Citations Vacated for Coal Mine Operator in Dozer Incident Involving Gas Pipeline
Posted on Feb 12, 2014
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission affirmed an ALJ ruling to vacate proposed penalties for a large surface coal mine operator stemming from an explosion in which the operator of a bulldozer ruptured a gas line and was killed in West Virginia in January 2006. The proposed penalties were assessed for failing to adequately comply with the requirement of 30 C.F.R. § 77.1713(a) to examine active work areas each shift for hazardous conditions. The Review Commission concluded that the area in which the bulldozer incident occurred was beyond the “active working area” as required...
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OSHA Increasing Scrutiny of Communication Tower Industry Following Uptick of Cell Tower Worker Fatalities
Posted on Feb 12, 2014
Following an uptick in worker injuries involved in the construction and maintenance of cell towers across the country, OSHA is taking steps to increase scrutiny of the communication tower industry. In 2013, OSHA reported that thirteen worker fatalities occurred in this industry. That trend has continued in 2014, as four additional worker fatalities have been caused by the collapse of cell towers in Texas and West Virginia. On February 10, 2014, OSHA circulated a letter to all communication tower employers reminding them of the requirements for adequate safety training and fall...
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Ohio District Judge Dismisses All Claims Except Negligence Claims in Alleged Widespread Toxic Waste Disposal Suit
Posted on Feb 10, 2014
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio dismissed wrongful death, personal injury, and property damage claims brought by a group of 58 Sandusky County, Ohio residents against a manufacturing company related to its disposal of toxic waste. The plaintiffs had alleged that the company used a type of paint in its manufacturing processes that when combusted, produced significant air pollution containing known carcinogens. The lawsuit also claimed that starting in the 1960s, the company dumped hazardous materials at fourteen different sites around the manufacturing plant that...
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Having a Plan For Preservation of Evidence in Workplace Incidents Critical To Avoid Unnecessary Exposure
Posted on Feb 10, 2014
While constructing some scaffolding at a power plant, a piece of scaffolding fell, struck, and injured a contractor’s employee. The supervisor on the job, also a contractor employee, took the piece of scaffolding to the power plant owner’s on-site safety director, who stored the piece of scaffolding in his office. The following year, that safety director relocated to another plant, but the scaffolding remained in his old office, at which point it was transferred to a training room never to be seen again. An Illinois federal court recently granted summary judgment to a scaffolding...
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OSHA Proposed Rule Would Extend Compliance Date for Crane Operator Certification Requirement by Three Years to November 2017
Posted on Feb 7, 2014
OSHA issued the long-awaited proposed rule that would extend the compliance date for crane operator certification and also extend the existing phase-in requirement for employers to ensure that their crane operators are appropriately qualified to November 10, 2017. Whether the actual certification is the only component of qualification that an employer would have to meet is being debated, as well as whether certifications should be issued “by type and capacity.” Comments are due by March 12, 2014. The proposed rule is available here.
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West Virginia Chemical Leak an Example that All Sizes of Companies Need To Focus on Safety
Posted on Feb 6, 2014
In a commentary for Law360, safetylitigation.com founders Matt Gatewood and Carter Williams explain the need for safety and risk management systems at companies of all sizes, using the recent West Virginia chemical leak as an important example. The leak from a small company’s storage tank caused thousands of gallons of a coal-cleaning chemical to contaminate the water supply of the state’s most populous region. The article, “W. Va. Leak is a Message to All Company Safety Practices,” appeared in the Jan. 28 issue of Law360 and can be read here.
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