working on scaffolds; such as weight capacity, construction, fall protection, proper scaffolding use.
-Ensure that the scaffolding being used is designed correctly and conforms to OSHA regulations.
-Shield all scaffold suspension ropes and body belt harness system droplines from abrasive or sharp edges to prevent them from being severed.
-Carefully inspect all scaffolds and their components, as well as personal fall protection equipment.
-Ensure that all workers are well equipped with proper fall protection equipment prior to stepping onto a scaffold.
-Properly anchor tiebacks of the scaffolding at different points.
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November 28, 2012

Office Injuries May Warrant Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation

by Altman & Altman

While working at an office may sound like one of the safest places to have a job-free from the dangerous hazards faced by someone working in construction or another type of employment that exposes him/her to unsafe conditions on a daily basis-serious work injuries can still result. Unfortunately, many injured office employees don’t realize that they may be entitled to Massachusetts workers’ compensation benefits. Rather than avail of these benefits, they end up unnecessarily spending from their own pockets for medical care and rehab.

Examples of Common Office Accidents:

Fall accidents: These may range from Boston slip and fall accidents on wet floors to trip and fall accidents over a power cord, an open desk drawer, or loose carpeting. Step and fall and stump and fall accidents can also happen.

September 12, 2012

Recent article sheds light on eye injury and eye safety

by Altman & Altman

A new writing published on the Safety Daily Advisor’s webpage provided some excellent, and always timely, insight into the discussion of eye safety at the workplace. The crux of the piece noted that not all workplaces are required to have eyewash stations. But what’s most important is that for the places that are required, the employees should absolutely know where the eyewash stations are and how to use them effectively.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s requirements for emergency eyewashes clearly indicate that “where the eyes or body of any person may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body shall be provided within the work area for immediate emergency use.”

And a 2009 letter of interpretation from OSHA states that “if none of the materials used in this work area is an injurious corrosive [chemical] (as indicated by the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for each product), then an emergency eyewash or shower would not be required pursuant to 1910.151(c).”
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September 7, 2012

Papa John’s employees injured in scuffle with irate customer

by Altman & Altman

On Wednesday evening, September 5, 2012, two employees of a Taunton Papa John’s sat outside the front of their workplace, waiting for the police and nursing injuries. The attack on the coworkers, a man, Derek Lauber, and a woman, left the owner of the restaurant, Jonah Siegel, wondering if conducting business in the city of Taunton, with its rising crime rate, was worth the risk anymore.

Siegel owns four other Papa John’s restaurants. But after three years as proprietor of the one in Taunton, he’s beginning to question the true value of the site. Just a few weeks earlier, on August 11, a robber threatened a Papa John’s employee, a little after midnight, with a knife and made off with $1,900 of the restaurant’s money, according to Siegel. In previous months, and on the same street, a bank and a Rite Aid pharmacy were also robbed. But it was merely a small pizza and a soda that sparked the latest incident.

Police responded to the reported assault at around 7:30pm, finding the two injured employees out front and a gaping hole in the store’s front window. Lauber was bleeding from both arms and hands. He was taken to Morton Hospital where he was treated and released.

Sarah Mosher, the restaurant’s general manager, said she arrived just under a half an hour after the police were called. But by the time she showed up, Lauber, who is twenty and works at the restaurant full time, had already been taken to the hospital. He later called Mosher and assured her that, despite all of the blood present, he only needed a few stitches. He was given the rest of the week off to heal.
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September 7, 2012

The new nightmare on Elm Street? Wall falls on Construction worker

by Altman & Altman

On Tuesday, September 4, 2012, at around 8am, a construction worker was removing part of a building’s façade from 84 Elm Street in Westfield, Massachusetts. While in the midst of performing his duties, the deteriorating brick wall collapsed on him. He and the scissor lift he was standing on both fell backwards. The man’s crash was broken by a car parked in the street.

