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March 2008 Scaffolding hazards at North Richland Hills, Texas, worksite bring fines totaling $210,000 from U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas -- An alleged failure to protect employees from safety hazards has brought a masonry firm $210,000 in proposed penalties from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The company was cited for four serious and seven repeat safety violations following an inspection that began Aug. 8, 2007, at the company's worksite in North Richland Hills. The company, which provides masonry services, has about 100 employees, 40 of whom were working at this site. "The OSHA inspection revealed that the company did not take appropriate action to protect its employees from serious injury," said Dean McDaniel, OSHA's regional administrator in Dallas. "Employers must remain committed to keeping the workplace safe and healthful at all times." The serious violations include failure to provide scaffold working platforms of sufficient width, to remove and replace damaged scaffold components, and to provide fall protection at the ends of scaffold platforms. A serious violation exists when there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard. Repeat violations are for failure to provide fall protection on balconies, to fully plant scaffold working platforms, to provide safe access to scaffold platforms and to provide adequate protection from falling objects. Repeat violations are issued when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a substantially similar violation that has become a final order. Source:
www.osha.gov U.S. LABOR
DEPARTMENT'S OSHA PROPOSES $155,000 IN PENALTIES AGAINST NAPLES,
FLA., CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed $155,000 in penalties against a construction company for two alleged willful and three alleged serious violations uncovered during an inspection of a company construction site in Naples, Fla. OSHA issued two willful violations against the company with $140,000 in proposed penalties for failing to provide cave-in protection to employees working inside an excavation that contained unstable soil, and allowing excess soil to be placed too close to the edge of the trench wall. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. Three serious violations with proposed penalties totaling $15,000 were issued to address deficiencies in the employer's training program, employee exposure to hazards from ductile iron pipe being lifted overhead, and employees using a ladder that was too short on an unstable surface. A serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. "Having employees work unprotected in a deep trench with unstable soil is a recipe for disaster," said Darlene Fossum, OSHA's area director in Fort Lauderdale. "Being behind schedule is no excuse for gambling with employees' safety." Source:
www.osha.gov AUBURN, N.Y., RECYCLING PLANT CITED BY U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT'S OSHA FOR 22 ALLEGED SAFETY VIOLATIONS FOLLOWING EMPLOYEE'S DEATH SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited an Auburn, N.Y., scrap metal recycling plant for a total of 22 alleged serious and repeat violations of safety standards following the Nov. 6, 2007, death of an employee who became caught in a conveyor belt. The company faces $44,100 in proposed fines. OSHA's inspection found that conveyors and other machinery at the plant lacked adequate guarding to prevent employee contact with moving parts, and that hardware and procedures to lock out their power sources to prevent startup while employees worked on them were not supplied and used. The conveyors also lacked start-up alarms to warn employees. "It's imperative that these safeguards be promptly, completely and effectively implemented to prevent this sort of accident from occurring again," said Christopher Adams, OSHA's area director in Syracuse. In addition, OSHA's inspection identified a cross-section of hazards at the plant, including no program to regulate entry into permit-required confined spaces; the use of damaged forklift trucks; an uninspected and improperly maintained crane; damaged electrical cords; ungrounded electrical equipment; inadequate fire protection where flammable liquids were stored; and lack of reflective clothing for employees exposed to vehicular traffic after dark. As a result, OSHA issued the plant 16 serious citations, with $23,100 in fines. OSHA defines a serious violation as a condition which exists where there is a substantial possibility that death or serious physical harm can result. OSHA also issued the plant six repeat citations, with $21,000 in fines, for hazards similar to those cited during an earlier OSHA inspection. These included lack of backup alarms on loaders; failing to replenish spent fire extinguishers; unguarded open-sided floors and platforms; missing stair rails; improperly maintained air cleaning hoses; and additional instances of unguarded machinery. OSHA issues repeat citations when an employer has previously been cited for a substantially similar hazard and those citations have become final. Source:
www.osha.gov U.S. LABOR
DEPARTMENT’S OSHA CITES TWO CONTRACTORS FOR FIRE SAFETY, EXIT
