Missouri Workers Compensation Lawyer Blog

Recently, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, upheld a decision awarding workers' compensation benefits to a Missouri employee injured in a workplace fall.

The claimant, Jason Pope, was injured while working as an entry-level technician for Gateway to the West Harley Davidson. Pope's on-the-job duties included inspecting, washing and test driving motorcycles. He was also responsible for driving motorcycles into interior showrooms for overnight storage.

On March 17, 2010, Pope had just finished moving motorcycles into an upper-level showroom and was descending a staircase when he fell and fractured his ankle. The injury required surgery followed by seven months of medical treatment and physical therapy. He was unable to work for a period of nine weeks, and he incurred nearly $21,000 in medical expenses.

Pope filed a workers' compensation claim, but it was initially denied. An administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled that Pope had not proven that his injury arose "out of and in the course of his employment," which is a requirement of Missouri workers' compensation law. Even though he was wearing his work boots and carrying his helmet when he fell, the ALJ determined that Pope would have been equally exposed to the same risk of injury in his non-employment life.

However, the Missouri Labor and Industrial Commission disagreed, overturning the ALJ's ruling and granting benefits to Pope. The Commission found that Pope's injury occurred while he was acting in the scope of his employment: i.e. walking down the stairs while wearing boots and carrying a helmet. Thus, there was a direct, causal connection between the injury and Pope's employment.

Gateway to the West Harley Davidson and its insurer, the Missouri Automobile Dealers Association Services Corporation, appealed the Commission's decision. The appeal cited two recent decisions made by the Missouri Supreme Court:

• Johme vs. St. John's Mercy Healthcare. The Supreme Court denied workers' comp benefits to a St. John's employee after she tripped on her shoe and fell, fracturing her hip and pelvis, while making coffee in a workplace kitchen.

• Miller vs. Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission. The Court denied benefits to a road construction worker who suffered a knee injury as he walked briskly to his truck.

However, the Court of Appeals denied the appeal, affirming the Commission's decision to award Pope benefits. The Court noted a key difference between Pope's claim and the claims involving Johme and Miller: "Because the service department was on the first floor, Pope was required to descend the staircase connecting the upper and lower showrooms," the ruling said. "Pope was wearing his work boots and carrying his work-required helmet as he descended the stairs. Unlike Miller and Johme, these facts support a finding that Pope was injured because he was at work, not simply while he was at work."

Continue reading "Missouri Court of Appeals affirms award to employee injured in workplace fall" »

At Aaron Sachs and Associates, our workers compensation lawyers represent employees who have suffered on-the-job injuries in Missouri. If you've been injured at work, we may be able to assist you. Our attorneys are familiar with the intricacies of the complex Missouri workers compensation system: it's the world we live in every day. We can help navigate your case through the system by handling all the paperwork, legal filings, interviews, research, and expert witnesses. We believe our clients should be free to focus on recovery, so it's our job to help you take care of your family financially by helping you get the benefits you need and deserve.

Missouri workers' compensation lawyers provide legal advice:

If you or a loved one has been injured on the job, we invite you to contact our office. We offer a free initial consultation, wherein we will discuss your case, answer your questions and address your concerns. We know our clients come to us with numerous questions about what to expect, and - of course - they want to know what we can do to help.

How Missouri workers' comp lawyers help injured employees:

Every client - and every case - is different. In general, a knowledgeable lawyer can offer the following services:

• Analyze the circumstances surrounding your injury and determine whether or not you have a valid claim
• Answer your questions and address your concerns
• File your case within the required legal time limits
• Find and work with expert witnesses (such as medical doctors) as needed
• Guide you through the Missouri workers compensation maze
• Deal with the insurance company on your behalf
• Appeal your case if you've been denied benefits

Additional considerations:

• If you have a scar on your face, head, or neck from your work injury, you may be entitled to additional compensation.
• If you were injured by a defective product, you may be entitled to additional compensation.
• If you are receiving other benefits (i.e. social security disability, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.), those benefits can impact the workers' comp benefits you may receive.

Continue reading "Missouri workers' compensation claims: How a lawyer can help" »

A Mississippi construction worker has died of multiple blunt force injuries after he was hospitalized for nearly a week following fall at a construction site. The Clarion Ledger reports that 43 year-old Stacy Andrew Washington was on the job at Baptist Health System at the time of the incident. Washington was reportedly wearing a harness, but the harness broke, causing Washington to fall five stories to the ground. "It was a massive fall, so you could only image," Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart told the Ledger. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an investigation into the incident.

