Maine Injury Lawyer Blog
Employers have an obligation to keep employee’s safe on the job. Work accidents in Bangor and elsewhere in Maine are more likely when a company fails to live up to safety requirements.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently cited several Maine businesses for fail noncompliance.Employers are required to make sure that all employees are safe on the job. They’re required to make sure that each and every employee is properly trained and that they’re provided with all of the proper safety equipment that’s needed to complete the job. When employees are not offered adequate safety measures, they are at greater risk for a serious fatal work accident. Safe employees equate to happy employees. If you’re on the job and you feel that your safety is in jeopardy, you’re urged to voice your concerns to a supervisor, to a boss or to the head of the company. Each and every one of these concerns should be taken seriously and should be appropriately corrected.
Recently in Augusta, Cives Steel Company was issued a number of citations by OSHA officials for violating workplace safety standards. With these citations, the company is facing more than $130,000 in proposed fines. All of the citations were the result of an inspection that started back in January.
“For the safety of its workers, this employer must take effective and expeditious action to eliminate these conditions and prevent their recurrence,” said Maine’s area director for OSHA, William Coffin.
These employees were not offered the right protective equipment to keep them safe on the job. The company was also cited for misusing cords and wiring, which served as serious shock hazards to employees.
Interstate Brands in Biddeford, Maine was issued more than $100,000 in citations for failing to install the proper guardrails on machinery to help to keep employees from falling into and through hoppers. The company was also issued a number of other safety violations. Some of those were repeat violations, meaning they were cited for problems and dangers that OSHA officials had already addressed once before within the last five years.
“Our inspection identified mechanical, electrical, fall and exit hazards, including some similar to those cited at other Interstate Brands facilities,” said Coffin.
In another New England case, officials with Tribe Mediterranean Foods in Massachusetts were also cited for failing to provide employees with the proper safety training needed to help to prevent ‘needless and avoidable loss of life.’sAn inspection was opened on the company back in December of 2011 after an employee was killed as he attempted to clean and sanitize a machine at the hummus factory. He was caught in the machine, pulled into it and then crushed to death between two rotating augers.
“The employer knew it needed to train these workers so they could protect themselves against just this type of hazard but failed to do so. The result was a needless and Aavoidable loss of life,” saidsDr. David Michaels, with OSHA.
If you or a loved one has been injured contact Bangor injury lawyers at Peter Thompson & Associates to schedule a confidential appointment. Call 1-800-804-2004.
More Blog Entries:
Work Accidents in Portland and Elsewhere Prevented with Better Ergonomics, Maine Injury Lawyer Blog, June 5, 2012
What Type of Insurance Benefits are You Entitled to in Your Personal Injury Case? Casale v. Cranston Answers, Maine Injury Lawyer Blog, April 25, 2012