Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyer - Worksite Injuries

Construction Worker Dies at Fort Bliss

Shannon Weidemann — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:46:09 GMT

A construction worker on a job site at Fort Bliss in Texas was killed on Friday. The construction accident involved a C.F. Jordan employee and not a member of the military. The victim was hit by a concrete block.

Fort Bliss firefighters responded to the incident, which happened about 9:30 a.m. at a construction site on Biggs Army Airfield. The victim was a 45-year-old man who had been with the company for more than 10 years.

The victim's name has not been released and there are no further details on why the accident happened. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as base officials, will be investigating the accident.

If you would like to learn more about construction accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Workplace Injuries information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Texas Man Dies in Accident at Work

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:45:32 GMT

A 28-year-old man from Bartlett died of injuries he sustained at the TECO-Westinghouse Motor Co. manufacturing plant in Round Rock, Texas. The firefighters that responded to the scene treated him for a chest and abdomen injury. The workplace injury happened last week Monday.

Round Rock firefighters said they received a call from TECO-Westinghouse about 1:45 p.m. When they arrived, they found Bice unconscious. They performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and used a defibrillator until paramedics arrived.
TECO-Westinghouse, a manufacturer of electric motors and generators, referred questions to Austin attorney Wayne Meissner. He would not answer questions about the incident.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the accident.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Workplace Injuries and Discrimination.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Risk of Work Injury Higher in Overweight

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 25 May 2007 13:24:19 GMT

A new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology has shown that more overweight and obese people are involved in workplace injuries than others. Researchers based the study on Body Mass Index (BMI) calculations.

BMI is a measure of body fat based on an adult's height and weight. It is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. According to the CDC, a BMI below 18.5 is considered underweight, 18.5 to 24.9 is normal; 25 to 29.9 is overweight and over 30 is obese. Of the 7,690 workers included in the study, 29 percent were injured at least once between January 2, 2002, and December 31, 2004. Approximately 85 percent of the injured workers were classified as overweight or obese.

It is not known if supporting employees to lose weight will reduce the amount of worksite injuries. Worksite injuries mean lost time and loss of safety ratings to businesses.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Dupont Records 60 Years Without Lost Time

Shannon Weidemann — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:24:54 GMT

A Stow, Ohio Dupont Performance Elastomers plant has gone 60 years without an OSHA recordable workplace injury. This is a huge milestone to achieve.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the comparable
recordable injury rate for workers in the synthetic rubber industry was 2.9
cases per 100 workers in 2005. If the Akron site's performance had been at
the industry average, there would have been 64 injuries over a 60 year
period.
"As a technology laboratory focused on applications development, our
employees operate equipment comparable to that which our customers have at
their manufacturing operations," said Don Germano, Akron site manager. "The
potential for injury is definitely present, and given these challenges,
this milestone represents an enduring commitment to safe behavior and
operating discipline."

Dupont Performance Elastomers is a subsidary of Dupont. Starting in 1946 they have gone 4.4 million hours with no lost time.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Problems With Texas' Workers Comp System

Staff Writer — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 09:12:22 GMT

A story from Dalas-Ft.Worth's WFAA-TV details the problems of Texas' workers compensation system through the eyes of two injured workers, Robert Frederick and Frankie Dutcher. Frederick suffers from a back injury he sustained while working as an auto mechanic four years ago, while Dutcher suffers from serious side-effects of exposure to hamful chemicals while working as a power-line repairman in 1996.

Both men's hopes are pinned on sweeping reforms adopted by the Texas Legislature last year. Lawmakers abolished the old workers' comp commission and handed over operations to the Texas Department of Insurance.
"This is a new agency with a new approach, with a new culture," said Albert Betts, the state's Commissioner of Workers' Compensation. "We're still, for all intents and purposes, in the baby stages of getting up and running."

