workplace inspections

Published on: October 30, 2011

OSHA to Fine Alpharetta, Georgia Contractor for Workplace Violations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is likely to propose more than $55,000 in fines for an Alpharetta-based general contractor for a series of violations at a construction site in Tifton.Inspections conducted by the federal agency found that the contractor, GanawayContracting Co. Inc. of Alpharetta committed 14 safety violations. Companies with this many safety violations often face a high level of serious workers’ compensation claims.

The inspections were focused on identifying violations that increased the risk of workers suffering fall accidents in the construction industry.Overall, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited GanawayContracting Co. Inc. for repeat violations that included worker exposure to fall hazards. These type of construction accidents often result in the most significant workers’ compensation claims due to the severe personal injuries involved. Workers’ compensation attorneys have always advocated for toughpunishments of companies which repeatedly engage in unsafe practices.

Agency inspectors found that the company allowed workers to work from heights of above 15 feet without requiring any kind of fall protection, used ladders with missing or broken parts, and used ladders that did not sufficiently extend beyond the landing surface of the roof.The company also did not require workers to wear eye protection when they were performing critical tasks, like using pneumatic nail guns and electric drills.Repeat violations are issued when a company has earlier been cited for the same violations or similar violations.In this case, GanawayContracting Co. Inc. had been cited for similar violations in Alabama as well as in Oakwood, Georgia.

Published on: October 29, 2011

Workplace Safety, Profits Increase after Federal Safety Inspections – Workers’ Compensation Claims Decline

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

When the Department of Labor and Industries makes a visit to a workplace, it leads to a dramatic increase not just in workplace safety standards, but also the company’s profits.

Researchers with the Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention program used inspection data and workers’ compensation claims.The data came from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, and involved claims between 1998 and 2008.The researchers were pleasantly surprised to find that inspections by the Department of Labor and Industries automatically translated into a substantial reduction in Workers Compensation injury claims.There was also a reduction in the costs of claims after these inspection visits.These results were no surprise to workers’ compensation lawyers who have longed advocated for more frequent safety inspections.

That’s not all.The researchers also found that the greatest decrease in workers’ Workers’ Compensation claims came after an inspection resulted in a citation.The researchers found that when the inspection resulted in citations for workplace safety, there was a reduction of as much as 20% in worker injury claims, compared to work sites that were not subjected to an inspection.What’s more, the reduction in worker injury claims resulting from inspections also enhanced the company’s bottom line.

Published on: August 6, 2011

Workplace Safety Concern at Tyson Foods Plant Addresses Viability of Workers’ Compensation

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

In May, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 10 safety citations against Tyson Foods at one of its plants. Nine of the violations cited conditions that posed a "substantial probability" of wrongful death or serious personal injury from a hazard the employer knew, or should have known, about. The third was a repeat violation that the company had been asked to fix once before. So serious were the violations that OSHA fined the food processor $71,500, which was $30,000 more than the original estimate. It is these types of plants that often result in significant workers’ compensation claims.

The hefty price tag that accompanied the violations is understandable in light of the offenses. Says reporter Rick Romellof the Journal Sentinel, among the violations are: an inadequate guardrail; battery cables hanging outside the running lines of two forklifts; failure to ensure that refrigeration mechanics wear tight-fitting, annually tested respirators; and a lack of clear instructions in operating procedures for handling emergencies with equipment. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) requires that employers provide their employees with work and a workplace that is free from recognized, serious hazards.Some duties under the act include:

Making sure employees are aware of all safety procedures and drills.

Published on: September 30, 2009

Sugar Refinery Explosion Entirely Preventable

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Sugar Refinery Explosion Report Says Fire Entirely Preventable

At the time, it was one of the worst industrial disasters in the country, and the most devastating Georgia Workers’ Compensation lawyers had seen in decades. When combustible sugar dust at a refinery near Savannah ignited and exploded last year, it set off a blazing fire that razed much of the facility. Fourteen 14 workers at the Imperial Sugar Refinery were killed and 36 injured, many of them severely burnt. Now, the Chemical Safety Board has issued its report on the accident, and the agency’s findings are a damning indictment of the plant’s managers and owners.

According to the report, there were several factors that were to blame for the explosion, and all of them were entirely preventable. Poor maintenance, improper equipment design and substandard housekeeping were at the root of the explosion and fire. Worse, according to the report, managers were aware about the dangers of an explosion from combustible sugar dust, but failed to take measures to prevent the tragedy. In fact, the sugar industry had been aware of the dangers of sugar dust igniting and setting off an explosion and fire, as far back as 1925.