You Have the Right to Avoid Workplace Injuries
January 13, 2012 | Author Don Jacobs, Trial Attorney
Whether you work in an office or on a construction site, your employer must provide a safe environment. Obviously working on a construction site brings with it a higher risk for physical harm.
Lucky for you, federal law has your back. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), your company must provide a safe workplace for its employees. You don’t have to wait for something bad to happen, though. If you see conditions that warrant reasonable concern for you and your fellow workers’ safety, you can file a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The agency will then conduct an investigation and fine the company if there are any legitimate safety violations.
Most people think about these situations in terms of workers’ compensation cases that involve their direct employer. But if you work on a construction site where some work is subcontracted out, that subcontractor must also obey the laws associated with workplace safety.
What is “Protected Concerted Activity”?
Whether you are union or a nonunion worker, you can refuse to take part in work if you fear it is unsafe. When two or more employees do this it is referred to in legal terms as protect concerted activity. A single employee can take action as well if they are acting on authority of other employees.
Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), you are given the right to join with other employees (even if it’s not in a formal union setting) to ensure safe working conditions.
Most employees are protect under the NLRA, but there are some exceptions:
- If you are employed by federal, state, or local government
- If you work as an agricultural laborer
- If you work in the domestic service of any person or family in a home
- If you are employed by a parent or spouse
- If you are employed as an independent contractor
- If you work for a company subject to the Railway Labor Act (railroads, airlines)
- If you work for a person who is not an employer as defined in the NLRA
While the NLRA sets out to protect workers’ safety, in reality it also acts as a bit of protection for employers from potential lawsuits. If dangers are addressed beforehand and accidents are prevented in the first place, it’s a positive for all involved.
Posted in Personal Injury Law
Grieving Mother Takes Up Anti-Distracted Driving Cause
December 30, 2011 | Author Don Jacobs, Trial Attorney
Well-intentioned legislation aiming to lower car accidents related to distracted driving is necessary. However, it’s just as necessary for individuals and groups of private citizens to take up the cause, raise awareness, and hopefully get through to people that cell phones and driving are a deadly mix.
It’s unfortunate that many of those people who take the cause up with passion have been immediately touched by the tragedy associated with distracted driving. And tragedy doesn’t get any more heart-wrenching than the story of two-year-old Anna Brulotte of Bellingham, Washington.
On September 30, 2010, Anna and siblings Alice, 9, and Sam, 7, were with their mother Melissa as they crossed the street in a school zone. That’s when a distracted teen driver caused a two-car accident that killed Anna instantly.
While Melissa is bit reluctant about taking up the cause, one can assume there is a bit of therapy in sharing your story and trying to make a difference.
Not long after the accident, Melissa joined a group at the state capitol in Olympia to testify on behalf of enhancing penalties against drivers who injure “vulnerable users” of roads, such as bicyclists and pedestrians.
She also started the Anna Brulotte Memorial Foundation which raises money for grants for programs that promote safer school zones and for local law enforcement agencies to target dangerous drivers.
“It’s hard to do it, because it’s so emotional. But the drum has to be beat,” said Melissa.
As for the 17-year-old who was responsible for the accident, she was sentenced to 30 days in a juvenile facility. She also has to serve a year under community supervision and must do 150 hours of community service, including public presentations about her experience.
That time will fly by in comparison to having to live with the emotion and guilt for the rest of her life.
FMCSA Looks to Shorten Truckers’ Work Hours to Improve Road Safety
December 21, 2011 | Author Don Jacobs, Trial Attorney
According to a study recently released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 32,885 people died in U.S. motor vehicle crashes last year. The good news is that number is down nearly three percent from the previous year. Unfortunately, those deaths involving commercial trucks have actually increased 8.7 percent.
There are various reasons for this, mostly due to the truck driver’s behavior, such as cell phone use, the pressures associated with meeting deadlines, and the long hours they put in each day on the road.
In an effort to improve current road safety standards, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed a reduction in the number of hours that truck drivers are allowed to drive each day. Currently, trucking companies can require their drivers to be on the road for up to 11 hours in a 21 hour period. Over an eight day period, truck drivers can drive up to 88 hours, which is more than many people’s work time over a two week span!
