250 Safety Hazards Found at Area Construction Sites

Surprise construction site inspections reveal hundreds of safety hazards, warrant large fines

Federal safety inspectors have uncovered almost 250 safety violations and issued more than $650,000 in fines for dangerous construction sites in and around Pennsylvania.

The action came after a four-month investigation of hundreds of job sites in Pennsylvania and neighboring states by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The agency conducted 545 surprise inspections that focused on falls, trenches and silica exposure. Hazardous conditions were found at close to 60 percent of the inspected sites.

Every year thousands of construction workers and laborers are killed or seriously injured in construction site accidents.

Following is from the OSHA notice of the Philadelphia Region safety sweep:

Fifty-nine percent of the inspections revealed violations. Some of the most common violations are a failure to use fall protection when working on roofs, […]

Top 10 Dangers On The Job

Here’s one Top 10 list that employers in Pennsylvania hope to never make.

The U.S. Department of Labor has released its Top 10 Workplace Safety Violations for 2012.

Inadequate protection against falls and insufficient warnings of job site hazards are the biggest problem areas, according to the DOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Following is the complete list:

• Fall Protection  (Total violations: 7,250)
• Hazard Communication (4,696)
• Scaffolding (3,814)
• Respiratory Protection (2,371)
• Ladders (2,310)
• Machine Guarding (2,097)
• Powered Industrial Trucks (1,993)
• Electrical – Wiring Methods (1,744)
• Lockout/Tagout (1,572)
• Electrical – General Requirements (1,332)

Free Consultation With A Pennsylvania Workplace Safety Lawyer

Have you been injured on the job? Concerned about safety conditions at your workplace? […]

OSHA Campaign Focuses on Preventing Construction Site Falls

Earlier this month we highlighted two tragic construction site accidents and the role the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) plays in keeping workers safe when on the job. In its ongoing effort to keep American workers safe, OSHA announced a new campaign focused on preventing deadly falls in the construction industry.

On Workers’ Memorial Day, observed April 28 across the country to remember workers who lost their lives as a result of preventable injuries, OSHA unveiled its latest campaign to “provide employers and workers with life-saving information and educational materials about working safely from ladders, scaffolds, and roofs.”

According to OSHA, more than 10,000 construction workers were injured as a result of falling while working from heights, and another 255 workers were killed in 2010.  In Pennsylvania, 219 workers died in workplace accidents in 2010. Of those fatalities, 46 were caused by falls.

“Falls are the most fatal out of all hazards in the construction industry, […]

Recent Workplace Fatalities Raise Awareness of Construction Hazards

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH) was put in place by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to prevent workers from being killed or seriously harmed at work.  Under the act, workers are entitled to working conditions that do not pose a risk of serious harm, and all workers have the right to a safe workplace. Unfortunately, no amount of rules or legislation can prevent all accidents, and just this month, at least two men lost their lives in separate workplace accidents.

The Wall Street Journal reports one worker died and two others were seriously injured when the building they were working on in New York City collapsed March 22. The workers were tearing down a two-story warehouse during a Columbia University expansion project in Harlem.  The collapse is still being investigated, but preliminary findings suggest the workers cut a structural beam supporting the warehouse “causing steel beams, […]

Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit Leads to $10 Million Settlement from U.S. Engineering Company

Asbestos exposure in Missouri courthouse leads to lawsuits

The family of a Missouri woman who died from mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, has been awarded $10 million in a settlement with U.S. Engineering Company for mishandling asbestos in the Jackson County Courthouse in Kansas City, Missouri.

The lawsuit claimed U.S. Engineering did not follow the proper rules and procedures when handling asbestos, and that now, significant amounts of asbestos still remain in the courthouse.   The lawyers for the plaintiff claimed there has been “significant accumulations of asbestos dust in and around the heating and air conditioning systems at the Courthouse for a number of years.”

The woman worked for 27 years in the Jackson County Courthouse.

In addition, a class action lawsuit has been filed for anyone that worked in the courthouse on a daily basis who may have been exposed to asbestos dust from 1983 to the present. […]