On October 23, OSHA revealed its list of the top ten most common safety violations in 2012. The list, presented at the National Safety Council Congress and Expo, demonstrates that fall protection is a major workplace safety concern throughout the U.S.

Top 10 OSHA safety violations in 2012:

1. Fall protection (general requirements) - 7,250 violations
2. Hazard communication - 4,696 violations
3. Scaffolding - 3,814 violations
4. Respiratory protection - 2,371 violations
5. Ladders - 2,310 violations
6. Machine guarding - 2,097 violations
7. Powered industrial trucks - 1,993 violations
8. Electrical (wiring methods) - 1,744 violations
9. Lockout / tagout - 1,572 violations
10. Electrical (general requirements) - 1,332 violations

In 2011, 4,609 American workers were killed on the job, which means about 90 workers died every week, and about 13 died each day. Of 2011 worker fatalities in private industries, 17.5% were employees in the construction industry. According to OSHA, "the leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites were falls, followed by electrocution, struck by object, and caught-in/between. These 'Fatal Four' were responsible for nearly three out of five (57%) construction worker deaths in 2011." Of the "Fatal Four," falls accounted for the largest amount of deaths in the construction industry, with 35% of construction fatalities attributed to falls.

Continue reading "Construction workers at increased risk of fatal workplace falls in Missouri and nationwide" »

An Oklahoma appeals panel has upheld a ruling that awarded workers' compensation benefits to a state representative who was injured in a car crash. According to The Oklahoman, the panel determined that Rep. Mike Christian is entitled to benefits for his injuries, but reduced the award from $61,560 to $51,300.

In 2009, Christian was involved in a collision with a truck as he commuted to the State Capitol in a private vehicle. The incident left him with injuries to his neck and spine, but more than a year passed before he filed a workers' comp claim for the accident.

Ordinarily, Oklahoma employees - like Missouri employees - are unable to collect workers' comp benefits for injuries they sustain when commuting to and from work. However, Oklahoma state law identifies a few exceptions - including, notably, when an employer reimburses an employee for travel costs. Oklahoma legislators are entitled to travel expenses for one round trip to the Capitol per week, so Christian maintained that that exception applied to him, even though he waived reimbursement.

Lawyers for the state's insurance company, Comp Source Oklahoma, argued that Christian was not on the job at the time of the accident, and he was therefore ineligible for workers' comp benefits. In court, they pointed out that Christian's wife was in the vehicle with him at the time of the crash. "Because claimant was commuting with his wife, who was to continue on to her place of employment in their personal vehicle, he could not have claimed mileage for the trip even if he had not waived his right since the trip did not serve a public purpose," attorney Kristi Bynum Russell said at the hearing.

In July, a trial judge agreed with Christian, finding that the accident caused an 18% permanent partial disability to Christian's cervical spine and an 18% permanent partial disability to his lumbar spine. The judge ordered Comp Source Oklahoma to pay Christian $342.00 every week for 180 weeks, for a total award of $61,560.

On Friday, an appeals panel comprised of three judges upheld the award. The ruling did not include a comment on the decision itself, or on the panel's reduction of the award amount. Comp Source Oklahoma is expected to continue the appeals process to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Continue reading "OK appeals panel upholds decision granting workers' comp benefits to state representative" »

On Wednesday, three workers were killed, one is presumed dead, and at least 10 others were injured when an under-construction parking garage "pancaked" on a Florida college campus. According to The Miami Herald, the incident happened at Miami Dade College's West Campus. A crew comprised of 17 electricians, welders, painters and other employees were working on the garage when it collapsed, bringing down five stories of concrete.

Two workers - 48 year-old Carlos Hurtado Demendoza and 60 year-old Jose Calderon - were killed instantly. A third worker, 53 year-old Samuel Perez, died in the hospital after emergency responders were forced to amputate his legs to free him from the rubble more than 12 hours after the collapse. A fourth worker, 53 year-old Robert Budhoo, is still missing and is now presumed dead.

Update, October 15: This evening, investigators discovered the body of an adult male buried in debris at the accident site. Because of the instability of the accident site, it will likely take emergency workers several days to retrieve the body, but it is believed to be Budhoo.

One of the survivors, 27 year-old Anthony Williams, said the sound of the garage collapsing was "like an earthquake, like someone put a stick of dynamite in it." Williams only survived because he made an instinctive decision to jump from the second floor.

