Remember the story from about a year ago in which a chimp tore off the face and hands of a woman? The police officer who shot and killed the raging animal was denied workers’ comp benefits.
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Tags: chimp attack, police officer, Workers' comp
An 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.
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A home health aide was involved in a highway crash on the way to a patient’s home. Would workers’ comp cover her injuries?
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One of those so-called reality shows takes too cavalier an attitude about safety, according to a blogger in the general media. If that’s the case, we want to take the issue one step further: Do the media’s messages harm attempts to increase workplace safety?
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Tags: disregard for safety, people getting hurt, reality shows, Survivor, tough-guy attitude
Members of Congress should have some idea about how difficult it is to comply completely with OSHA standards: Only 28% of their offices do so.
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Safety pros know that employees’ health is an important factor in their workplace safety. But how far should companies go to change workers’ personal habits, such as eating, for the sake of safety?
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Tags: Body mass index, commercial drivers, FMCSA, sleep apnea, wellness program
An employer is accused of violating workplace safety regulations after a worker was fatally struck by a mechanical horse during a party.
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Tags: bizarre accident, mechanical horse, struck in the head
A migrant worker fractured his ankle on a sidewalk outside of employer-provided housing. Does he get workers’ comp benefits for his injury?
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In the first year of the Obama administration, OSHA was busy handing out fines the likes of which hadn’t been seen for eight years. Here’s our rundown of 10 significant fines from the last 12 months, and what they mean for businesses:
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Tags: BP, Obama administration, OSHA fines, prison time, top 10
A new study measures whether there are fewer crashes after states ban cell phone use while driving.
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Tags: cell phone ban, crashes, Department of Transportation, Highway Loss Data Institute, texting
Some call it “pack journalism.” But no matter what it’s called, it’s becoming apparent that the general news media are hitching onto the “OSHA’s not doing its job” bandwagon.
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Tags: CAL-OSHA, DuPont, Las Vegas, media criticism, OSHA
A worker involved in a crash with a workplace vehicle claims his status as a medical marijuana user should exempt him from discipline.
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Tags: discipline, drug impairment, medical marijuana, vehicle crash
Criminal prosecution of companies where safety violations cause serious injuries or fatalities are rare in the U.S. With that in mind, it’s interesting to note how such cases are handled in another democracy.
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Tags: Australia, criminal prosecution, serious injury or death
A worker tests positive for PCP right after he’s injured. Is he still able to collect workers’ comp benefits?
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Tags: drug use, injured worker, lifting injury, Workers' comp
If couch potatoes are people who sit too long in front of their TVs, are modern office workers desk potatoes?
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Tags: couch potatoes, heart disease, sedentary, TrekDesk, watching TV
Imagine this: You’re driving along a highway when suddenly a 44,000-pound coil of steel comes rolling toward you.
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Tags: coil fell off truck, improperly secured load, semi-trailer
Workers’ comp laws in some states do contain provisions to discourage employees from trying to cheat the system. Here’s one example:
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Tags: cheat the system, New York, Workers' comp
Is tough enforcement a good thing? The number of miners killed on the job in the U.S. last year fell to the lowest number in the 100+ years that records have been kept.
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Tags: Joseph Main, mining deaths, MSHA
Ever face an appeal in a workers’ comp case? Then you know it can take a long time. But here’s a case that’s been in the courts for 27 years, and it isn’t over yet. And the injury was to the worker’s little toe.
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A U.S. company tried — but failed — to block release of a video showing release of a hazardous chemical and a resulting fire, arguing it would “raise substantial issues of national security.”
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Workers sue to be compensated for the time spent changing clothes and showering at the end of each work shift. Do they win? You be the judge.
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Tags: chemical exposure, hazardous chemicals, pay for changing clothes
At least 10 companies with prior records of workplace safety violations have received millions in federal stimulus contracts in one state.
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Tags: cave-in, OSHA violations, stimulus contracts, trenches
Following a worker’s death and millions in OSHA fines, some shareholders filed a lawsuit against Cintas Corp. alleging the board has failed to ensure the company complied with safety regulations. Now the company has settled the lawsuit.
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Tags: Cintas, lock out, shareholder lawsuit, unguarded machines, worker's death
An employee of a contractor sued BP for mental anguish in connection with the 2005 explosion that killed 15 at its Texas City, TX, facility.
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Tags: BP Texas City, emotional injury, explosion, mental anguish
“Sixteen workers are killed a day in the United States because of reckless negligence on the part of their employers,” according to a new Web site.
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Tags: 16 deaths per day, Protecting America's Workers Act, worker deaths
Public health experts say company sick-time policies may be helping H1N1 (swine) flu spread more easily.
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Tags: H1N1, paid sick days, swine flu
The National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) is calling on OSHA to lower the permissible exposure limits for noise in workplaces.
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Tags: National Hearing Conservation Association, noise PEL, permissible exposure limit
Now that OSHA is keeping an eye out for incentive programs that discourage workers from reporting injuries, what can you do to encourage safe practices?
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Tags: encourage safe practices, incentive programs, report injuries
Employees across the country have a message for their co-workers during this H1N1 flu season: Don’t come in if you’re sick.
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Tags: H1N1 flu, stay home from work, swine flu
President Obama has signed an Executive Order banning 4.5 million employees from texting while driving.
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Tags: National Traffic Safety Administration, texting while driving, truckers
It’s long been a subject of debate among safety pros: Do safety incentive programs reduce injuries, or do they encourage workers not to report when they get hurt? It seems OSHA has weighed in on the issue, buried within a directive for its inspectors.
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Tags: national emphasis program, Recordkeeping, safety incentive programs
Several business groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers, have filed a lawsuit challenging OSHA’s per-employee penalty policy for safety gear violations.
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Tags: lawsuit, National Association of Manufacturers, per-employee violation, PPE, safety gear
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and OSHA interim administrator Jordan Barab have said that a new combustible dust regulation is one of their rulemaking priorities at OSHA.
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Tags: combustible dust regulation, Hilda Solis, Imperial Sugar explosion, Jordan Barab
The American Society of Safety Engineers is calling on safety pros to support efforts to cut down on distracted driving since the leading cause of workplace fatalities is motor vehicle crashes.
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Tags: ASSE, cell phones and driving, distracted driving, driver education, motor vehicle crashes
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:
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Tags: climbing into truck, ruptured tendon, shipping yard, tractor trailer, Workers' comp
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