OSHA Reveals Serious Workplace Injuries have been Seriously Under- reported
At Silverman, McDonald & Friedman, our workers’ compensation attorneys in Seaford, Wilmington and Newark are strong advocates for clients who have been injured in the workplace. We offer free consultations to discuss your case and learn your options when you have been severely injured in a workplace accident.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a report that reveals serious workplace injuries are being under-reported to the agency. OSHA already had a standing rule that employers must report fatalities that happen in the workplace within 8 hours, but under the new requirements that went into effect on January 1, 2015, employers must also report any amputation, in-patient hospitalization or eye-loss after a workplace accident within 24 hours.
According to the OSHA report, an employer would report a workplace fatality, and then the ensuing investigation would reveal a history of other serious injuries in that workplace. The goal of implementing the new reporting requirements is to enable the agency to better target their compliance assistance and enforcement efforts to places where workers are at the greatest risk, and encourage more high-hazard employers to identify and eliminate serious workplace hazards.
In the year since the new law took effect, OSHA has been tracking those serious workplace injuries and they counted 10,388 severe workplace injuries in 2015, which is the first full year under the new reporting requirements. There were 7,636 hospitalizations and 2,644 amputations. These numbers add up to about 30 severe work-related injuries per day. This goes to prove that U.S. workplaces are still hazardous to American workers. Some of the examples of injuries mentioned in the report include:
- A Chicago employee received serious injuries to her arm when it was pulled into a piece of factory equipment. Her arm was severely mangled and required a plate and skin grafts to repair it. To prevent similar injuries in the future, the employer installed a metal guard to shield the workers’ hands and arms from the moving machine parts. They also installed alarms and warning lights that come on 20 seconds before the machine starts moving.
- An Idaho truck driver lost the tip of his finger when a valve cover snapped shut unexpectedly on a tanker truck. After the accident, the employer devised a new, hands-free tool for closing the valve. They also let the manufacturer know of the accident and how other workers could be protected.
- A sanitation worker in Missouri had both lower arms amputated when a meat processing machine unexpectedly turned on while he was cleaning it. The employer had the machine’s safety interlock’s changed and improved employee training and supervision. The employee’s arms were able to be re-attached and he is undergoing rehabilitation.
A story in the Washington Post looks askance at the number of OSHA’s severe injury reports saying that the number is an under-count of the actual number of severe workplace injuries. Assistant Secretary of Labor David Michaels said, “We think the actual number might be twice as high.” That might be because the reporting on the injuries is self-reporting. Despite the fact that some employers, even after their workers have suffered terrible workplace injuries, still try to hide the hazards that cause injuries rather than fixing them, OSHA still asks employers to conduct their own investigations.
Whenever a serious workplace injury occurs and is reported to OSHA, it provides an opportunity to address the safety issues that allowed the incident to happen. If you have suffered a serious injury at work, you can have a free, confidential consultation with a Delaware workers’ compensation attorney who will inform you of your legal options given the facts of your case.
Your workplace could be full of hazards that can cause serious injuries. At Silverman, McDonald & Friedman, we help clients get the compensation that they deserve when they sustained a serious injury in the workplace. Please call 302-888-2900 or fill out our contact form to make an appointment for a free consultation at our offices in Wilmington, Newark or Seaford.
Attorney Jeffrey S. Friedman joined Silverman, McDonald & Friedman in 2001. He graduated from Widener University School of Law, and is admitted to practice law in Delaware and Pennsylvania, and in several Federal Circuit courts. He areas of concentration include auto accident and workers’ compensation cases. Read more about Attorney Friedman here.