Read the full workers' compensation article.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Welding Rods and Worksite Litigation

Staff Writer — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 17:39:16 GMT

Recently, a welder filed a lawsuit against the makers of welding products. His lawsuit contends that welding products which contain manganese caused him to suffer neurological problems, including Parkinson's Disease. The lawsuit claims that exposure to manganese for as little as 49 days can cause neurological damage.

The plaintiff has alleged that the defendants concealed safety data on the products that had been gather from various trade organizations and groups. The entire article can regarding this is in the The Madison / St. Clair Record http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/newsview.asp?c=174385.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Denial of Workers' Compensation Benefits

Staff Writer — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 15:03:27 GMT

Recently, the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of workers' compensation benefits to an employee who had a pre-existing condition that he argued was aggravated by a work-related incident. The administrative law judge that heard the case determined that the work-related incident did not cause the underlying problem, and the condition was related to a pre-existing injury and thus was not compensable.

The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the administrative determination in Smith v. Donco Construction. Clearly, since the legislative changes took place in late 2005 there has been a shift in the interpretation of the law which is less favorable for the injured workers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Lawsuit Filed Challenging Worksite Injury Laws

Staff Writer — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 15:14:29 GMT

On November 30, 2005 a lawsuit was filed by the Mo. Alliance for Retired Americans, et al. against the Missouri Dept. of Labor and Industrial Relations and Division of Workers' Compensation, Case No. 05AC-CC01114 in the Cirucit Court of Cole County, Missouri. The lawsuit seeks a ruling by the Court regarding the Constitutionality of the new workers' compensation law.

This matter is scheduled for hearing on February 6, 2006. It will be interesting to see if the sweeping reform made by the Republican controlled legislature will remain in effect. Personally, I believe that the reform was overreaching and should be struck down. Clearly, based on the sweeping tort reform made by the Republicans after they gained control of the legislature and the executive branch was repayment to big business and the insurance companies for their contributions. Some of the changes that were made may have been needed; however, the vast majority of changes were solely for the benefit big business and not based on rational legal principles.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Court Order Entered in Worksite Injury Cases

Staff Writer — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 14:56:05 GMT

In August of 2005 new legislation took effect which impacted the area of Missouri's workers compensation laws. The new law contained drafting errors which called into question whether or not injured workers would be covered by workers compensation insurance.

Liberty Mutual (a workers compensation insurer) filed a declaratory judgment action seeking an order from the Circuit Court of Cole County, Missouri declaring that the new legislation's drafting error did not invalidate the law. The lawsuit also wanted the Court to find that the subseqently amended legislation which was entered for the purpose of correcting the prior clerical mistake also covered those injured workers between August 28, 2005 and December 14, 2005. On January 6, 2006 the judge granted the insurer's request, and found that the workers' compensation law was effective August 28 through December 14, 2005 and applied to all cases (except those exclusively covered by federal law).

The effect of this ruling means that the exclusive remedy for injured workers seeking compensation against their employer for a work related accident will be via the workers' compensation laws. Had this ruling not been entered then the injured employee might have had a common law claim against their employer for your more traditional tort theories, such as negligence, premises liability, etc.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Explosion Kills Worker, Injures Six Others

Staff Writer — Thu, 12 Jan 2006 11:21:13 GMT

Workers trying to repair hurricane damage at a Daytona Beach, FL wastewater treatment plant were the victims of an explosion Wednesday. The workers were using a cutting torch to repair a roof covering two chemical tanks. This is the suspected cause of the blast.

Two surviving workers suffered burns over at least 80% of their bodies.

Officials later found a small hole in a pipe that connects to one of the 25-foot-tall tanks, a container that held highly flammable methanol. But it was not known whether the hole was there beforehand or was created by the explosion.
"Vapors are usually what burns or explodes so maybe there was a leak," said Lt. John King of the Daytona Beach Fire Department. "More than likely there were vapors coming from somewhere."

The Kansas City Star has more on the Daytona worksite accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer