Workplace Injuries

• Testing urged for ex-Texas Vermiculite workers

  Ricky Bagolie | August 21, 2006 10:20 PM | 0 CommentsJersey City, NJ

  In another example of employers poisoning their workers and nearly a year after federal authorities revealed that hundreds of employees at the former Texas Vermiculite plant in West Dallas could have asbestos-related lung diseases, the state is getting ready to begin health screenings on the former workers.Workers exposed should be tested and those with disease may be eligible for treatment and...

• Falling Debris Kills Two Workers

  Bob Carroll | August 16, 2006 7:28 AM | 0 CommentsPinellas, FL

  Fellow InjuryBoard blogger, Richard R. Schlueter in Atlanta, posts the sad story of two workers killed when a front end loader caused debris to fall 19 floors on a construction site. The events occurred in Dallas, but they could just as easily occur in Atlanta or Tampa Bay. In Florida, the families of the workers would have rights under our Workers' Compensation Laws and potential rights...

• Fall At Rig Injurs Worker

  Michael Myers | August 15, 2006 9:23 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Chase Anderson was working about 20 feet above the sub floor on the EnCana drilling rig when he fell about 11 p.m. Friday night. He was transported to Kadlec, and then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He suffered four, six inch gashes down to the skull. After testing, it was found he had abdominal bleeding and a fracture C-5 vertebrate. He also broke the tips off C-6 and C-7....

• Construction Accident Kills Two In Dallas

  Staff Writer | August 15, 2006 3:56 PM | 0 CommentsSan Antonio, TX

  A truck driver was killed in a Dallas construction accident Monday as he sat and waited for his truck to be loaded. While the driver sat in the cab, a front-end loader was moving concrete 19 stories above when the operator accidentally pushed a pile of concrete and a metal claw off the top of the building. The debris fell, landing on the cab and killing the truck's driver and another worker...

• Ohio Workers Slighted by Workers' Comp

  Staff Writer | August 15, 2006 12:12 PM | 0 CommentsMiami, FL

  A recent Miami Herald article detailed a scandal in the Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation. It is estimated that hundreds of workers in the state of Ohio who were injured on the job received fewer benefits than they had coming because of flaws in record-keeping and possible fraud. Out of 8,900 cases that the Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation reviewed, as many as 1,500 deserved additional...

• OSHA Protects Workers From Workplace Injury

  Jack Landskroner | August 09, 2006 10:50 PM | 0 CommentsCleveland, OH

  The main statute protecting the health and safety of workers in the workplace is the Occupational and Safety Health Act (OSHA). Unfortunately, many employers shortcut OSHA standards exposing their employees and 3rd party contractors to significant increased risk of harm and workplace injury while on the business premises. Under OSHA, The Secretary of Labor may authorize inspections of...

• Six Pipeline Workers Nearly Electrocuted

  Michael Myers | August 07, 2006 7:52 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Six pipeline workers were nearly electrocuted Thursday when their construction equipment either touched or got too close to high-voltage power lines.The accident happened east of Arlington underneath the Bonneville Power Administration's 230,000-volt Snohomish-to-Murray line.Arlington Fire Department Chief Jim Renkin said the workers were unloading sections of gas pipeline when the accident...

• Toxic Dust Found at WTC Site

  Ricky Bagolie | August 05, 2006 10:03 PM | 0 CommentsJersey City, NJ

  According to 1010 Wins, Demolition work at the Deutsche Bank building was suspended for one day this week after high levels of toxic dust were detected on the skyscraper's roof. Demolition was suspended Thursday and restarted yesterday after testing on July 28th revealed unacceptable levels of silica, which causes lung diseases."Any worker who contracts silicosis, asbestosis or any type of lung...

• Obesity Affects Physical and Financial Health of Workers

  Matthew Bergmann | July 29, 2006 11:18 AM | 0 CommentsTopeka, KS

  A recent study has found that obesity not only affects the physical health of workers, but their financial health as well, with medical and pharmacy costs rising steadily for employees with above-normal body weight. The body mass index (BMI) of nearly 36,000 autoworkers and their spouses were calcuated to analyze the relationship between body weight and health care costs. For those who started...

• Overtime Lawsuits On The Rise

  Ricky Bagolie | July 27, 2006 11:39 PM | 0 CommentsJersey City, NJ

  Workers whose employers fail to properly pay them the overtime they deserve may be able to file an overtime lawsuit. Generally, all workers are eligible for time-and-a-half overtime, except for those in the executive, administrative and professional categories. Changes in federal regulations in 2004 defined more clearly those exempt categories by using new job descriptions such as "exercises...