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With Memorial Day weekend quickly approaching, the deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) says that travelers around the state need to expect massive amounts of travelers when they hit the roads. According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, 834,000 residents of Maryland will travel this upcoming holiday weekend. That’s an increase of 2.3 percent from last year and the highest number for Memorial Day weekend since 2005. About 250,000 people are expected to hit the town of Ocean City, according to its mayor. He said the weather looks good this weekend, and advance reservations are strong. The deputy secretary of MDOT says that patience is of utmost importance this weekend. Tailgating, he said, is the main reason for motor vehicle accidents on the bay bridge. Operation Showboat is the Maryland State Police’s name for their increased presence on the roadways this week and into the weekend. They are targeting distracted and aggressive drivers. In addition, speeding is high on their list of offenses to watch for while on patrol. Routes 301, 50 and 13 are areas where enforcement will be high. Work zones should also be areas where drivers are paying close attention to what is going on around them. There are more than 900 road construction projects in effect right now. That is largest in the history of the state. All road work that is considered non-emergency will be suspended this weekend. However, there will still be construction workers performing their hazardous duties in the remaining projects. If you are on a road construction crew and are injured due to a driver’s aggressive, distracted or intoxicated behavior, you have a right to seek compensation through workers’ compensation. An experienced attorney can provide more information about how to file a claim or approach a denied claim with an appeal. Source: wmdt.com, “ Increased Md. travel volume mirrors nat’l trend for holiday weekend,” accessed May 24, 2017

As a worker, you trust that every product you use is safe. However, you need to realize that this is not always true. For example, a bad product design could make a product dangerous to rely on. Unfortunately, when a product is dangerous, you don’t often know about it until it is too late. At that point, you have already been injured and are now dealing with the aftermath. Here are some common types of workplace injuries related to defective products: — A manufacturer neglects to properly label a product. — A machine does not have a safety guard. — A Product causes damage and injury despite the fact that it was used in the intended manner. If you are injured by any type of product, the first thing you should do is seek immediate medical attention. This is the best way to understand your injuries and to know what type of treatment you will require in the future. From there, you can look back and review what happened. It is during this time that you may realize that a defective product caused your injury. If you find yourself in this position, you never want to feel like you are alone. With our team of professionals on your side, you can fight for your rights. It is our job to help you receive the compensation you deserve, no matter who was at fault. Contact us online or via phone today. From there, it won’t be long before you are feeling better about what the future will bring.

It may be easy to fall off a ladder, but this is not something you ever want to experience. If this happens, you can be faced with serious injury or even death. A recent study published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report notes that falls remain the top cause of unintentional injury in the United States. Furthermore, 43 percent of fatal falls over the past 10 years have involved a ladder. In addition to people who are injured or killed in a ladder accident at home, this is also a big problem in the workplace. The report cites that among workers, roughly 20 percent of all fall injuries involved a ladder. Furthermore, when you focus solely on construction workers, approximately 81 percent of fall injuries that are treated at an emergency room involve a ladder. In 2011 alone, work related ladder fall injuries caused 113 fatalities. Additionally, tens of thousands of workers were injured in a ladder fall. Some other interesting points from the study include: — Companies with fewer employees have the highest fatality rates. — Head injuries are common in fatal injuries. — Work-related ladder fall injury rates are highest in the construction industry. If you fall off a ladder, either at home or at work, you could be injured or killed. Of course, if you are extremely lucky, you may walk away from the situation uninjured. In the event that this occurs at your place of employment, it’s important to report the incident to your company as soon as possible. Of course, nothing is more important than seeking immediate medical care. Source: EHS Today, “CDC: There’s Nothing ‘Easy’ About Falling Off a Ladder,” accessed April 11, 2016

There are many types of injuries that can occur at a place of employment. Regardless of where you work, you need to know which steps you can take to improve your overall level of safety. Struck-by injuries are common in the workplace. This is the result of forcible contact or impact between an object and a person. There are many categories of struck-by hazards, including: — struck-by a flying object — struck-by a falling object — struck-by a rolling object — struck-by a swinging object An example of a struck-by accident would be a person who is hit by a piece of machinery, such as a forklift, in a warehouse. While not every incident causes serious injury or death, this is a concern among all companies. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, in 2010 alone there were 402 occupational deaths caused by struck-by hazards. There are steps companies can take to avoid such accidents, including: — Never put yourself between a fixed object and moving object. — Being alert of heavy equipment and machinery. — Proper inspection and maintenance of vehicles before each shift. — Vehicles should never be driven unless the operator has a clear view of their path. Every year, struck-by accidents injure and kill workers throughout the country, spanning a variety of industries. Workers and companies can take steps to prevent such accidents. If this type of event does occur, it is important for the injured party to receive immediate medical attention and for the accident scene to be closed off for the time being. Source: The American Society of Safety Engineers, “ OSHA’s Focus Four: Mitigating Jobsite Hazards,” Pete Rice, accessed Sep. 16, 2015