Local law enforcement officials and investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are working to determine what caused the massive collapse. According to The Sun Sentinel, a crane was moving a large wall panel at the time of the incident, and there have been reports that a crane may have bumped the structure in the days leading up to the collapse. However, the head of the company that contracted the crew says that incident may be completely unrelated. "I don't have the full confirmation of that. It's my understanding, an incident where the crane bumped a column, it didn't cause any damage to the column," Bill Byrne, President and CEO of Ajax Building Corp., told reporters. "The crane was repaired and inspected and was recertified. The engineers, it's my understanding, looked at the column, deemed it, it was perfectly fine."

Continue reading "Parking garage collapses, bringing five stories of concrete down on construction crew" »

A California appeals court has ruled that the state is not liable for a crash caused by a state employee who was driving to work after a medical appointment for a work-related injury.

The case involved Linda Gadbois, who was a cook employed by the California prison system. In April 2008, she was injured on the job at Avenal State Prison (AVP) and sought medical treatment through the prison's workers' compensation network. However, Gadbois was not happy with her original doctor, so she selected a different provider from a list supplied by AVP. On the morning of May 28, 2008, Gadbois was scheduled to work, but she was authorized to take time off to attend an appointment with her new doctor. After the appointment, she called AVP and told her supervisor she was on her way to work. She died in a fatal car crash soon afterward.

Kenneth Fields, the other driver involved, was seriously injured in the collision. Ultimately, Fields filed a personal injury lawsuit against Gadbois's estate and the state of California. The suit argued that Gadbois was "acting within the scope of her employment" when she caused the crash, and thus the state was also liable for his injuries. This kind of argument is known as respondeat superior, which is a common-law doctrine "that holds an employer or principal legally responsible for the wrongful acts of an employee or agent, if such acts occur within the scope of the employment or agency."

Normally, employees are normally considered outside the scope of their employment when they're commuting to or from work: thus, injuries sustained during these commutes this concept is known as the "coming and going rule." But Fields' argued that Gadbois, in driving to work from a medical appointment for a work-related injury, was actually acting within the scope of her employment.

However, the appeals court disagreed. After reviewing the case, the court concluded that Gadbois's employer was not liable for Fields' injuries. The ruling points out that Gadbois requested the appointment of her own accord; that AVP did not require her to drive to the appointment; and that driving was not connected to her regular job duties.

Here in Missouri, an employee must prove that an injury "[arose] out of and in the course of employment" to receive workers' comp benefits. In 2005, section 287.020.3(2) of Missouri law was amended to read as follows:

"An injury shall be deemed to arise out of and in the course of the employment only if:

• (a) It is reasonably apparent, upon consideration of all the circumstances, that the accident is the prevailing factor in causing the injury; and

• (b) It does not come from a hazard or risk unrelated to the employment to which workers would have been equally exposed outside of and unrelated to the employment in normal nonemployment life."

Continue reading "Missouri workplace injuries must arise "out of and in the course of employment" to be compensable" »

An emergency medical technician has been formally charged in connection with a fatal North Carolina crash that killed his coworker. The Charlotte Observer reports that Jonathan Cory Brown has been charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle for causing the collision, which resulted in the death of 43 year-old Belinda Gale Rivers.

Brown and Rivers both worked as EMTs for the Sandhills Ambulance Service, which is based in Cheraw, South Carolina. On the morning of the crash, they had dropped off a patient at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte and then turned around to return to South Carolina. According to police, Brown was driving and Rivers was in the front passenger seat when their ambulance collided with a tractor trailer at the intersection of Venus Street and U.S. 74 in Monroe. Rivers was thrown from the ambulance and pinned under the vehicle: she was pronounced dead at the scene. Brown remains hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, and the driver of the tractor trailer was uninjured. No patients were in the ambulance.

Following an investigation of the crash, police determined that Brown caused the crash when he attempted to turn onto the highway. "Witness accounts and evidence show that the ambulance entered the intersection at Venus and 74 while the stoplight was emitting a steady red light," Monroe Police Department Chief Debra Duncan told WCNC News. He will appear in Union County Court on December 6.

The criminal charge against Brown was announced on the same day as Rivers' funeral service. Her colleagues attended the service wearing their company shirts, and several emergency vehicles reportedly lined the road between the church and the funeral home to honor Rivers' memory. In addition to her work for Sandhills, Rivers also volunteered for several local rescue services. Her family asks that memorial donations be made to two such services: the Cheraw Rescue Squad or the Chesterfield Rescue Squad. For more information, click here.

