Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog

A work site in Chelsea was recently slapped with close to $35,000 in fines for what Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials called potential cave-in hazards.

The Medford contractor, Tufts Inc., was cited and fined following a complaint filed back in July. Upon receiving this complaint, officials from the Andover Area office claimed that they witnessed employees putting in a sewer pipe along 30 High Street in an unprotected 7-foot-deep excavation.

Our Medford workers’ compensation lawyers understand that excavation and trenching are among the most hazardous construction operations. What OSHA found on this work site is that workers did not have the proper protection against a wall collapse, and they were also working without a ladder or any other safe ingress or egress. Water had also accumulated at the bottom of the project, while the asphalt at the top of the project was not supported to keep it from falling.
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As we have discussed in prior posts, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is charged with ensuring safe environments for America’s workforce. In addition to creating regulations, performing inspections, and providing safety training, OSHA also has the authority to fine employers and businesses when they are in violation of OSHA regulations.

According to

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released the Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary for 2012, and the news is mixed for workers. While the overall number of fatal workplace injuries declined in 2012 as compared with 2011, certain demographic groups experienced more fatalities than in the past. Further, some persistent causes of workplace injury continue to result in a disproportionate number of worker deaths.

Our Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers know that employees continue to face many risks on the job, even with the declining number of workplace deaths. Workers need to understand what the greatest risks are, and both workers and employers need to do everything they can to try to continue to reduce the number of people who die on the job.
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According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of workplace injuries recorded by the federal government has declined dramatically, dropping by 31 percent in the past 10 years. This seems, at first glance, like great news for workers. However, our Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers know that this decline in workplace injuries may not tell the whole story.

In fact, the apparent reduction in workplace injuries may not have occurred because workplaces really are safer but instead may result from an increased fear of employer retaliation preventing employees from reporting injuries. If this is the case, workers need to be aware of the rules on employer retaliation and should seek legal help from an attorney who can protect their rights.
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“It is well recognized that texting while driving dramatically increases the risk of a motor vehicle injury or fatality. We are asking employers to send a clear message to workers and supervisors that your company neither requires nor condones texting while driving,” said David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

In 2010, there were more than 3,000 people killed and another 416,000 injured in distracted driving accidents. When a driver is engaging in business on their cell phone behind the wheel, their reaction time is delayed significantly. Their reaction time is about the same as a person who is legally drunk. The truth of the matter is that more text messages lead to more accidents.

Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys understand that a number of studies prove that drivers who read text messages behind the wheel take their attention off of driving for an average of 4.6 seconds. When you’re traveling at 55 miles per hour, that means that you can drive the entire length of a football field without ever setting eyes on the road. And that’s mostly the reason why more workers are killed each year in motor vehicle accidents that from any other cause.
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Officials with the U.S. Department of Labor have ordered Pan Am Railways Inc. to pay out $50,000 to an injured worker for punitive and compensatory damages. They company is also required to take corrective action after being accused by the worker of lying after he filed a Federal Railroad Safety Act complaint with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The employee, who works in the New England area, previously filed a complaint with OSHA (in December of 2011) and states that the railroad had subjected him to disciplinary action earlier in the year after he reported an unsafe work area and an injury. Shortly after the complaint was filed, the work was given a disciplinary hearing. The company believed that the employee made false and incorrect statements to OSHA. Such adverse action can intimidate employees from exercising their FRSA rights, even if the charge is later dropped, as it was in this case.

Our Massachusetts workers’ compensation lawyers understand that workers have a legal right in the U.S. to file a whistleblower complaint with OSHA without fear of retaliation or discipline. When employers respond to these complaints with disciplinary actions and threats, it is completely unacceptable and illegal.
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