Maryland’s highest court ruled that longtime NFL punter Tom Tupa is eligible for workers’ compensation. Tupa suffered a career-ending back injury while warming up for a preseason game in 2005 at FedEx Field while he was a member of the Washington Redskins.
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MA Company Cited by OSHA after Crane Comes in Contact with Power Line and Injures Worker
A Canton-based heavy equipment operator has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for alleged willful and serious violations of safety standards while working to replace the Hine Bridge in Amesbury. Barletta Heavy Division Inc. faces proposed fines of $91,000 after a worker was injured when a crane struck an overhead power line.
OSHA Fines Merrimack Premium Outlet Contractors $173,500
Ten contractors that worked on construction of the Merrimack Premium Outlets shopping mall in Merrimack were proposed fines totaling $173,000 by U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for alleged workplace safety violations.
OSHA’s New Hampshire area director stated, “Our inspection found workers exposed to a variety of common but avoidable hazards associated with construction work, notably falls and electric shocks. Both of these hazards can kill or disable workers in seconds. For the safety of their employees, employers must adhere to required safeguards at all times on this and all job sites.”
Secretary of Labor Announces Fall Prevention Campaign
Hilda Solis, the Secretary of Labor, announced a new campaign led by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to prevent deadly falls in the construction industry. The campaign will provide employers and workers with life-saving information and educational materials about working from ladders, scaffolds, and roofs safely.
Workers’ Memorial Day is observed on April 28 to remember the workers who lost their lives as a result of preventable injuries. Solis said, “The best way to honor Workers’ Memorial Day is to make sure that another family does not have to suffer the pain of losing a loved one because of preventable workplace injuries. Falls are the most fatal out of all hazards in the construction industry, accounting for almost one in every three construction worker deaths. Our simple message is that safety pays, and falls cost.”
Man Cuts Off Finger at Construction Site in Hamilton, MA
A contractor was working to rebuild a home that was destroyed by fire last winter when he cut off his finger in a construction accident earlier this month.
Hamilton Police and Fire Department responded around 11:15 a.m. and the injured worker was taken to Beverly Hospital where he was treated. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been notified, but it will take them a few weeks to investigate.
OSHA Railing Requirements
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires railings as a form of fall protection for workers when there are holes in the walls or floors, or there is a possibility that a worker can fall from one level to the level below. It is the employer’s responsibility to assess when conditions require a railing and to provide the necessary fall protection.
The general industry standards require a railing when workers are more than four feet about the next level. However, construction standards require fall protection when a worker is more than six feet above the next level.
OSHA and NIOSH Issue Hazard Alert to Protect Workers from Silica Exposure
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) issued a hazard alert for employers in hydraulic fracturing operations to take appropriate steps to protect workers from silica exposure.
In 2010, NIOSH began collecting data at hydraulic fracturing operations because large quantities of silica sand are used during the process. NIOSH worked in cooperation with oil and gas industry partners to sample the air at eleven sites in five states where hydraulic fracturing operations were occurring. They discovered seven sources of silica during operations and found that workers downwind had the highest silica exposures.
Massachusetts Laundry Company Fined $186,000 for Hazards at New Jersey Facility
UniFirst Corp., a Wilmington uniform and laundry service was cited for seven serious health and safety violations at its West Caldwell facility. A complaint prompted US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to investigate.
Thee willful violations include a failure to conduct proper training and provide hepatitis B vaccinations, and a failure to have engineering and work practice controls in place to eliminate or diminish exposure to bloodborne pathogens. 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. These citations constitute $165,000 in fines.
OSHA Fines Tenneco $79,300 for Violations in Georgia
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined Tenneco Automotive $79,300 for exposing employees to hexavalent chromium and other hazards. OSHA said it found sixteen health and safety violations during their inspection, which was in response to a complaint alleging the hazards.
Other serious violations included tripping and fall hazards, as well as inadequate rules regarding respirator usage. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Sugarland Sued over Indiana Stage Collapse
Sugarland was named in a lawsuit filed by forty four survivors of the Indiana State Fair stage collapse, and also by family members of four people who died. Lawyers have alleged breach of reasonable care to the victims.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Sugarland, producers of the show, stage riggers and others that were associated with the show. A wind gust of at least sixty miles per hour caused the stage rigging to collapse into spectators, killing seven people and injuring more than forty.