Continue reading "EMS worker killed in ambulance/semi crash: Driver charged" »

In recent years, safety conditions have improved dramatically in American workplaces, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' annual report on workplace deaths reveals that 4,609 employees died in 2011 workplace accidents, which represents a 1.7% decline from 2010, when 4,690 workers died. What's more, there's a 22% decline between last year and 2001, when 5,915 employees were killed. Encouragingly, workplace deaths have consistently decreased every year since 1994, when 6,632 fatalities were reported.

So, what factors explain the improved conditions and the reduction in fatal injuries to workers? First, authorities cite a collaborative effort from businesses, employees and industry organizations to make safety a priority and address potential hazards. "[Increasingly] employers value their workers. Not only is that the right thing to do, but it's expensive to replace them," Brian O'Donel told CNN. O'Donel is an industrial safety expert for Robson Forensic, which provides expert witnesses for civil litigation cases.

In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has enacted new rules and regulation that establish clearer guidelines about safety standards and requirements, O'Donel said.

The annual report also indicated that workers in the fishing industry have what is considered America's most deadly job, with 40 fishermen killed on the job in 2011. However, the most common dangerous activity in the workplace is driving. Traffic accidents caused nearly 25% of all work-related deaths, and 759 employees in the trucking industry died in 2011 crashes. While it's true that many more truckers died than fishermen last year, the fishing industry's fatality rate is approximately 121 deaths per 100,000 employees, which is five times the fatality rate for truckers.

The private mining industry also reported a 10% reduction in on the job deaths, while coal mining deaths dropped dramatically, with 43 deaths reported in 2010 and 17 reported in 2011.

Workplace violence also appears to be on the decline. Businesses reported a 5% drop from 2010: last year, 788 employees were killed in violent on-the-job incidents, with 458 of those employees being murdered. Most workplace homicides were connected to "disputes between workers or assaults by husbands and domestic partners," CNN reports. However, about one-third were linked to attempted robberies.

Continue reading "Are American workplaces becoming safer for employees?" »

In 2010, over three million American workers were injured and 4,690 were killed on the job, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As workers' compensation lawyers, we know these incidents can be costly, both personally and financially.

The 2011 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index found that the direct cost of the most disabling workplace injuries and illnesses in 2009 was $50.1 billion in U.S. workers' compensation costs. That's almost one billion dollars per week.

"This money would be better spent on job creation and innovation. Injury and illness prevention programs are good for workers, good for business and good for America," said Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Injury and Illness Prevention Programs are designed to intervene in workplace environments where dangerous or unsafe conditions could potentially cause serious injury or even death. They aim to reduce the number and severity of preventable workplace accidents, which account for many of the nation's most common on-the-job injuries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) says each employer must (1) "furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees; and (2) comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act." The Administration urges employers to develop proactive programs that identify safety violations and potential hazards to workers. OSHA officials conduct informational seminars, interactive workshops and various training programs to help ensure the proper education of workers nationwide.

What makes an Injury and Illness Prevention Program successful?

• Management leadership
• Worker participation
• Hazard identification
• Hazard prevention and control
• Education and training
• Program evaluation and improvement

Continue reading "OSHA Programs aim to reduce work injuries in Missouri and elsewhere" »

Last week, a construction worker was killed when he fell eight stories from the roof of a Thomas Jefferson University Hospital building. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the 39 year-old man, who has not been identified, worked for Palmer Masonry Restoration, based in Somerton, PA. He apparently slipped and fell, and he was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is currently investigating the incident. Investigators are working to determine what the man was doing prior to his fall, and what kind of fall protection system he was using. Palmer Masonry Restoration has declined to comment on the incident, but the company has no prior record of safety violations with OSHA. Palmer's website says all employees must undergo 30 hours of OSHA construction safety training, along with training in fall protection, suspension scaffolding and aerial lift training, before going on the job.

Here are a few facts about workplace falls, courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• In 2009, 605 workers died and an estimated 212,760 more sustained serious injuries in workplace falls to a lower level or to the same level, according to Bureau of Labor statistics.

• Workers in the construction industry have the highest incident rate of fall-related fatalities: falls cause one out of every three construction deaths Workers in health services and wholesale/retail industries have the highest incident rates of non-fatal workplace falls.

• In addition, workers in healthcare support, building maintenance/cleaning, transportation, material moving, and construction/extraction jobs are at the highest risk for workplace falls.

• Annually, workplace falls cost an estimated $70 billion in workers' compensation and medical expenses nationwide.