ACCESS, OTHER HAZARDS AT DEUTSCHE BANK TOWER NEW YORK -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited two contractors for 44 alleged violations of workplace safety and health standards at the former Deutsche Bank headquarters located at 130 Liberty St. in Manhattan. The two contractors, who were responsible for demolition and asbestos abatement work on the building, were cited following an Aug. 18, 2007, fire which took the lives of two New York City firefighters. "Construction and demolition sites must be kept safe at all times for both employees and emergency responders," said Louis Ricca Jr., OSHA’s acting regional administrator in New York. "Employers must adhere to safety and health standards, and prepare completely and effectively for workplace emergencies," said Richard Mendelson, OSHA’s area director in Manhattan. "Failure to do so can – and, in this case, did – cost lives." OSHA’s citations address fire-related hazards, including a missing section of the standpipe system and insufficient water pressure and water supply for fighting fires inside the tower. Citations also include numerous safety hazards that exposed employees to death or serious injury from falls, falling objects, electrocution, and the inability to exit the tower swiftly and safely in the event of a fire or other emergency. As a result of its inspection, OSHA cited both contractors for the following hazards:
The two contractors face a combined total of $464,500 in proposed fines for these conditions. Individually, the first contractor was issued three willful and 22 serious citations, carrying $271,500 in fines. The second contractor was issued two willful and 17 serious citations, with $193,000 in fines for these conditions. Previous OSHA inspections at the jobsite had resulted in the first contractor being fined $88,500 for 26 violations and the second, being fined $18,000 for five violations. Mendelson noted that the size of the fines currently proposed against the contractors reflects the scope and severity of the cited conditions and the classification of several of the citations as willful, the most severe category of citation. Each of the willful citations carries a proposed penalty of $70,000, the maximum allowed under the law. An electrical subcontractor, also was issued five serious citations, with $6,250 in proposed fines, for a scaffold erected too close to a power line and other electrical hazards. Source:
www.osha.gov FLORIDA INSURANCE COMMISSIONER ORDERS WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSURANCE COMPANIES TO REFUND MILLIONS IN EXCESS PROFITS TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has ordered six workers' compensation insurance companies to return $4.2 million in excessive profits to their policyholders. Workers' compensation insurers are required to return profits in excess of 5 percent as set forth in Section 627.215, Florida Statutes. The Office performed an evaluation of submitted data that included, among other things, earned premium and incurred losses to determine if the insurers realized an excess profit for the three most recent calendar/accident years reported - 2003, 2004 and 2005. "This is further evidence that the workers' compensation insurance reforms implemented by the Florida Legislature in 2003 are working," said McCarty. "These policyholders are businesses that will get back some of the premium they've been paying for the past three years." The six companies that have been ordered to return premiums to policyholders are: Alaska National Insurance Co. ($144,488), American Interstate Insurance Co. ($3,027,030), Church Mutual Insurance Co. ($768,259), Harco National Insurance Company ($4,819), Midwest Employers Casualty Co. ($218,337) and Petroleum Casualty Co. ($94,329). The companies have 60 days from the date of the order to return the premiums or provide policy renewal credits. Source:
www.floir.com INSURANCE DEPARTMENT
ANNOUNCES TOP CONSUMER COMPLAINTS OF 2007, SAVES OHIOANS $10.7
MILLION COLUMBUS — Claim denials from insurance companies were the number one complaint of Ohio insurance consumers in 2007, according to statistics released by the Ohio Department of Insurance. Nearly one-third of the 7,140 consumer complaints received by the Department dealt with the denial of claims by insurance companies. There were 312 more consumer complaints filed in 2007, up from 6,828 complaints in 2006. As a result of complaint reviews, the Department saved Ohio consumers more than $10.7 million in 2007. A closed complaint is a complaint that has been reviewed and resolved to the satisfaction of the state or jurisdiction in which it is filed. The following lists show the top five types of consumer complaints for Ohio and the United States: Top five types of Ohio consumer complaints in 2007
Top five Ohio complaints by type of coverage
Top five types of national consumer complaints in 2007
Top five national complaints by type of coverage
A total of 222,814 nationwide consumer complaints were reported to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in 2007. This represents a 3.6 percent decrease from the number of nationwide consumer complaints reported during the 2006 calendar year. This information is based on the submission of closed complaint data to the NAIC from the state insurance departments. Aggregate data can be accessed on the NAIC’s web site, www.naic.org. To help avoid problems getting claims paid, the Ohio Department of Insurance offers these tips:
Health Claims –
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