Forklifts are used in many industries for a variety of tasks. While these machines are useful, they can also be dangerous. A forklift accident can cause serious injury or death. For this reason, those who operate the equipment must be extremely careful at all times. There are many factors that cause a forklift accident, such as: — Lack of training of workers who use the equipment. — Poor maintenance. — Traveling at excessive speeds and/or making improper maneuvers. — Improper warning that a forklift is in use, which could lead to somebody on the ground getting in the way. — Attempting to operate the forklift in a narrow space. — Obstructions, especially around doors and intersections. — Improper or lack of service. Every forklift accident is avoidable. Here are some of the things that operators and companies can do to prevent accidents with pedestrians: — Create designated walkways for pedestrians and forklift traffic, ensuring that the two are never in close proximity. — Restrict pedestrians from entering the work area when a forklift is operating. — Limit the speed at which the forklift travels. — Ensure that the area is well lit and clear of debris at all times. — Avoid high traffic areas, such as entrances and exits. There will always be a need for forklifts in some industries. For example, warehouses use these machines to transport goods from one area to the other. As a forklift operator or somebody in close proximity to one of these vehicles, it is a must to understand the importance of safety. An accident can happen at any time, which could result in serious injury or death. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “ Preventing Injuries and Deaths of Workers Who Operate or Work Near Forklifts” accessed Mar. 10, 2015

Construction workers know they are working with dangerous equipment and are trained to do so, which is why this news about a man who was killed on a construction site has drawn so much attention. The case is being investigated while others stand by to learn why this horrible accident took place. On Dec. 1, a news report stated that a construction worker had been killed after being struck by a piece of paving equipment at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. The man was not identified by the news release, but the airport spokesman was able to state that the man died from his injuries at approximately 2:00 p.m. at the paving project site on Taxiway D. There was little information on what the construction team was doing on the site, but the Taxiway had been closed. After the man was injured at the scene, paramedics were called to the construction site to assist. They treated the man and sent him on to Baltimore Washington Medical Center, but he was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The news did not disclose the nature of his injuries. The unidentified man was an employee of the Ohio-based company, Hi-Way Paving Inc., which has not commented on the event as of yet. The work site had to be shut down due to the accident. Now, the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, will work together to review what happened. This is just one example of the kind of accidents that happen at construction sites; if you suffer serious injuries or lose a loved one in a construction accident, then you need to know what steps to take next. Speaking with someone who can help you seek compensation may be a good step to take next. Source: Capital Gazette, “ Construction worker killed at BWI” Rick Hutzell, Dec. 01, 2014

This accident could have turned out much worse if not for the firefighters on the scene. A news release from June 4 reports that a pair of masonries had to be rescued from a building on the National Institutes of Health Campus when a scaffolding platform the pair was using collapsed. The construction accident resulted in the workers falling and dangling from the platform, struggling nearly 80 feet in the air. A witness reported that the accident happened quickly, and there was a large amount of dust that made it hard to see what had happened. The incident, which took place around 11:00 a.m., had taken place due to two metal arms drawing cables to the platform snapping off; that left the platform dangling in a vertical position on the side of the building. Two men below the site of the accident had to jump out of the way to avoid falling debris. One recalled buckets, a cutting saw and bricks falling to the ground. It took only minutes before employees from the NIH, patients and visitors found themselves outside watching the scene play out. The witness reported that everyone was yelling for someone to call 911, and the two men hanging were allegedly trying to tether themselves tighter throughout the entire incident. Fortunately, the National Institutes of Health Fire Department arrives quickly and used a ladder truck and aerial bucket to get the men to safety. The entire rescue took 22 minutes. The men were later transported to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, and both were able to be released within a few hours of the incident. Like any other workplace accident, the Division of Occupational Health and Safety will be on the scene to investigate. Source: ABC 7, “ Firefighters rescue construction workers after scaffolding collapses” No author given, Jun. 04, 2014