To help address the increased risk of workplace falls in construction workers, OSHA has announced a new 2012 fall prevention campaign to raise awareness about the dangers facing these employees, and to ensure employers have appropriate protections in place for their employees. "When working at heights, everyone needs to plan ahead to get the job done safely, provide the right equipment and train workers to use the equipment safely," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, in an OSHA news release.

Continue reading "PA construction worker dies after falling 8 stories from roof" »

We tend to think about workplace injuries in connection with jobs involving physical labor, but that isn't always the case. While it's true that many on-the-job injuries occur in workers with physical responsibilities, recent research released by the University of Sydney found that office workers are also at a surprisingly high risk of injury and illness.

"The problem is nearly everything can be done at the desk now - communication, library research, file retrieval, even meetings," said Dr. Karin Griffiths, lead author of the study. "It doesn't matter how good the chair is, it is not going to address the health problem of what some researchers are calling 'chair disease'."

In the study, researchers surveyed approximately 1,000 workers from six different government departments. Among their findings: employees who reported the most hours working on the computer also reported the highest rate of musculoskeletal injuries. 85% of employees who spent over eight hours a day at the computer experienced neck pain, while 75% suffered from shoulder pain and 70% reported lower back pain. What's more, these workers were also more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Those in senior and managerial jobs proved to be especially vulnerable, the study found, because they were the most likely to spend extended time at the computer.

In addition, modern developments in workplace design appear to do little in the way of prevention. Office employees who reported the use of ergonomic chairs, standing desks and good posture were just as likely to suffer medical problems. "Workstation design has come a long way since the '80s and they are good changes," Dr. Griffiths said. "But what I also found was the proportion of people reporting symptoms has not changed much despite this, which means workstation design is not enough to keep up with health issues that arise from paperless, IT-dominated offices."

Medical research indicates that the problem isn't just sitting: it's that many of us sit wrong. Sitting places almost twice as much stress on the spine as standing does. Sitting and slouching - or leaning forward with your earlobes in front of your shoulders - is even worse. When employees spend extended hours hunched over a keyboard over a period of months or even years, the consequences can be even more painful.

Continue reading "Office workers at increased risk for "chair disease, study finds" »

This week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited an Illinois company for five safety violations connected to asbestos. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Johnson Controls Inc. in Kankakee is facing fines totaling $59,400 for the violations. After an investigation of the company's work on an AT&T building, OSHA officials determined that Johnson Controls failed to meet the following safety standards:

• "perform air monitoring and conduct exposure assessments";
• "use appropriate engineering controls and work practices, including having a competent person supervising the work";
• "establish barriers or [use] impermeable drop cloths; require employees to wear appropriate respirators and use protective clothing";
• "properly dispose of material containing asbestos";
• "implement a training program for employees performing Class II asbestos work"

The company received four serious violations and one repeat violation. Serious violations are issued "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." Repeat violations are issued "when a company has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility" within a five year time period. OSHA officials report that Johnson Controls was previously cited for failing to train employees working with asbestos in 2007.

"Johnson Controls has a responsibility to provide training and safety equipment such as respirators to workers tasked with performing asbestos work," said Gary Anderson, director of OSHA's Calumet City Area Office, in a recent news release. "Repeat violations demonstrate a lack of commitment to worker safety and health. OSHA is committed to protecting workers on the job, especially when employers fail to do so."

Continue reading "OSHA officials: Illinois company cited for 5 safety violations connected to asbestos" »

Most Missouri workers' compensation claims are connected to workplace accidents that cause physical injuries, or to occupational diseases caused by workplace environments. However, there is another separate category of injury that can pose a threat to employees: that of mental or psychological injuries.

You might be surprised to hear that the American Psychological Association ranks mental injuries "among the top ten work-related injuries and illnesses in the nation," and are rapidly on the rise. They offer various theories as to why this might be so.

• Society as a whole has become more educated about mental illnesses and their effects on an individual's health. This increased knowledge has led to heightened awareness of job-related stress disorders that can manifest as mental illnesses.

• Similarly, more employers now understand that mental health directly contributes to productivity. Several states have adjusted their workers' compensation statutes to allow employees to collect benefits for job-related mental health issues.

• A large percentage of today's jobs require more mental than physical effort, increasing the possibility of developing a mental injury.

• Given concerns about the economy and current unemployment rates, the nature of today's workplace is more competitive, fast-paced and stressful than it has ever been. When employees suffer psychological injuries at work, those injuries are often connected to stress.

