Slidell Workers' Compensation Law Blog

Construction workers in Louisiana encounter many hazards on any given day, but 2017 proved to be slightly less deadly for them than 2016. According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that tallied construction worker fatalities, deadly incidents across the country dropped 2 percent in 2017 among private-sector workers. A total of 971 people lost their lives on the job in the construction industry in 2017.

Despite the apparent progress, the numbers remained higher than in 2014 and 2015. Fatal accident rates varied within the construction industry with roofers and structural iron and steel workers experiencing higher than average rates. Among roofers, 45.2 per 100,000 full-time workers died from workplace accidents, and steel workers experienced 33.4 deaths per 100,000 workers. People working in the category of building construction reported an 8 percent increase in fatalities for 2017, but deaths among civil engineers fell by 4 percent.

Both employers and staffing agencies in Louisiana and throughout the country are responsible for ensuring that temporary workers are kept safe. They could both be held liable if a worker is not properly trained or if other safety guidelines are ignored. According to OSHA, temporary employees tend to be asked to do hazardous work and may be more likely to be retaliated against by an employer. In some cases, they are asked to do jobs without adequate descriptions of their responsibilities.

Generally speaking, both sides are responsible for making sure that they correct any hazards they have control over. This is because both sides are considered to be in control of the person doing the temporary work. Typically, ignorance is not an excuse as it relates to putting employees into harm's way. Both temporary agencies and the companies that employee temporary workers are encouraged to communicate with each other on a regular basis.

Certain accidents that occur while engaged in work-related activities can be serious. Catastrophic injury or death can be the result in the worst-case scenarios. Fortunately, however, the vast majority of claims filed under Louisiana workers' compensation laws involve less severe accidents or no accident at all. Isolated incidents or recurring, repetitive movement can lead to workers' injuries as well.

The workers' compensation system was established to remove fault as an issue in resolving injury claims by workers against their employers. Liability is not an issue as long as the injury is work-related and the employer and employee are covered under the relevant state workers' comp statutes. The injured worker could potentially recover for medical expenses and treatment, lost wages and rehabilitation services where appropriate. Most claims result from everyday activities performed routinely on the job.

An audit report from the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General states that OSHA may be underreporting severe and fatal workplace injuries by 50 percent or more. Employees in Louisiana may know that OSHA made changes to its injury and illness recordkeeping rule, which went into effect back in January 2015. Despite these changes, OSHA is inconsistent in issuing citations against employers who report an injury late, the OIG continues.

The report, which was released on Sept. 13, also calls attention to a lack of guidance and training among OSHA staff members when it comes to detecting and identifying underreporting. It points out that OSHA has limited assurance that employers have corrected hazards and that this could be due to OSHA not having enough information to aid in enforcement and compliance assistance.