It’s been a little over a month since we last wrote about construction accidents. In our November 1 post, we took note of evidence that immigrant workers tend to be affected at disproportionate rates by fatal workplace accidents. Though the evidence was from the New York City area, the issue it calls attention to broadly affects workers in the Baltimore area and across the nation. In today’s post, let’s look close to home again and discuss a recent fatal construction accident in Maryland. The accident occurred in Silver Spring on Thanksgiving morning. A 56-year-old worker died at a construction job site after a fall. A police officer with knowledge of the accident scene said that the accident seemed to be freakish one. The construction worker apparently slipped on an ice patch on the floor and fell. A hard hat was later found near his body, but the worker apparently hit his head in the fall. Sadly, the blow proved to be fatal. The man who died was a carpenter and the job involved working on some unfinished townhomes. Even though a police officer described the accident as freakish, the case is still a stark reminder of how dangerous construction work can be. That is why we continue to follow the issue of construction accidents so closely in this blog. As we pointed out in our September 20 post, there is often a serious lack of compliance with fall protection standards on residential construction sites. This is the case despite the fact that nearly two-thirds of fatal accidents on these sites are from falls. Source: WJLA, “ Silver Spring fatal construction accident on Thanksgiving,” Kris Van Cleave, Nov. 28, 2013

Issues relating to the eligibility for workers’ compensation of construction employees who are injured in on-the-job accidents are one of the themes of this blog. In our September 20 post, for example, we discussed the lag in compliance with fall protection standards among many construction employers. Scaffolding collapses are also a significant source of danger for construction workers. Such collapses can lead to fatal accidents, as can falls from heights and other conditions. Because construction is such dangerous work, all construction workers are at risk of fatal construction accidents. But does the risk tend to be higher for immigrant workers and U.S.-born Hispanics than for other workers? In this post, we will discuss that issue. Of course, the percentage of construction workers who are immigrants varies from place to place around the country. Immigration and employment patterns in the Baltimore area are part of a larger national data set. But is it true that an elevated death rate for construction workers may be closely connected to immigration status? This appears to be the case in at least one area of the country. Consider the data from New York City. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was the source of data for a recent analysis of fatal falls in the New York City area from 2003 to 2011. The analysis, conducted by a nonprofit group called the Center for Popular Democracy, found that nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of fatal construction falls in the New York City area involved either immigrants or U.S.-born Latino workers. The next question, of course, is why immigrant workers were so disproportionately affected by fatal workplace accidents. It may be that immigrant workers are more likely to work for smaller contractors who fail to maintain adequate workplace protections. Clearly, however, lack of attention to safety protections comes at great cost in loss of life. Source: Safety + Health, “” New York construction death rates highest among Latinos; immigrants: report,” Oct. 30, 2013

Roofers have dangerous jobs. By the very nature of their work, are particularly exposed to fall risks, as well as other types of construction accidents. Because they work in elevated settings, it is very important that they have all proper safety protections. But some employers fail to provide that protection. When this happens, in the Baltimore area or anywhere else, it puts workers at undue risk of falls and other injuries. As we discussed in our March 14 post, construction falls are one of the main causes of fatal work accidents. It is therefore always a concern when employers violate safety standards, particularly those on fall protection. This concern is compounded when an employer is found to have repeatedly violated safety standards. That is what happened, however, in a recent case. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited a roofing contractor for numerous safety violations. OSHA alleges that the contractor, KG Framing and Construction LLC, did not provide adequate fall protection for roofers at a work site in Missouri. There were also other safety violations. The proposed fines for the violations are more than $120,000. Of the 12 safety violations alleged by OSHA, three of them were repeat violations. Two of those repeat violations involved fall protection. One was for failing to provide fail protection training. The other repeat violation was for insufficient ladder extension. The company has already been cited six times for fall protection violations. OSHA has therefore placed the company in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program. In an inspection last October, an inspector from OSHA noted that roofers were working on a pitched roof without personal fall arrest systems such as harnesses. Other workers did have harnesses, but the harnesses were not attached properly. Source: “ Fall Protections Land Contractor in SVEP,” Occupational Safety & Health, 4-19-13 Please visit our page on construction accidents.