The owner of the vehicle, James Porier, affirmed that despite the damage to his car, he was happy that it was able to help save a life. Jeffrey Daley, Westfield’s Advancement Officer, echoed Porier’s sentiment, believing that the car probably did prevent further injury to the employee. The trajectory of the lift’s fall was angled in such a way that could have caused much more serious harm. Fortunately, the worker was able to stand and walk around afterwards. According to Police Lieutenant Lawrence Valliere, the man was taken to Noble Hospital with minor injuries.

Daley says the entire block presents hazards to the populace. The city of Westfield owns the building standing next to 84 Elm Street which had become dangerous when bricks began to fall from it during the previous week.
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September 7, 2012

Employee injury may cost him his eyesight after nightclub scuffle

by Altman & Altman

Early this past Sunday, on September 2, 2012, two men were taken into custody by Springfield police, facing a bevy of charges following the serious injury of a doorman working at a strip club called Mardi Gras. Elvis Bastaldo, 33, was charged with assault and battery with serious bodily injury (done to an eye socket), assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, and mayhem. His brother, Juan Bastaldo, 24, was charged with assault and battery, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

Springfield Police Sergeant John Delaney reported that prior to the arrest of the pair, the two men tried to escort a woman into the strip club on Taylor Street who was only eighteen years of age. The club was near to closing and the thirty-four year old Mardi Gras employee at the door refused to let the trio enter. Elvin and Juan Bastaldo also refused to pay the cover charge. After some discord, Juan, Elvin and the woman with them were ordered to leave by the three police officers who were working an extra-duty detail.

After Mardi Gras had closed, the doorman was preparing to escort one of the establishment’s female employees to her car. As soon as he opened the door to exit, the fist of Juan Bastaldo slammed into his face. Officer Thomas Liebel then struggled with Juan in the parking lot of the club while attempting to make arrest. The doorman intervened to assist the officer. During the fracas between the three, Elvin Bastaldo attacked from behind and punched the unsuspecting doorman in the eye several times with brass knuckles. More officers were then called to assist and Elvin Bastaldo was arrested after a brief chase.
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July 12, 2012

Fireworks Company Leaves Behind Unexploded Shells in Three Towns

by Altman & Altman

State fire authorities have suspended the license of a fireworks company that left behind unexploded shells near the launching sites for several of their shows. On July 6, city workers mowing lawns in three separate Massachusetts towns ran over the undetonated fireworks, causing them to detonate under the workers’ lawnmowers. Fortunately, the individuals were uninjured, a fact State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan attributes to the size of the commercial mowers they were using.

According to Coan, the company responsible for leaving behind the shells is Pennsylvania-based Pyrotecnico. He also said that state fire code requires companies to search for unexploded shells the morning after a show. Officials are currently conducting an investigation to determine whether Pyrotecnico violated this regulation.
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April 18, 2012

Massachusetts Senate to Consider Greater Penalty for Failure to Purchase Workers’ Compensation

by Altman & Altman

Under current Massachusetts law, the failure of a business owner to purchase workers’ compensation for their employees is considered a misdemeanor-which carries a fine of up to $1500 or a year in prison. However, some believe the penalty is too light and hope to raise the penalty. According to reports, this week, the Massachusetts Senate will consider a bill that would raise the violation to a felony-which is already the fine for workers’ compensation fraud and carries a fine of up to $10,000, 5 years in prison or 2.5 years in jail. Currently, if a business owner does not purchase workers’ compensation, the state must pay for the compensation from a state trust fund-which comes from employers who do pay for workers’ comp and which reports indicate cost $26 million from the fund in the last 5 years.

As with all changes, however, there is opposition from those who believe the penalty is already high enough. We will update you with the progression (or lack thereof) of the bill. If you have any questions about the bill, its progress, or how it may affect you, feel free to contact an attorney.

Workers’ compensation failure a felony under bill before Senate, BostonHerald.com, April 15, 2012