Uncategorized Category Archives — Page 5 of 12 — Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog Published by Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Attorneys

Quality Trailers Cited for 15 Violations Following Complaint

Published on: June 6, 2013 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Quality Trailers Enterprise Inc. with fifteen serious health and safety violations at its Salem, Ohio trailer manufacturing facility. The fines from these fifteen violations total $55,300.OSHA’s area director stated, “Quality Trailers Enterprises has a responsibility to train and protect workers from known hazards, such as noise and machinery in its manufacturing facility. OSHA is committed to common-sense safety and health regulations, which protect workers on the job.”

Ten serious safety violations involve: lack of machine guarding, failing to develop a lockout program to control the release of hazardous energy while servicing and maintaining equipment and training workers in the program, lack of fire extinguisher training, failing to train workers in the operation of powered industrial trucks, not providing welding shields and curtains, and exposing workers to live wires.

There were also five serious health violations. The serious health violations include: exposure to noise, lack of personal protective equipment, improper oxygen cylinder storage, allowing combustible paint residue to accumulate in the paint booth, and failing to conduct a workplace hazard assessment program and to develop and train workers on a hazard communication program.

Massachusetts Construction Contractor Faces $290,700 in Fines

Published on: June 4, 2013 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Twin Pines Construction Inc. for willful, repeat and serious violations of workplace safety standards at its Durham site. The contractor faces proposed fines of $290,700 after an OSHA inspection.Employees performing framing work were exposed to falls ranging from nine feet high to thirty feet high because of the inadequate fall protection safeguards provided by Twin Pines Construction. OSHA standards require that employees working six feet or more above a floor must be protected against falls by personal fall arrest systems, guardrails or safety nets.

Due to the inadequate safety measures, three willful violations were cited, carrying with them $200,500 in fines. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.

The OSHA area director stated, “The sizable penalties proposed here reflect the gravity and recurring nature of these hazards, plus this employer’s knowledge of and refusal to correct them. This is unacceptable. Falls remain the number one killer in construction work, having cost the lives of 264 workers in 2010. Employers who fail to supply and ensure the use of proper and effective fall protection safeguards are gambling with the lives and well-being of their employees.”

Muffler Facility Faces OSHA Fines

Published on: June 3, 2013 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

A Monro Muffler Brake Inc. shop in Portsmouth has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’sOccupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for alleged willful, repeat and serious violations of workplace safety standards.The automotive repair, maintenance and tire company faces potential fines of $221,100 following an OSHA inspection. OSHA’s area director stated, “Willful and recurring violations suggest a disturbing pattern of noncompliance with safety standards that exist to protect the lives and well-being of a company’s employees. Monro Muffler Brake must correct these hazards and take effective steps to address recurring hazards at all its workplaces.”

The willful citation regards workers who were exposed to potential electric shock from exposed, energized wires. OSHA found that the company did not remedy the hazard after knowing of the issue from in-house safety inspections.

A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. This willful violation carries a proposed penalty of $60,500.

OSHA Reprimands Wolf Creek Power Plant for Firing Whistleblower

Published on: May 31, 2013 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

An investigation by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)found that a contractor at the Wolf Creek Generating Station wrongfully fired an engineer who reported safety violations.OSHA sent a letter last week stating that Enercon Services Inc. violated Energy Reorganization Act, which prohibits retaliation against a nuclear power plant employee or contractor who raises safety concerns. Enercon provides engineering and management services to nuclear plants.

The engineer who reported the violations received back pay, benefits and compensatory damages, and the plant was ordered to reinstate him. The company released a statement that its practice is to “encourage and protect employees who report safety concerns.”

Based on findings from the investigation, the engineer was terminated soon after he pointed out to supervisors that required soil coverage for buried pipes did not meet federal safety requirements.

Maine Sawmill Faces $79,310 in Fines

Published on: May 30, 2013 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited NC Hunt Inc. for three repeat violations and seven serious violations of workplace safety standards. The facility faces a total of $79,310 in fines for these ten violations following an inspection by OSHA.The repeat violations include: not using energy control procedures to prevent employees from being struck by a logging carriage, a lack of barriers and warning signs to prevent entry to the logging carriage path, and elevated walkways that lacked required guardrails.

Similar violations to these were previously cited in 2009. The proposed fines for these repeat violations total $53,900.

OSHA’s area director stated, “These recurring hazards exposed employees to the hazards of falls and being struck by machinery. It’s imperative that employers take effective and ongoing action to ensure that hazards, once corrected, remain corrected.”

