A plumber working at a high school was killed in a freak incident when he was hit by a stream of highly pressurized water.
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Tags: high-pressure water, lost a massive amount of blood, plumber
For a while now, OSHA has been telling businesses that they need to take a closer look at their safety incentive programs. Now, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says OSHA has to take a closer look at its guidance about safety incentive programs.
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Tags: Government Accountability Office, injury reporting, safety incentives, Voluntary Protection Program
Pick any three employees at your company. Chances are, one of them is sleep deprived. And the chances increase for certain industries and among employees who work night and irregular schedules. And most people would not want to take the chance that these sleepy workers will injure themselves or others.
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Tags: Centers for Disease Control, manufacturing, National Sleep Foundation, sleep deprived
Last month we told you about how a newspaper photo got an organization into trouble with OSHA. Now, fear of something similar happening cost some workers a week on the job. A newspaper snapped their photo while they were dangling their legs over the edge of an I-beam, eating lunch and watching a ball game.
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Tags: beam, lunch break, newspaper photo
The transgender widow of a firefighter is suing the City of Wharton, TX, for workers’ comp benefits that she was denied because she was born a man.
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Tags: death benefits, transgender, Workers' comp
Researchers recently compared injury and fatality rates in the construction industry in all 50 states. Some of the results surprised researchers.
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Tags: fatality rates, injury rates, RAND Corporation, Workers' comp
A New England supermarket chain will pay $400,000 in fines, hire a full-time safety officer and make other improvements in a settlement with OSHA.
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Tags: cut hazards, fell onto concrete floor, Market Basket, OSHA settlement
It just goes to show that an occupational fatality can happen anywhere: OSHA is investigating the death of a tree worker at a nudist club in New Jersey.
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Tags: hard hat, nudist club, struck on the head
A foundry worker had a stroke at work. He filed for workers’ comp, arguing that working in a 100° room contributed to the stroke. Will the employee get comp benefits?
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Imagine this: A baby vomits just inside the entrance to a Target store. Seven minutes later it’s not cleaned up and a customer slips and falls, sustaining injuries. A slip-and-fall lawsuit follows. Will the store be able to get the lawsuit thrown out? Surveillance video is key.
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Tags: baby vomit, slip-and-fall lawsuit, surveillance video, Target
An engine cooling manufacturing company has been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) following a fatality last year and previous serious injuries to workers. The company now also owes OSHA $210,000.
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Tags: energy control, machine guarding, Severe Violator Enforcement Program, worker crushed to death
It’s official: More workers died in the U.S. in 2010 than in 2009.
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Tags: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Deepwater Horizon, Upper Big Branch, workplace deaths
Once again, worker fatigue has proved deadly in a transportation incident.
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Tags: BNSF Railway, fatal train crash, NTSB
Could an employee show that the reason he was fired was age discrimination and not for a safety violation?
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The U.S. Justice Department has filed its initial charges in connection with the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster on April 20, 2010. Now a former BP employee faces prison time and fines.
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Tags: BP Gulf explosion, Deepwater Horizon, Justice Department
April 28, 2012, is International Workers’ Memorial Day.
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Tags: United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities, worker fatalities, workers' memorial day
The owners of a roofing business could face up to five years in prison if they’re found guilty of charges of workers’ comp insurance fraud.
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Tags: roofing, unfair business advantage, workers' comp fraud
How did an employee’s complaint about a rodent problem at work turn into a whistleblower lawsuit?
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A report to Congress from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) calls the process for creating a new OSHA regulation “protracted” and “lengthy.”
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Tags: General Duty Clause, Government Accountability Office, OSHA regulations, OSHA rulemaking, permissible exposure limits
OSHA is investigating the death of a worker for a company that supplied swans and dogs to keep geese away from business and residential properties. Reports suggest one of the animals may have played a part in the worker’s drowning.
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Tags: geese, life jacket, swan, worker drowning
Making the call on whether to fire an employee for violating your company’s safety rules can be tough. Add state workers’ comp law and federal family leave law, and things can get even more complicated.
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Tags: forklift crash, retaliation, safety policy
“Disregard for the law” is how Labor Secretary Hilda Solis describes the events that led to a grain explosion that killed six workers and left two others seriously injured. Now OSHA has decided on the penalties for two companies involved in the incident.
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Tags: Bartlett Grain, dust accumulation, fatal grain explosion
This is not your usual case of suspected workers’ comp fraud in which an injured worker is seen making repairs on his house or lifting children. Raphael “Noodle” Davis, a Los Angeles City firefighter, ran into trouble by moonlighting as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.
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A new court ruling significantly changes how far back OSHA can look for violations of its standard on recording employee injuries.
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Tags: OSHA injury logs, OSHA recordkeeping, Volks Constructors
You’ve probably heard about OSHA inspections started because a compliance officer happened to be driving by a construction site and saw a potential violation. This story involves an investigation started because of a newspaper photo.
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Tags: CAL-OSHA, fall protection, firefighter, Santa Rose Fire Department
“Very lucky” is how one doctor describes Dennis Hennis of Vineland, NJ who shot himself in the heart with a nail gun.
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Tags: builder, nail gun, nail pierces heart
It doesn’t take a crash, injuries or deaths for federal authorities to shut down a motor carrier. Serious concerns about vehicle and driver safety are enough to take commercial vehicles off the road, as this case shows.
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Tags: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, hours of service, ordered to shut down, vehicle safety
OSHA has cited a pasta manufacturing plant with three willful and three serious violations in connection with a dust explosion that sent two maintenance employees to the hospital with serious burns to their upper bodies.
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Wal-Mart has decided to manage its own injury benefits program in one state. That’s led proponents and opponents of such an option to weigh-in on whether it’s a good idea for businesses or not.
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Tags: Oklahoma, Texas, Walmart, workers' comp opt out
Employees taking medication for work-related injuries may be eligible for additional workers’ comp benefits for side effects from the drugs. In this case, the unusual side effect was …
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Tags: gynecomastia, male breast reduction, secondary condition, Workers' comp
Companies have the right to require OSHA to get a warrant before allowing a safety and health inspection. But once OSHA has a warrant, continuing to prevent an inspection can be costly.
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Tags: All-Feed, OSHA inspection, warrant, YouTube
It’s usually video of the aftermath that shows the destructive power of tornadoes. However, the recent outbreak of twisters near Dallas provided a picture of the havoc during the storms: video of tractor trailers being picked up and dropped like toys. Click through for a link to the video and advice for safe tornado response.
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Tags: National Weather Service, tornado season, tractor trailers tossed
Computers are making it easier for state inspectors to check whether businesses have workers’ comp insurance policies. The result: more fines.
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An employee was talking on his company-issued cell phone to a co-worker in his own car when he was shot in the face by someone in a passing vehicle. Now a state court has ruled that the employee should receive workers’ comp benefits.
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A year-and-a-half ago, OSHA instituted new policies aimed at increasing average amounts for certain types of safety and health fines. After reviewing the results, the agency is making one change that actually will cut some businesses a break.
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Tags: OSHA fines, reduction for small employers, small businesses
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