March 3, 2010 by Fred HosierAuthorities are investigating a gruesome fatality involving a teenager working at a restaurant. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: sewage pit, teenager, uncovered manhole
March 2, 2010 by Fred HosierAn OSHA investigation will determine whether any safety protocols were broken in connection with the drowning of a trainer by a killer whale at SeaWorld Orlando. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: killer whale attack, OSHA investigation, SeaWorld
February 24, 2010 by Fred HosierAn employer is accused of violating workplace safety regulations after a worker was fatally struck by a mechanical horse during a party. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bizarre accident, mechanical horse, struck in the head
February 19, 2010 by Fred HosierSituations in which a falling item kills a worker aren’t that uncommon. But in this case, the thing that fell was alive. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bizarre accident, crushed, worker killed
February 11, 2010 by Fred HosierOSHA has issued several citations to the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in Oregon in connection with an incident in which an employee was killed by a falling tree. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: goggles, hard hat, helicopter, killed by falling tree
February 1, 2010 by Fred Hosier
A sanitation employee, who was preparing to urinate while standing on a platform on the back of a garbage truck, fell off the truck as it was backing up. He was killed after the truck backed over him. His family is seeking workers’ comp benefits because of a modification made to the truck. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: garbage truck, intentional wrong exception, truck backed over him, workers' compensation
February 1, 2010 by Fred HosierThe Bureau of Labor Statistics says 10% of all workplace deaths are caused by employees being struck by objects or equipment. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bureau of Labor Statistics, secure equipment, struck-by
January 29, 2010 by Fred HosierOSHA is looking into an explosion that killed a truck driver in Seminole, OK. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: explosion, propane torch, trucker killed
January 19, 2010 by Fred HosierFourteen months after a workplace incident that burned nearly all the flesh from the crown of his head to the tip of his chin, a Texas man is waiting to hear whether he may be a candidate for a rare face transplant. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: face transplant, seriously burned, touched a high-voltage power line
January 15, 2010 by Fred HosierImagine this: You’re driving along a highway when suddenly a 44,000-pound coil of steel comes rolling toward you. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: coil fell off truck, improperly secured load, semi-trailer
January 13, 2010 by Fred HosierTwo companies face fines for a fatality in which an employee fell into a vat of melting chocolate. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: dies in vat of chocolate, Falls, floor openings, railing
December 23, 2009 by Fred HosierHere’s proof that even falls from low heights can be fatal. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: fall from ladder, fatal, head injuries
December 21, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Imagine this: One of your employees complains that a customer’s perfume made her so sick that she needs permanent and total disability benefits. We’re not making this up: It actually happened. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: asthma, perfume, permanent and total disability, preexisting condition, Workers' comp
November 30, 2009 by Fred Hosier
A burned out light, two identical doors and an 18-foot fall add up to a costly jury verdict for one employer. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 18-foot fall, burned out light, costly jury verdict, disability
November 25, 2009 by Fred HosierVirginia’s OSHA is investigating the death of a 14-year-old boy killed in an accident involving a commercial wood chipper. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: child labor law, Virginia OSHA, wood chipper
November 13, 2009 by Fred HosierA seafood processing plant faces $66,800 in OSHA fines after a worker was crushed to death in an ice machine. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: crushed in ice machine, lock out, power down
November 9, 2009 by Fred Hosier
An employee is injured while playing volleyball. He files for workers’ comp, saying it was part of his job. His employer disagrees, saying it wasn’t part of his tasks. Does the employee in this case get comp? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: recreational activity, volleyball injury, Workers' comp
October 22, 2009 by Fred HosierHere’s proof that workplace injuries happen in the service industry, too. And those injuries can lead to workers’ comp claims. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: back injury, casino dealer, service industry, workers' comp claims
October 8, 2009 by Fred HosierAn explosion at a worksite may cost an employee his leg, if attempts to reattach it fail. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: explosion, gas fumes, sever worker's leg
October 2, 2009 by Fred Hosier
If one of your employees was injured in an exercise class, you wouldn’t expect that to be covered by workers’ comp. But that’s not how one court saw it. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: employee injured at gym, exercise class, Workers' comp
September 11, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Workers’ comp boards and courts draw a fine line between what is and what isn’t a work-related injury that qualifies for benefits. See if you can guess how the court ruled in this case: Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: climbing into truck, ruptured tendon, shipping yard, tractor trailer, Workers' comp
September 11, 2009 by Fred HosierAdvice from a paramedic: Don’t do what this worker did when a nail flew into his eye. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: eye protection, face protection, nail in eye
August 25, 2009 by Fred HosierSevere weather adds hazards for outdoor workers. A massive storm that unleashed a torrent of water with no warning led to an employee’s death at an excavation project in Texas. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: employee death, flash flood, outdoor workers
August 8, 2009 by Fred HosierWith the difficulty and expense that some parents have trying to find childcare, some companies may allow employees to bring their kids to work. But this case shows the need for strict rules about restricted areas in hazardous jobs. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 12-year-old buried in sand, bring kids to work, children at work sites
August 7, 2009 by Fred Hosier
Imagine this: A company sponsors a Family Fun night of bowling for its employees and their families to improve morale. One employee injures his back while bowling. Does he get workers’ comp because this was an employer-sponsored event? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bowling injury, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Workers' comp
August 6, 2009 by Fred HosierWork-related vehicle fatalities aren’t always at high speeds and on the open road. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: OSHA investigating, run over by dump truck, vehicle fatalities
July 10, 2009 by Fred HosierHere’s a reminder about the importance of guarding against slip-and-falls. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: dies in vat of chocolate, Lyons & Sons, slip and fall
July 6, 2009 by Fred HosierAn investigation is underway to determine what caused a monorail at Walt Disney World in Florida to slam into another, killing one train’s driver. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Disney World monorail crash, monorail death, monorail investigation
June 25, 2009 by Fred HosierAn employee of a woodworking business is hospitalized in intensive care after a piece of wood pierced his chest and exited his back. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: American Wood Source, impaled by piece of wood, impalement injuries
June 15, 2009 by Fred HosierEmergency crews worked for more than three hours to rescue a 15-year-old from inside an auger which is used to grind up mulch. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: prohibited occupations for teenagers, Summerford Pallet, teen falls into auger
June 15, 2009 by Fred HosierAn employee helps a co-worker get a stuck bag of chips out of a workplace vending machine and in the process fractures his hip. Does he get workers’ comp or not? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: vending machine, worker sues for comp, Workers' comp
June 12, 2009 by Fred Hosier
An employee helps a co-worker get a stuck bag of chips out of a workplace vending machine and in the process fractures his hip. Does he get workers’ comp or not? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: fractured hip, good Samaritan doctrine, personal comfort doctrine, snack machine, Workers' comp
June 8, 2009 by Fred HosierA 20-year-old man has died from injuries he sustained when a container of clams fell on him at a food plant in Massachusetts. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Blount Fine Foods, forklift, hardhat
June 3, 2009 by Fred HosierA 17-year-old worker at a grain elevator in Haswell, CO, was killed after being buried alive in a grain bin. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: buried alive in grain, entrapment in a bin, stored loose materials
May 29, 2009 by Fred Hosier
While it didn’t cite Wal-Mart for a violation of a specific standard, OSHA has used its General Duty Clause to fine the retailer in the trampling death of a worker last November. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: OSHA General Duty Clause, Wal-Mart fined, Wal-Mart worker crushed to death