Here are a couple of real-life examples of mental injuries sustained in the workplace:

• On August 4, 2001, a bank teller in Canton, Ohio was robbed at gunpoint. She was unable to return to her job, and she was subsequently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But here's the catch: unlike a broken bone, torn retina or mesothelioma, mental injuries are much harder to prove in court, and thus much harder to win a claim for. In this case, the teller was actually denied benefits because there was no corresponding physical injury, not even a minor one, which was a requirement of Ohio law at that time. She took her claim all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court, but lost.

• In 2010, a Missouri mental health care worker was awarded permanent and total disability benefits for a mental injury sustained at work. The worker has been diagnosed with PTSD after traveling to New York to assist postal workers following the September 11 attack on the Twin Towers. He reported difficulty concentrating, anxiety and nightmares, but he initially returned to work. However, within a year, his condition escalated: after threatening to shoot his coworkers, he was also diagnosed with major affective disorder, and he was never able to return to his job. The Workers' Comp Commission affirmed the award of benefits from the Second Injury Fund.

Continue reading "Missouri employees & mental injuries: Your rights under the law" »

This summer, Missourians have endured unprecedented heat and drought. In July, Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency due to the extreme weather conditions, prompting the U.S. Department of Agriculture to designate all 114 Missouri counties as primary natural disaster areas. According to the Blue Springs Examiner, 29 people have died in Missouri as a result of heat-related illnesses this year, and the state has received 1,078 reports of emergency room visits connected to heat. And those numbers are expected to grow.

"The high temperatures and dry conditions across the state are taking their toll on Missourians," said Gov. Nixon in a recent press release. "Our farmers are suffering tremendous losses in crops and livestock, and we're seeing more heat-related deaths and emergency room visits, particularly among seniors. In addition, we continue to see a high risk of fire from tinderbox conditions, and we are monitoring how the drought is affecting public water supplies and distribution."

Heat exhaustion strikes thousands of outdoor workers in an average summer, but in such severe conditions, these workers are especially vulnerable to illness and injury. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) is reminding employers that they have an obligation to protect employees from heat-related risks. "If you're an employer of outdoor workers, I urge you to take [heat warnings] very seriously and understand that you have a responsibility to keep workers safe," wrote Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor at OSHA, on the department's official blog. "That means providing workers regular access to water so they can stay hydrated. It means scheduling regular break periods in the shade or indoors. It means training workers on the signs of heat illness--and what to do if they see a co-worker showing signs of dehydration or heat stroke."

To combat the dangers associated with heat, employees should drink plenty of water, rest in the shade, report heat symptoms early and understand what steps to take in an emergency. OSHA's website also provides numerous safety tips - and an app that functions as a heat safety tool.In addition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has partnered with OSHA to provide a heat watch for workers:

• Excessive Heat Outlook: Will occur when the potential exists for excessive heat during the next 3 to 7 days.

• Excessive Heat Watch: Indicates conditions are favorable for excessive heat during the next 12 to 48 hours.

• Excessive Heat Warning: When excessive heat is expected during the next 36 hours.

Continue reading "Extreme heat continues to plague Missouri, putting outdoor workers at risk" »

Last week, two garage attendants were injured on the job when a 4,500-pound Lexus SUV fell approximately 40 feet down an elevator shaft in Manhattan. According to the Wall Street Journal, a trained parking attendant drove the SUV into a vehicle elevator on the 5th floor, but the elevator car was not there: it was down on the building's first floor. After entering the lift, the vehicle plunged down the shaft, flipping upside down and landing on top of the elevator car.

Firefighters on the scene were forced to use Jaws of Life to take the door off the vehicle and extricate Stephen Morales, the parking attendant who was driving the vehicle. He was taken by ambulance along with a second attendant, Angel Rosa, who was in the elevator car at the time of the incident. "It felt like it was a bomb," Rosa told the New York Times. Remarkably, Morales and Rosa escaped serious injury: both men are listed in stable condition at New York Presbyterian-Cornell University Medical Center.

Emergency responders from the New York Fire Department closed the garage and the surrounding block while they attached cables to the totaled SUV, which was wedged in the elevator shaft at a steep angle. It took about two hours for firefighters to drag the vehicle out of the shaft and onto the street.

Two days after the incident, the New York Police Department announced that Morales had been charged with driving without a license and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle: apparently, he was driving with a suspended license when the incident occurred. However, prosecutors have since announced that they do not plan to pursue a case against him, and the charges were subsequently dropped.

Continue reading "SUV falls 40 feet down elevator shaft in bizarre Manhattan accident: 2 workers injured" »