On behalf of Law Office of Leslie S. Shaw, A.P.C. posted in construction workers' accidents on Friday, May 18, 2012
Construction workers' accidents are often among the most perilous types of accidents that can happen in California. Construction work can be dangerous, particularly when safety precautions are not properly followed. Most, if not all, of these types of accidents could have been avoided with the correct procedures in place. A construction site accident runs the risk of leading to severe injuries and sometimes even fatalities.
The potentially-dangerous nature of the work by no means diminishes the anguish that surviving family members likely feel in the wake of such fatal construction work accidents. One California widow likely felt complete devastation when she received the phone call that her husband fell 20 feet from a highway overpass while toiling on a project to widen a highway in Chico.
On behalf of Law Office of Leslie S. Shaw, A.P.C. posted in construction workers' accidents on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
In San Diego, and elsewhere across the country, workers are protected in the event that they are injured due to a workplace accident or workplace conditions. As such, a New Jersey worker will likely be covered after a horrific job site accident that occurred when the worker was toiling to replace the roof of a metal tubing factory.
While doing so, the worker fell a reported 40 feet through the roof of the factory. The fall alone would be enough to cause serious damage, but to compound the severity of this workplace accident, the construction worker landed -- fully submerged -- in a vat of nitric acid.
On behalf of Law Office of Leslie S. Shaw, A.P.C. posted in Workers Comp on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Through various postings, this blog has detailed workplace accidents occurring throughout San Diego, California, and across the country more broadly. Often, in the wake of such accidents, workers' compensation is the end result, but what about the process? How does an injured worker go about securing benefits? How does an injured worker seek care?
There is a simple solution to all of these questions. Detailed below are a few key points to bear in mind should an employee ever encounter a workplace injury resulting from a workplace accident in San Diego or elsewhere across the country.
On behalf of Law Office of Leslie S. Shaw, A.P.C. posted in Workers Comp on Friday, April 20, 2012
Workers' compensation can be awarded as the result of several factors -- workplace injury, industrial accident and construction accidents are a few common examples. However, these terms, like workplace accident, are very broad and there doesn't appear to be a precise definition of what exactly constitutes them.
One woman pushed the boundaries of this definition and her efforts paid off. The woman has been award workers' compensation for her workplace injury. What is this curious workplace injury? Sex. The woman was on a business trip when she had a sexual encounter and was injured.
On behalf of Law Office of Leslie S. Shaw, A.P.C. posted in Industrial Workers' Accident on Thursday, April 12, 2012
Industrial jobs often deal with chemicals and volatile substances that when not properly handled can result in industrial accidents. One such industrial accident happened yesterday when a prototype battery exploded in General Motors car factory. The explosion was so powerful it blew out windows on a building of the campus.
A blaze did erupt but was quickly extinguished. Reportedly, emergency responders were quickly on the scene. One responder is quoted as saying, "Our guys did a great job, they were there within five minutes, and did a fantastic job knocking the fire down and getting everybody out."
On behalf of Law Office of Leslie S. Shaw, A.P.C. posted in workplace injuries on Friday, April 6, 2012
One mother was desperately working hard to get her and her three daughters off of welfare. The California mother took a position at a Southern California Walmart and thought that things were looking up for her. However, a workplace injury that left her debilitated changed everything.
The woman was experiencing severe pain in her arm but was virtually forced by her employer to continuing working through the pain, serving to only further aggravate the injury. When she would complain, her managers would tell her that there were plenty of other people who would take her job.
On behalf of Law Office of Leslie S. Shaw, A.P.C. posted in Industrial Workers' Accident on Friday, March 30, 2012
A California industrial worker was recently killed in a metal forging and tool-manufacturing plant in Berkeley, California, when he was struck in the back of the head by a section of a metal grinding wheel. Reportedly, paramedics were called to the scene of the industrial accident, but sadly, the victim did not survive.
According to a California Occupational Safety and Health Administration representative, "Our investigation will look at the site and the equipment the individual was working with and do an inspection of it. We'll interview other employees in regards to training and maintenance issues, we'll talk to the employer about any safety measure that they should have in place. We also want to look at the equipment itself."
On behalf of Law Office of Leslie S. Shaw, A.P.C. posted in Workers Comp on Thursday, March 22, 2012
In a previous post, we outlined several reasons that advocacy groups are pushing for the passage of Assembly Bill 889, which would be delivered as a response to the plight of domestic workers that have no workers' compensation, no short-term or long-term disability insurance, no retirement plan, no paid sick leave, the list goes on. The passage of this bill would affect people working in private homes by forcing their employers to follow stricter guidelines or face penalties.
Advocacy groups are asking for overtime pay at time-and-a-half, especially for live-in workers. They want workers to have one day off per week, regular breaks and paid vacation. A family with full-time help will have to pay unemployment and workers' comp taxes, too.
On behalf of Law Office of Leslie S. Shaw, A.P.C. posted in Workers Comp on Thursday, March 15, 2012
Recently, one of the largest workers' compensation settlements in the history of California was reached by an insurance company on behalf of a former California painter that suffered a traumatic brain injury. Just how large is one of the largest ever? $8.9 million structured to be paid out monthly over the remainder of the victim's life.
The now 26-year-old victim fell 20 feet from a scaffold while he was working as a painter. Reportedly, the man suffered severe brain damage leading to depression, anxiety, psychosis, cognitive deficits, self-mutilation and an additional diagnosis of multiple personality disorder. The accident happened at the time that the man was 18 years old.
On behalf of Law Office of Leslie S. Shaw, A.P.C. posted in workplace injuries on Wednesday, March 7, 2012
When a company in San Diego, California, or across the country more broadly, is cited by OSHA for violating workplace safety regulations and that same company fails to make the proper adjustments to reconcile the infraction, consequences will occur. Not only could injuries be sustained, but that company could incur heavy fines as well as leave themselves susceptible to a lawsuit.
One ship-building company has been cited by OSHA for nine federal violations, one of which was deemed "willful." A willful violation means that the company knowingly put employees at risk because they were aware of an issue that was not rectified. As a result of this willful violation, one worker recently died from injuries he sustained from his workplace injury.
