Tag: Workers Comp

With 2023 set to be the hottest year on record, workplace heat safety practices remained a top concern for employers and regulators.

Many employers took precautions in the summer months to protect workers from heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses by installing hydration stations and monitoring employees, among other things.

And the Biden administration implemented several measures, including increased inspections of worksites in industries such as agriculture and construction, and the issuance of the first Hazard Alert for heat, which affirms that workers have heat-related protections under federal law.

The story on the federal measures — and employers’ sometimes underwhelmed response —was the eighth-most-read workers compensation-related story on the Business Insurance website in 2023.

Other organizations also took action on heat stress during the year. For example, in August the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health rolled out a training program to help miners better handle incidents of heat stress.

But workers continued to suffer heat-related illnesses, which in some cases were fatal. In June, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a Florida labor contractor after an immigrant farmworker died from an apparent work-related heat illness.

No. 9 most-read story

With more and more states legalizing medical and recreational cannabis over the past decade, regulators and lawmakers have introduced rules and passed additional laws to deal with the ripple effects of legal pot.

Concerned about penalizing employees engaging in now legal activities, several states acted to bar tests that screen for pot use.

In October, Michigan introduced a rule that barred pre-employment drug screening for cannabis, except for positions that are safety-sensitive, such as operating vehicles or machinery.

The story detailing the rule was the ninth-most-read workers compensation-related story on the Business Insurance website in 2023.

Also in October, California passed a law, which goes into effect next year, that bars pre-employment drug screenings for cannabis, expect in the building and construction trade.

Washington passed a similar law earlier this year, which also goes into effect in January.

No. 10 most-read story

A Wyoming laborer crushed by a 100-pound metal baffle – a product used to redirect air, sound or water flow – that fell from a pile of lumber was wrongly denied permanent total disability workers compensation benefits under the state’s “odd lot doctrine,” the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

The high court reversed a district court ruling that affirmed a hearing examiner’s decision denying a claim by James Gray for permanent total disability benefits because the petition wasn’t accompanied by a physician’s certification.

The examiner said such a certification was necessary for the benefits award, and a lower court agreed.

The Supreme Court reversed, determining a certification isn’t required when a claimant petitions for benefits through the odd lot doctrine, which is a common law vehicle allowing injured workers to obtain permanent total disability benefits even when they aren’t permanently totally disabled.

Claimants invoking the odd lot doctrine can collect benefits when they show that their disability and other factors make them “de facto unemployable,” the state Supreme Court said.

The court said permanent disability isn’t solely a medical question capable of certification in all cases, since such a determination also requires an evaluation of economic loss or earning capacity resulting from an impairment evaluation that doesn’t fall under a doctor’s purview.

The court said Mr. Gray met his burden to prove eligibility for permanent total disability benefits under the odd lot doctrine. 

 

 

 

 

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Association has announced a partnership with the state’s Healthcare Workers’ Compensation Fund that will enable cannabis industry employees to obtain workers comp benefits if they become injured on the job.

The fund is exclusive to state health care and related entities and is sponsored by the Alabama Hospital Association. The partnership means qualified employers who are part of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Association can join the fund to offer coverage for workers.

The partnership also involves Alabama insurer Harmon Dennis Bradshaw Inc. 

“We look forward to bridging the insurance gap in the medicinal cannabis space,” David Dennis, president of Harmon Dennis Bradshaw, said in a statement.

 

 

 

The Iowa Supreme Court Friday reinstated a $6.2 million jury award to a railroad worker who was seriously injured in a 2017 workplace incident.

Scott Olson, a BNSF Railway Co. section foreman, was working on a repair project on a bridge when a rail “suddenly exploded under pressure,” slicing his left hand and fracturing his left leg, according to the ruling.

Mr. Olson sued BNSF for negligence, and a jury in 2021 found the company to be 100% at fault.

The company appealed, alleging misconduct by Mr. Olson’s attorney during closing arguments. A lower appellate court ruled for BNSF and remanded the case for a new trial.

In reversing that decision, the Iowa Supreme Court said that granting a new trial based on attorney misconduct is only justified if the conduct was prejudicial, which the justices said was not the case here.

The justices said BNSF was unable to show it was prejudiced by the “repetitive nature of the rebuttal argument that merely reiterated otherwise proper statements made in the initial closing argument.”

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday that it cited an Ohio rubber hose manufacturer after a worker suffered severe crushing injuries in June.

OSHA cited Dublin-based HBD/Thermoid Inc. for one willful violation, two repeat violations and one other-than-serious violation after the worker was pulled into a machine, suffering fractures and contusions that led to being hospitalized.

The agency said HBD/Thermoid failed to implement proper machine guarding and required machine safety measures designed to isolate energy to protect workers during setup or servicing activities.

The incident prompted the seventh OSHA investigation of the company for safety issues since 2013.

OSHA proposed $389,534 in penalties in the latest case. HBD/Thermoid has 15 business days to contest the citation and proposed penalty.

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A Florence, Wisconsin, wood materials company is facing a $1.4 million fine from the Department of Labor following the June death of a 16-year-old worker who became trapped in sawmill equipment.

The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, which oversees worker safety for minors, said Tuesday that an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that Florence Hardwoods LLC failed to train all its workers in safety procedures to prevent dangerous equipment from moving during service and maintenance tasks.

Under federal law minors are not allowed to operate certain types of machinery, including at sawmills. The day after the teen’s death, the mill’s operator terminated all of the minors’ jobs, according to a DOL statement. The company has paid $190,696 in civil penalties to resolve its child labor violations.

Investigators also found fall, machine guarding and electrical hazard violations at the Florence sawmill, similar to what was included in a 2020 OSHA citation issued to the company.

Florence Hardwoods, which has been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program, has 15 business days from the receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

There were 5,486 fatal work injuries reported in 2022, a 5.7% increase from the prior year’s 5,190, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday, attributing the increase in part to rising workplace violence.

The transportation and material moving sector reported the most fatal work injuries in 2022, at 1,620, the BLS said. The construction and extraction sector reported the second-highest total, 1,056, representing an 11% increase from 2021.

Transportation incidents comprised the most frequent type of fatal event.

Unintentional drug overdoses in the workplace increased 13.1% in 2022, continuing a trend that began in 2012.

The BLS said fatalities due to workplace violence and other injuries caused by individuals or animals increased 11.6% in 2022, with homicides accounting for 61.7% of workplace fatalities.

The BLS data comes from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, which uses federal, state and independent data to identify fatal work injuries.    

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Thursday that it cited two Texas contractors following a fatal roof collapse at a high school in June.

OSHA cited general contractor ICI Construction Inc., based in Spring, and demolition contractor Emanuel Enterprises LLC, based in Houston, for willfully ignoring federal requirements to complete an engineering survey before beginning demolition at Friendswood High School in Houston.

One worker died and three were injured during the roof collapse.

OSHA proposed $175,010 in penalties against ICI Construction and $140,633 against Emanuel Enterprises. Both companies have 15 business days to contest the citation and penalties.

In addition to the willful violations, OSHA additionally cited Emanuel Enterprises for three serious safety violations for failing to protect workers against silica exposure and for failing to train workers on the proper use of respirators.