Avoidable Tragedies: Workplace Falling Injuries

The regrettable truth about accidents in the workplace is that far too many of these tragedies are preventable. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in the construction industry, where falls are the leading cause of fatalities. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), over a third of work-related deaths in construction in 2010 were due to preventable falls.

In an effort to stem the tide of these tragic accidents, OSHA has introduced a fall prevention outreach campaign to call attention to the dangers of workplace falls. The campaign emphasizes three elements critical to preventing avoidable falling injuries:

• Plan. The need to plan ahead before tackling a job requiring working from significant heights is crucial. Planning involves determining how the job's tasks will be accomplished and, importantly, what equipment will be needed to ensure the safety of the workers completing those tasks. 


• Provide. Once the type of equipment necessary for ensuring workers' safety is determined, the employer must actually make that equipment available to workers. This can include certain types of ladders, scaffolds, and safety gear, such as personal fall arrest systems. 


• Train. Even the best safety equipment available is useless without the knowledge necessary to use it properly. Employers should train workers both in the use of all equipment and hazard recognition as well, so employees can identify and avoid dangers before they become a safety threat. 

By adhering to these three simple guidelines, employers can drastically reduce the occurrence of preventable falls and resulting workers' compensation claims as well. Avoidable workplace tragedies needn't plague our workers when workplace safety is made a top priority.

Should NFL Athletes be Collecting Workers’ Compensation From Out of State?

A bill introduced in California would largely prevent professional athletes like those in the NFL from filing cumulative trauma workers’ compensation claims in California if they had not retired from a team based in that state. Spokespeople representing several professional sports associations contend that athletes from teams outside of California are cashing in on workers’ compensation benefits from the state, raising team costs as well as costs of workers’ compensation for all employers in California.

However, NFL players point to the fact that they pay income taxes in California for each game they play there. This, they argue, should allow them to apply for workers’ comp in the state regardless of the home state of their team. Officials for the leagues have asserted that the intended purpose of the bill is not to curb the ability of legitimately injured players to obtain workers’ compensation benefits but merely to establish standards. The bill is scheduled to go before the Assembly Insurance Committee next week; here's the bill in its entirety.

Though not directly applicable to workers’ compensation in Pennsylvania, the California bill does present an interesting question of workers’ comp law. While it’s important to keep costs down and establish standards, the right of workers to appropriate compensation for injuries suffered on the job, regardless of profession, must always be preserved. And if you need to file for benefits, our workers’ compensation attorneys are the best in the business; contact us now for a free evaluation.

Asbestos: Still a Serious Health Threat

Last week was National Asbestos Awareness Week, a relatively new occasion intended to increase awareness about the serious dangers of asbestos exposure. Although the use of asbestos has greatly declined, exposure still remains a major threat to the health of workers who repair old buildings and indeed anyone who comes into contact with the material. It’s long been known that asbestos can cause fatal conditions like lung cancer and mesothelioma, yet asbestos still isn’t banned in the U.S.

A naturally occurring mineral fiber, asbestos was widely used as an insulator and fire retardant until its negative health effects became apparent. When asbestos is disturbed, tiny fibers are released into the air. If inhaled, these fibers can cause diseases such as the ones mentioned above, as well as other conditions like asbestosis, a serious lung disease.  It’s clear that workers in construction and demolition, for example, are at high risk for asbestos exposure, but anyone who disturbs the material can suffer adverse health effects. And with greater exposure comes a higher chance of developing a potentially deadly condition.

Thousands are diagnosed with mesothelioma annually, and thousands more die from an asbestos-related disease each year. If you've suffered from any health issues related to asbestos exposure and would like help with a workers’ compensation claim, contact our workers’ compensation attorneys today.

Most Dangerous Jobs in America

According to a recent article on cnn.com, professional fishermen have the most dangerous job in America. The article compared the fatality rate per 100,000 workers of dozens of jobs, and fishermen topped the list at 121.2. Loggers and airplane pilots took second and third places with 102.4 and 57 fatalities per 100,000, respectively.

Whether or not your profession made the list, it's clearly important to know any dangers associated with your job and be mindful of minimizing these risks. The article points out that most jobs on the list have become less dangerous in recent years thanks to safer practices and regulations designed to keep workers out of harm's way. The trend toward maximizing job safety is clearly a positive one and has undeniably prevented innumerable workers from being injured at work, and let's hope that this trend continues. Nevertheless, protecting those who suffer work injuries will always be important, and getting the injured the workers' compensation they deserve will always be our top priority.

Workers' Compensation and Surveillance

Workers’ Compensation matters vary from case to case, but one common thread is that injuries sustained by workers are severe enough to keep them from performing their routine job duties. To ensure each claimant is being completely truthful with his or her claim, insurance companies will send investigators to observe the daily behavior of the injured worker. For example, if the investigator finds that a construction worker who has injured his hand on the job is operating machinery on a job site after filing a claim, some hefty consequences could result.

Earlier this month, the state of Montana convicted its second felon charged with robbing the state of workers’ compensation benefits. An investigative team found a man, who claimed to be injured at work, out hunting and working on a construction site. The man already began receiving thousands of dollars in benefits. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine.

Due to instances such as this, it is standard that all cases are subject to investigation. In our What To Expect: Your Workers’ Compensation Case video, we caution people that insurance companies may hire private investigators to monitor your activity. Even something that seems harmless, like posting a photo to a social media site, can be taken out of context and used against you, so it is best to use caution at all times. For more information on surveillance by insurance companies, and all other matters related to a Workers’ Compensation case, watch our What to Expect video.