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OSHA Implements New Worker Injury Record-Keeping Rules
According to statistics from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), there are over three million people who are injured on the job each year in this country. Approximately 200,000 of those victims are from Illinois. Of these, about 50,000 such injuries result in some kind of claim seeking compensation.
In countless safety studies and analyses, one common finding is that if there was a better reporting system in place, many of these worker accidents could be avoided. These indications have prompted OSHA to implement new record-keeping requirements for employers, although there are a number of low-hazard industries which will be exempt from the new rules.
New Requirements
These new regulations require that any employer with 10 or more employees will be required keep a record of serious work-related injuries and illnesses. An injury that only requires first aid treatment will not need to be reported. Under OSHA guidelines, the following injures meet the requirement:
Truck Drivers Carry Special Responsibility When on the Road
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, there were 9,739 reported tractor-trailer crashes in 2012, which resulted in 94 fatalities and over 2,000 injuries. Due to the size and cargo weight of tractor-trailers, truck drivers have specific safety regulations they must follow when on the road.
It is necessary for truck drivers to check for defective equipment and faulty brakes before starting their shifts. They must have adequate experience driving a commercial truck and abide by the limitations that have been implemented regarding the amount of drive time they are allowed per week.
Federal regulations have been put into place to help prevent the number of trucking accidents that occur every year. The rules require drivers to:
- Not exceed a maximum of 70 hours of drive time per work week, a decrease from the previously approved 82 hours;
FDA Warns about Unknown Dangers to Babies from Keep-Sake Ultrasounds
One of the most popular items that many parents-to-be have jumped on purchasing are prenatal portraits, also called “keepsake ultrasounds.” Commercial keepsake ultrasound businesses have opened up across the country. These photos are different from the ultrasounds usually done during a medical exam because the images are in 3-D or 4-D format. One of the more popular ways to get a prenatal portrait done is by hosting or attending an ultrasound party.
These events are like many other “parties” one might have, just like makeup, cookware, or candle, complete with friends and snacks. Except the “demonstrator” here brings an ultrasound machine and most of the guests are pregnant. But just how safe are these keepsake ultrasounds and what harm could they be doing to unborn babies?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a warning to expectant parents that these medically unnecessary ultrasounds may actually be dangerous. While a normal, doctor prescribed ultrasound typically takes 15 minutes to obtain the photos needed for medical diagnosis, keep-sake ultrasounds often run up to an hour in order for the technician to obtain good photos of the baby’s face. One of the main concerns, according to the FDA, is that there has been little to no studies done which have determined what the long-term effect of a sustained exposure to the ultrasound has on an unborn child.
What You Need to Know about Dog Bite Lawsuits
Getting sued over a dog bite is one of the most costly experiences a pet owner can go through. According to the Insurance Information Institute, as reported by Forbes, the average cost of a dog bite lawsuit is more than $26,000. While the number of insurance claims have dropped nearly 5 percent since 2010, the costs associated with the lawsuit have steeply risen. In fact, according to a separate report from the Insurance Information Institute, dog bites accounted for more than 30 percent of all homeowners insurance liability claim dollars paid out in 2011, costing consumers nearly $479 million that year. In that time period, the average claim was up 12.3 percent from the previous year, to more than $29,000.
The Ten Most Dangerous Jobs in America
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its report on the ten most dangerous jobs in the country, based on workplace injuries and deaths from 2013. Although the bureau reports that the number of workplace fatalities were the second lowest since 1992, when they began recording this data, there were still 4,585 lives lost to workplace accidents.
According to the BLS, the people with the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. are those that work in the logging industry. There were 59 lives lost in logging accidents in 2013, which comes out to 91.3 fatalities for every 100,000 workers.
Fishermen, and other workers who are employed by fisheries, came in at number 2, with 27 work-related fatalities in 2013. The fatality rate for this occupation was 75 for every 100,000 workers.
Just How Safe Is That Zipline?
The activity of ziplining has soared in popularity over the past several years. Originally utilized by scientists and researchers exploring the dense jungles of Central and South America, ziplining has become fully mainstream, with many thrill seekers seeing it as a “safe” alternative to flying activities, such as hand gliding. As the cold weather sets in across the Midwest, many traveling to warmer destinations for the holidays may have the opportunity to clip on and try ziplining for the first time.
What is Ziplining?
Ziplining works like this: a person wears a harness which is then connected to by pulley system to a cable which runs high above the ground. According to statistics, there are more than 700 ziplines worldwide, and more than 200 of those lines are right here in the United States.
With more and more people venturing onto ziplines, there have been thousands of people who have been injured while participating in the activity. On study puts the number of people injured in ziplining accidents at more than 17,000 in the past 16 years. However, the majority of those injuries occurred just in the past four years.
Can a Concussion Increase Suicide Risk?
One of the most common accident injuries people suffered is a concussion. According to national statistics, approximately three million people are in some kind of incident that results in a concussion. Some, of course, are extremely serious and can have an immediate impact on the victim' life. Even a mild concussion can have long-term side effects, but those effects may be even more serious than previously thought. A new study has concluded that people who suffer from even one concussion may be three times more likely to commit suicide several years later.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Toronto. The study’s organizers spent 20 years tracking the history of 236,000 victims of concussions. On average, the study found, 31 out of every 100,000 concussion victims eventually took their own lives. Interestingly, concussion victims who had suffered their injuries on a weekend had an even higher risk of committing suicide, at a rate of nearly four times the national average.
Dangers of Heatstroke for Outdoor Workers
The summer months are very enjoyable for most people. Warmer weather permits a number of fun outdoor activities—going to beaches, barbecues, hiking, and, of course, just playing outside for children during the school break. But for those who have to work outside, the heat of summer can cause serious illness and even death.
Potentially Fatal Heat-Related Illness
That is what happened to one man – a 23-year-old landscaper – who recently died after working in the heat all day. Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) say the man was assisting with tree trimming work and his duties included flagging traffic, chipping limbs, and stacking brush. He began at approximately 7:00 a.m., but by 4:30 p.m., his body became overheated. He was rushed to the hospital, where his core temperature was measured at 108 degrees. He died the next day.
Dangerous Strollers and Carriers Sending Thousands to the ER Annually
A recent study has revealed that thousands of children are treated in emergency rooms each year because of injuries they receive from strollers and baby carriers. In fact, between the years 1990 through 2010, 361,000 children who were 5-years-old or younger were treated in emergency rooms across the country for injuries received from these devices. This works out to more than 17,000 injured children every year, 50 children per day, or two injured children per hour.
The study was conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital using data which was collected by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.
Common Dangers
According to the data, the majority of injuries to children involved the head or face and was usually caused by the carrier or stroller tipping over. More than one-third of children who were treated suffered from either traumatic brain injuries (TBI) or concussions. One of the researchers pointed out just how tragic the consequences of TBIs can be in young children because of the long-term consequences it can have on the child’s cognitive development.
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9631 W. 153rd St., Suite 32, Orland Park, IL 60462
708-966-2408
