MSHA Releases January Impact Inspection Results
Posted on Feb 27, 2014
The Mine Safety and Health Administration announced that federal mine inspectors issued 198 citations during special impact inspections conducted at 11 coal and 3 metal mines in January 2014. The most substantial citations were directed at a West Virginia coal mine and a New York surface shale operation. The issued citations included a variety of safety hazards such as failure to lock and tag the belt drive at a power source, accumulations of coal float dust along a belt drive, inadequate on-shift examinations of belt drives, and miners being observed under suspended loads of materials. ...
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OSHA Issues Substantial Proposed Penalties to Rubber Products Manufacturer Following Workplace Incident for Absence of Machine Safeguards
Posted on Feb 27, 2014
OSHA has cited a manufacturer of rubber products for the oil and gas industry with a proposed penalty of $560,000 in the wake of an incident where a worker’s arms were crushed by a machine. The citations, including eight willful violations, were issued for allegedly failing to provide machine guarding to protect the operator and other workers in the machine area from hazards created by rotating parts while operating manual lathes and other equipment.
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Cal/OSHA Announces Advisory Meeting to Discuss Revisions to Definition of “Repeat Violation”
Posted on Feb 26, 2014
The Division of Occupational Safety and Health in California announced an advisory meeting for March 14 to discuss two proposed revisions to its definition of “repeat violation” in Section 334(d) of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, which governs violation of occupational health and safety standards. The proposed changes relate to the criteria for classifying a citation as “repeat,” and would likely expand the scope of violations in this category for California employers. One proposed change would extend the statute of limitation on actions from three to five years. The...
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DOT Issues Emergency Order Mandating Proper Testing of Crude Oil Prior to Transport
Posted on Feb 26, 2014
On February 25, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an emergency order mandating that all persons who offer crude oil for transportation in commerce within the United States “ensure that [it] is properly tested and classed in accordance with 49 CFR parts 172 and 173.” The order also prohibits shipping crude oil by rail as a Packing Group III hazardous material. Citing the dramatic growth in shipments of crude-by-rail and recent derailments of trains carrying crude oil from the Bakken shale that caused large-scale explosions in Quebec, Alabama, and North Dakota, the order describes...
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FAA Issues Final Rule Creating Stricter Helicopter Safety Procedures
Posted on Feb 21, 2014
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a landmark final rule today requiring stricter safety procedures for helicopters. The new rule requires helicopters, including ambulances, to implement stricter flight rules and procedures, to improve communications and pilot training, and to carry additional on-board safety equipment. The final rule was implemented in response to the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 and continued concerns about the high number of helicopter crashes. In crafting the rule, the FAA examined helicopter air ambulance accidents from 1991 through 2010 and...
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Punitive Damage Claims Against Trucking Company for Negligent Hiring and Supervision Allowed To Proceed
Posted on Feb 21, 2014
A Pennsylvania federal court denied a Michigan trucking company’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s claims for punitive damages for negligently hiring and supervising a truck driver who allegedly caused a significant collision. The court reasoned that a reasonable jury could find that the trucking company was “reckless” for purposes of an award of punitive damages under Pennsylvania law in hiring the driver without verifying his employment application’s information or auditing his driver logs, which had been falsified on occasion based on testimony.
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Delaware Supreme Court Dismisses Asbestos Exposure Case by Argentine National on Forum Non Conveniens Grounds
Posted on Feb 20, 2014
The Delaware Supreme Court concluded the trial court properly exercised discretion in dismissing a case brought by an Argentine national against a Delaware-based chemical manufacturer for alleged asbestos exposure in an Argentinian textile plant on the basis of forum non conveniens. The court indicated that where the plaintiff is a citizen of a foreign state in which the injury occurred and whose law is at issue, a defendant has an interest in obtaining an authoritative ruling from the relevant courts of that foreign state as opposed to a predictive, non-authoritative ruling from a Delaware...
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