According to FMCSA-sponsored studies, nearly 48 percent of drivers admitted they have fallen asleep while driving in the previous year. Think about that for a second: nearly every other truck driver admits to being unconscious at some point while driving! Thirteen percent of those surveyed admitted that it happened more than once (“sometimes” or even “often”). About 45 percent of drivers said they sometimes or often had trouble staying awake while driving and 65 percent reported they at least occasionally felt drowsy while driving.
When you consider the fact that these numbers come directly from the drivers’ mouths, it’s clear that driver fatigue continues to be a major safety problem that needs to be addressed.
Posted in Trucking Accidents
NTSB Urges Nationwide Ban on Cellphone Use While Driving
December 15, 2011 | Author Don Jacobs, Trial Attorney
The fight over the dangers of using smart phones while behind the wheel has reached a fever pitch, as it starts to garner nationwide press coverage. While there may be some civil libertarians voicing their concerns about how far reaching potential legislation may be, it’s the anti-distracted driving side that is making the most noise, especially now that the National Transportation Safety Board has put its full weight behind the movement.
While the NTSB has no legislative power, it does hold the power of persuasion, making it difficult for legislators to ignore. On the heels of recent senseless and tragic deadly distracted driving car crashes, federal safety investigators are urging action now.
“States aren’t ready to support a total ban yet, but this may start the discussion,” said Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association.
However, according to the Associated Press, a group that represents state highway safety offices referred to as a the recommendation “game-changer.”
One of the more striking examples of distracted driving happened last year, when a 19-year-old truck driver was found to have texted 11 times in 11 minutes before causing a deadly highway pileup near Gray Summit, Missouri. Two people died and 38 were injured.
Recent high-profile cases show that these problems extend to commercial drivers as well. For instance, an investigation is underway regarding a train crash that happened when the engineer was texting. The accident killed 25 people in Chatsworth, California.
Here is a brief breakdown of the current state laws regarding distracted driving:
- There are 35 states, plus the District of Columbia, that ban texting while driving.
- Nine states and Washington D.C. bar hand-held cellphone use.
- Thirty states ban all cellphone use for “beginning drivers.”
- No states ban the use of hands-free devices for all drivers.
Posted in Dristracted Driving
Study Examines Cause for Rise in Commercial Truck Accidents
December 7, 2011 | Author Don Jacobs, Trial Attorney
A study was recently implemented to get at the root cause of commercial truck accidents. What they found was alarming.
Accidents involving trucks and other commercial vehicles are on the rise in the U.S., according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Last year, 500,000 commercial trucks were involved in an accident. As a result of those accidents, there were 100,000 serious injuries and more than 5,000 fatalities, which was up from 3,200 fatalities from the previous year.
Given the fact that there is expected to be a 20 percent increase in commercial trucks on the nation’s roadways in 2012, something needs to be done.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a division of the Department of Transportation, has partnered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to analyze the causes of truck accidents. What they found was that a major cause in truck accidents is driver behavior.
The FMCSA took a sample of 963 truck accidents from the 120,000 that occurred between April 2001 and December 2003. There were 243 fatalities and 1,654 injuries.
The study found there were three “critical events,” or something that put the commercial truck on an unavoidable path to the accident:
- The truck ran out of its lane (off the road or into another lane)
- The driver lost control of the truck
- The truck collided with the rear of another vehicle in its lane
The study defined “critical reasons” as what caused the critical events. They broke them down into three categories: the driver, vehicle, or environment.
Of the 963 accidents, 55 percent were caused by the truck as opposed to other vehicles or pedestrians. With those found to be the truck’s fault, 87 percent were due to driver behavior. The biggest reason for truck accidents was the drivers’ decisions, at 38 percent. Twenty-eight percent of accidents in the study were the result of distracted driving, which includes cell phone use or any other distraction, be it in or outside the vehicle.
The FMCSA presented its findings to Congress, including critical issues the FMSCA must focus on to reduce future commercial truck accidents.
Posted in Trucking Accidents