Palermo’s Villa Cited by OSHA after Employee Accident

Published on: May 29, 2013 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Palermo Villa Inc. for seven “serious” violations and one “other-than-serious” infraction and could face $38,500 in proposed fines. The violations mostly dealt with the operating procedures of the ammonia refrigeration system.Also, an employee lost three fingers when they were severed in a workplace accident in early May. After this incident, an immigrant rights group is leading workers in an effort to form an in-house union. The company is offering its support to the injured employee and his family.

Palermo is reviewing the details of the OSHA inspection of the facility and the company plans to meet with OSHA to review the violations. Palermo’s owner stated that the company will cooperate with OSHA.

He also stated, “We train all of our employees to safely and properly operate all equipment, and in this particular case, additional training was provided to ensure that all safety procedures were followed closely. Unfortunately, the accident still occurred, and we continue to investigate the matter, monitor the situation and offer help as appropriate. Safety is the ongoing, top priority, and we will continue to work closely with OSHA and our workers.”

Massachusetts’ DLS Acknowledged for Worker Safety Initiative

Published on: May 28, 2013 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

Massachusetts’ Department of Labor Standards (DLS) started a campaign in 2012 to fight the leading cause of death for Massachusetts construction workers. Their initiatives were recognized with an award from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Office of Small Business Assistance last month.Falls from construction sites to a lower level claimed the lives of more Massachusetts construction workers than any other type of accident from 2007-2011. The campaign aims to both provide small contractors with the training and resources needed to perform jobs safely, as well as raise general public awareness of the dangers of construction site falls.

Labor and Workforce Development Secretary said, “I’m proud of the Department of Labor Standards’ hard work on this important initiative. Falls on construction sites are deadly but preventable. We can save lives by educating Massachusetts’ contractors about how to protect their employees by reducing the number of falls.”

The On-site Consultation Achievement Recognition (OSCAR) is awarded to state programs that have made significant achievements in promoting worker health and safety. The Massachusetts program printed and distributed 5,000 flyers to licensed roofing contractors, trade associations, supply houses and building inspectors in Middlesex and Essex counties.

Job-Related Hearing Loss in Massachusetts

Published on: May 24, 2013 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about $242 million is paid out nationally every year in workers’ compensation benefits for people who suffered work-related hearing impairments. This makes loss of hearing the most frequent U.S. occupational injury.The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) stated that about 30 million U.S. workers are subjected to “hazardous noise” annually. Hearing loss is usually permanent once it is gone. The conditions vary from inability to hear sounds under normal circumstances to ringing in the ear, known as tinnitus.

These conditions have a negative impact on a person’s social life, making it harder to hear in a crowd, which can lead to depression or lower self-esteem, due to discouragement to attend social events due to the difficulty.

Employers are responsible for controlling noise levels and providing protective equipment, like earmuffs or earplugs, to protect worker safety. Usually hearing loss can be prevented if the proper equipment is provided. OSHA requires specific noise limits in the workplace.

Recent MA Superior Court Case Changes Workers’ Compensation Law

Published on: May 22, 2013 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

A recent Massachusetts decision closed a loophole that allowed staffing-firm employees injured at a client company both to collect workers’ compensation benefits and to sue the company where they were hurt.The Superior Court in Massachusetts held that by an alternate employer endorsement naming a staffing company’s client as insured under their workers’ compensation policy, the client company is entitled to the same protection as the staffing company under the Workers’ Compensation Act.

Since 1911, Massachusetts employers have been required to carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover their employees, or to qualify as self-insured under the Workers’ Compensation Act. An employee injured while working is almost always entitled to monetary benefits, medical care, and rehabilitative services, regardless of fault or negligence. In return, employers are generally not subject to civil liability or lawsuit by the injured workers or their families.

Staffing agencies are a growing industry, where they lease employees to their clients to perform work that is part of the client’s business. Effective use of temporary workers helps the ninety percent of U.S. companies that use staffing agencies alter work staff as production needs fluctuate without incurring excess costs.

Massachusetts Man Indicted on Workers’ Compensation Fraud Charges

Published on: May 21, 2013 | by Pulgini & Norton, LLP

An Attleboro man has been indicted on charges that he fraudulently collected more than $53,000 in workers’ compensation benefits while continuing to work. A fifty-seven year old male is charged with workers’ compensation fraud and larceny over $250.Attorney General Martha Coakley stated, “We allege the defendant collected workers’ compensation benefits while working in violation of the law. These benefits are essential to helping individuals that are unable to work as the result of work-related injuries.”

This man suffered a work-related injury in 2005, while he was working on a construction site, and he was eligible to receive temporary total disability benefits from his employer’s insurance company from June 2007 through February 2009.

In June 2008, AIG received an anonymous tip that he was working as a subcontractor in Rhode Island, while still collecting his workers’ compensation benefits. He also signed employee earnings reports during this time that stated he did not receive any income while he was also working as a subcontractor.