Former foster child charged with death of Illinois agency worker

The fatal stabbing last year, in Chicago’s Rogers Park, of an employee who worked in a residential program for young adults with mental illness, illuminates the job-related safety risks such individuals often face. Other employees of one of state’s largest providers of community-based mental health services have relayed that management did not adequately address safety complaints prior to the violent incident. A complaint to Fed-OSHA charged employees did not receive adequate training on de-escalation or crisis prevention and that they felt endangered when conducting solo home visits with clients. Chicago Tribune

Maine contractor faces $1.8M in fines in connection with roofer’s death

Fed-OSHA has fined a Maine contractor $1.8 million for workplace safety violations in connection with the fall-related death of a roofer last year. The agency found the contractor knowingly failed to ensure use of fall protection by his employees at two worksites. According to Fed-OSHA, the contractor has been fined for seven fall protection violations since 2006. WMTW

South Carolina sanitation worker fatally struck by truck

A 49-year-old man died in hospital Thursday morning after becoming pinned under a garbage truck in Honea Path, South Carolina. The sanitation worker reportedly was walking along the driver’s side of the truck when he apparently fell or tripped, and was hit by the truck as it was backing down the street emptying trash receptacles. South Carolina OSHA is investigating. WYFF (Greenville, S.C.) [with video]

North Carolina: Driverless 18-wheeler fatally strikes man

A 57-year-old man died last week when an 18-wheeler truck with no driver ran over him near a Charlotte, North Carolina home construction site. The accident occurred after he had just finished loading a skid steer onto a trailer, when the attached tractor began rolling backwards down an incline and struck him. Charlotte Observer

Pet supplies retailer contesting $14K Fed-OSHA fine in forklift driver’s death

An online pet supplies retailer is contesting Fed-OSHA penalties of more than $14,000 handed down following the December death of a 49-year-old forklift driver at the company’s Ocala, Florida facility. A violation classified as serious alleges the company exposed workers to struck-by or crushing hazards. The worker reportedly was found pinned between the forklift and a shelf beam with his feet suspended off the forklift. Miami Herald

First lawsuit filed in Dallas crane collapse

The first lawsuit filed as a result of the collapse last Sunday of a crane at a Dallas apartment complex collapse has been filed. One woman was killed in the incident and five others were injured. The lawsuit was filed by 27-year-old woman who allegedly escaped her building barefoot. WFAA (Dallas) [with video]

Health effects of too much noise go beyond hearing

While it’s well known that exposure to loud noise can damage hearing, scientists increasingly are finding that too much noise can damage health in other ways. Researchers with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have found that as many as 14 percent of cases of hypertension and 9 percent of cases of high cholesterol were potentially a result of noise exposure, possibly because of the stress of a loud working environment. Washington Post

Post Office has not experienced decline in opioid prescriptions

Despite making up more than one-fifth of the federal workforce, Postal Service employees account for over 50 percent of reported workplace injuries and illnesses and 56 percent of fatalities, according to Fed-OSHA statistics. A new report by the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General finds that, in contrast to nationwide trends, the number of postal workers who receive opioid prescriptions under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act program has not experienced a reduction in the number of opioids prescribed to patients and the length of time a physician can prescribe such medication to a patient without extenuating circumstances. Federal Times