ALJ Affirms OSHA Assessment for Willful Penalties Against Construction Company
Posted on May 28, 2014
An Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission ALJ affirmed assessed penalties for willful safety violations on a Florida construction company. An OSHA inspector cited the company when an inspection revealed that employees were not tied-off when working at heights of 19.5 feet. At a contested hearing, an ALJ found that the company had insufficient internal safety enforcement, that the work crew leader knew that his crew was violating the safety requirement, and that the crew leader’s knowledge was imputed to the company. In the year preceding the violation, OSHA had issued seven...
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State Likely Has Jurisdiction of Miner’s Cumulative Trauma Claims Even Though Miner Last Worked in Another State
Posted on May 28, 2014
In a coal miner injury case, a miner who had worked for a mining company in Kentucky from 1990 to 2009 was transferred to a mine owned by the same company in Virginia, where he worked for approximately six months before stopping work because of alleged cumulative trauma injuries. The worker filed for workers’ compensation benefits in Kentucky but the ALJ held that Kentucky did not have jurisdiction of his claim because he ceased working while in Virginia. On appeal, however, the Workers Compensation Board distinguished the injury that caused him to stop working from the aspects of the...
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Louisiana Court Affirms Judgments for Exposure to Chemicals Following 2006 Plant Explosion
Posted on May 27, 2014
Following lower court judgments finding that plaintiffs were exposed to harmful chemicals from a 2006 chemical plant explosion, the plant owner defendant appealed arguing that while it may have caused the explosion, the plaintiffs failed to prove that the defendant actually caused them to be exposed to chemicals. Last week, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the judgments. The appeals court found that the record, comprised of expert medical testimony and eyewitness accounts, fully supported the lower courts’ causation reasoning. The experts had testified as to the path...
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Evidence of Failure To Comply With Safety Regulations Not Enough for Intentional Tort Claim in Ohio
Posted on May 27, 2014
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio dismissed an employer intentional tort claim, finding that the plaintiff failed to present evidence that the defendant was his employer or that the defendant acted with specific intent. The plaintiff, a subcontractor on a construction site who was injured in a fall, alleged that the general contractor was responsible for the fall, asserting under Ohio’s employer intentional tort statute that the general contractor “deliberately failed to comply” with relevant OSHA and other safety regulations. In dismissing the case, the court...
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Sunshine in Litigation Act Introduced in U.S. Senate Could Limit Companies’ Ability To Protect Confidential Information
Posted on May 23, 2014
In the wake of the recent automotive cases that have required federal courts to weigh the general public’s health and safety interest against corporate confidentiality when determining whether to seal court records, a bill has been proposed in the U.S. Senate that would prohibit a court from denying public access to information in cases in which the pleadings state facts relevant to the protection of public health or safety. In recent years, similar Sunshine in Litigation bills have been proposed but have not reached the floor. This version of the bill, introduced by U.S. Senators Richard...
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Texas Court Affirms $1.9 Million Jury Verdict Against Railroad for Worker’s Cumulative Spinal Injuries
Posted on May 23, 2014
Following a trial, a jury returned a verdict of $1.9 million against a railroad for negligence under the Federal Employers Liability Act (“FELA”) and for violation of the Locomotive Inspection Act on claims brought by an employee who worked for the railroad for 20 years but had been advised by a neurologist to stop working because of deterioration of his spinal health. The plaintiff alleged his injuries were caused by the “jolts, shocks, vibrations, and cumulative trauma … due to defective equipment, including … rough riding locomotives, locomotive cab seats that failed to protect [him]...
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OSHA Issues Penalties to Fertilizer Blender Following Severe Injury to Worker
Posted on May 22, 2014
OSHA announced proposed penalties totaling $181,000 for 12 alleged violations including failing to properly guard machines and electrical equipment, and failing to implement lockout procedures for hazardous energy control following its investigation into an incident in which a worker’s leg became entangled in an auger in November 2013. The move serves as a reminder to ensure that any workers who must enter confined spaces or may come into contact with industrial machinery that could unexpectedly startup should be provided with as much training as possible about the risks involved and the...
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