Insurance Claim

Posted on 5/25/13 by Pat Maloney

OSHA has standards and regulations for all employers, no matter what industry they’re a part of. There are, however, a few sectors considered more dangerous than most. For these, OSHA has created industry-specific safety standards all employers must follow. One such industry is construction. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 4 percent of all construction workers are injured on the job every year. Due to this high rate of injury, there are numerous OSHA construction safety standards all employers in the industry must follow.

Some highlights of these OSHA construction safety standards include:

First aid and medical care must be made available and easily accessible for all employees. If there is no hospital or physician reasonably accessible to the construction site, a person with valid first aid training must be on site at all times.All fire protection equipment must be maintained, and fire extinguishers must be made available. The employer also should have a fire protection program in place.All work areas, passageways, and stairwells must be kept clear of scraps, nails, and debris.Any combustible debris must be removed regularly, and a safe means for its removal must be provided.There should be on-site containers for hazardous or flammable waste. These must be kept separately from other waste and trash, and be fitted with a cover.All construction areas, stairs, ramps, shops, storage areas, and offices must be lit with natural or artificial lights while work is in progress.Protective equipment and gear must be provided for all employees. This includes equipment for the eyes, face, head, and extremities, as well as protective clothing, respiratory devices, protective shields, and more.There must be an adequate supply of water in all places where workers are present. Water containers should be marked as such and used only for water and no other liquids.Toilets and urinals must be provided on site. When there are 20 employees, there must be at least one toilet. For 20 to 200 workers, there must be one toilet and one urinal for every 40 workers. If there are 200 or more workers, there must be a toilet and a urinal for every 50.All power tools and equipment must be maintained and kept in good condition. All belts, gears, shafts, pulleys, and other moving parts of these tools must be guarded, to prevent employee contact.All scaffolding should be able to support its own weight, as well as at least four times its maximum intended load.All ramps and walkways more than six feet above ground must have guard rails in place.Any equipment or vehicles left unattended must be fitted with reflectors or lights.All vehicles on the site must be equipped to emit a signal when reversing.

There are hundreds more OSHA construction safety standards, covering everything from the demolition of chutes and the use of explosives to on-site cranes and training requirements.

Violations of OSHA Construction Safety Standards

Since construction sites are such dangerous places, it’s crucial that employers follow the OSHA construction safety standards to the letter.  If they don’t, they may be issued a violation from OSHA, which will require them to amend the issue. If the employer fails to fix the issue, they may be issued additional violations, or they could face fines or jail time.

OSHA has the authority to conduct random inspections and ensure employers are following all safety regulations. They also may conduct inspections in response to employee complaints.  Any employee who sees safety hazards or risks on their job site should get in contact with their local OSHA office immediately.

After an Injury

Were you hurt because your employer failed to follow OSHA construction safety standards? Call the Law Offices of Pat Maloney at 210-226-8888 today.

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Posted on 4/12/13 by Pat Maloney

Construction is a dangerous line of work. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2011, it was the second most dangerous industry in the country, second only to transportation. There were more than 700 construction-related fatalities that year and, on average, four out of every 100 workers suffered an injury. Because of the high rates of injuries and fatalities associated with this line of work, there is an employer responsibility to provide employees with a safe, hazard-free work environment.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration even outlines several standards and practices for employers in the construction industry to follow; these address everything from equipment and tool maintenance to fire safety precautions and first aid. Failure to follow OSHA’s standards for employer responsibility can result in a citation, fine, or jail time.

Workers can also do their part to keep the workplace safe by:

Putting up all tools and equipment safely and securely after using them.Never operating machinery or equipment they are not trained to handle.Always wearing protective gear, including gloves, a hard hat, closed toe shoes, and more.Reporting any unsafe conditions immediately to a supervisor or the local OSHA office.Fully inspecting scaffolding and ladders before climbing up.Being careful when getting on or off equipment, especially near roadways or on slopes.Never working while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.Always lifting with the knees, not the back.Knowing where all first aid kits and fire extinguishers are on site.

If you were injured on a construction site because employer responsibility was not met or because of the negligence of a coworker or other third party, you could be due worker’s compensation or have grounds for a legal claim. Call 210-226-8888 to discuss your options with an attorney at the Law Offices of Pat Maloney today.

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Posted on 5/20/13 by Pat Maloney

No matter what type of industry you work in, there is an inherent employer responsibility to provide you with a safe and hazard-free working environment. Your employer should establish and enforce workplace safety protocols and abide by all standards set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA. Failure to do so can result in dangerous and even life-threatening injuries and accidents to you or your fellow workers.

OSHA and Employer Responsibility

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, all employers have a responsibility to provide a “safe and healthful” workplace. In order to ensure this, OSHA has established hundreds of safety standards for employers to abide by. There are specific standards set forth for employers in the construction, maritime, agriculture, and recordkeeping industries. If an employer does not comply with OSHA standards, they can be issued a citation and, if the error is not corrected, even face fines or jail time.

When Injury Occurs

Even though there is employer responsibility to provide a safe workplace, this unfortunately does not always happen. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2011 alone, there were nearly 3 million workplace injuries and 4,600 job-related fatalities in the United States.

When a worker is injured on the job, they may be eligible to apply for workers’ compensation benefits or, if their employer does not have workers’ comp coverage, file a civil claim against the at-fault party. If a worker is killed in the line of duty, their survivors may be due the benefits of these claims instead.

Getting Help

Were you hurt on the job because your employer failed to provide a safe workplace? Then you could be due compensation through workers’ comp or a civil claim. Call the Law Offices of Pat Maloney today at 210-226-8888 to begin discussing your legal options.

View the original article here

Unexpected releases of toxic, reactive, or flammable liquids and gases in processes involving highly hazardous chemicals have been reported for many years. Incidents continue to occur in various industries that use highly hazardous chemicals which may be toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive, or may exhibit a combination of these properties. Regardless of the industry that uses these highly hazardous chemicals, there is a potential for an accidental release any time they are not properly controlled. This, in turn, creates the possibility of disaster

Recent major disasters include the 1984 Bhopal, India, incident resulting in more than 2,000 deaths; the October 1989 Phillips Petroleum Company, Pasadena, TX, incident resulting in 23 deaths and 132 injuries; the July 1990 BASF, Cincinnati, OH, incident resulting in 2 deaths, and the May 1991 IMC, Sterlington, LA, incident resulting in 8 deaths and 128 injuries,BP The Deepwater Horizon with the following consequences :

11 rig workers died in the Macondo well blowout and fire.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has had a dramatic effect on the ocean and coastal environments in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hundreds of miles of shoreline and wetlands have been affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill also has had a major impact on the fishing, shrimping, tourism, commercial retail and other industries.

The National Oil Spill Commission has concluded that the Deepwater Horizon disaster was a consequence of bad management and the failure of BP and its contractors to communicate

“Process safety deals with the fires, explosions, and toxic releases and things like that. You can have a very good accident rate for what we call “hard hat accidents” and not for process ones.” – Dr. Trevor Kletz

“The fact that you’ve gone for 20 years without a catastrophic event is no guarantee that there won’t be one tomorrow.” – Prof. Andrew Hopkins

Personal safety focuses on preventing high frequency, lower consequence incidents like slips, trips, and falls. Process safety focuses on preventing much lower frequency events with a catastrophic consequence.

View the original article here

 

Unexpected releases of toxic, reactive, or flammable liquids and gases in processes involving highly hazardous chemicals have been reported for many years. Incidents continue to occur in various industries that use highly hazardous chemicals which may be toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive, or may exhibit a combination of these properties. Regardless of the industry that uses these highly hazardous chemicals, there is a potential for an accidental release any time they are not properly controlled. This, in turn, creates the possibility of disaster

Recent major disasters include the 1984 Bhopal, India, incident resulting in more than 2,000 deaths; the October 1989 Phillips Petroleum Company, Pasadena, TX, incident resulting in 23 deaths and 132 injuries; the July 1990 BASF, Cincinnati, OH, incident resulting in 2 deaths, and the May 1991 IMC, Sterlington, LA, incident resulting in 8 deaths and 128 injuries,BP The Deepwater Horizon with the following consequences :

11 rig workers died in the Macondo well blowout and fire.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has had a dramatic effect on the ocean and coastal environments in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hundreds of miles of shoreline and wetlands have been affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill also has had a major impact on the fishing, shrimping, tourism, commercial retail and other industries.

The National Oil Spill Commission has concluded that the Deepwater Horizon disaster was a consequence of bad management and the failure of BP and its contractors to communicate

“Process safety deals with the fires, explosions, and toxic releases and things like that. You can have a very good accident rate for what we call “hard hat accidents” and not for process ones.” – Dr. Trevor Kletz

“The fact that you’ve gone for 20 years without a catastrophic event is no guarantee that there won’t be one tomorrow.” – Prof. Andrew Hopkins

Personal safety focuses on preventing high frequency, lower consequence incidents like slips, trips, and falls. Process safety focuses on preventing much lower frequency events with a catastrophic consequence.

View the original article here