OSHA opines on employee who was shot

• OSHA found that an employee’s gunshot injury sustained when a motorist collided with three other cars, shot the employee-driver, and stole the company’s truck was work-related and recordable.
• A law firm asked OSHA whether a shooting injury sustained by its client’s driver was work-related, and specifically if “a continuous string of unforeseeable third-party criminal acts that injured, killed, and/or affected the general public over the course of several hours.”
• OSHA responded that the employee’s injury was work-related and therefore recordable, despite an absence of evidence that the driver provoked the motorist in any way.
• The agency focused on the fact that the employee was present on the highway “as a condition of their employment” and was traveling “in the interest of the employer.”
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COVID on the rise as inspections lag

• OSHA inspections of healthcare facilities dropped by about 84% so far this year as COVID-19 hospitalizations tripled over the summer and infections quadrupled among nursing-home workers.
• From January through August 2023, OSHA inspected 159 nursing homes and 99 hospitals, compared to 915 nursing homes and 664 hospital visits over the same period last year.
• The decrease in inspections is compounded by the continued absence of a permanent Covid safety rule for health-care workers that OSHA can enforce.
• That rule could have mandated employers to have infection prevention programs for workers.
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Investigation after worker’s death at LG Energy

• The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched an investigation into a fatal injury at the LG Energy Solution off 146th Avenue near I-196.
• The Holland Department of Public Safety said the victim was a 41-year-old Louisiana man who was part of a construction crew in Holland, Michigan.
• For testing, a pipe had been pressurized, Holland DPS said. As pressure was being released, a plate on the pipe system broke free and hit the man.
• The pipe damaged his hard hat and caused a severe head injury and the man was then taken to the hospital where he died.
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NSL launches program to prevent workplace overdoses

• Deaths on the job from drug overdoses have increased 536% since 2011.
• The National Safety Council is launching a new workplace safety program, Respond Ready Workplace, designed to increase awareness of the need for naloxone in workplaces and ensure people are trained to use it.
• Most employers do not understand the tragic data on the increasing fatalities in the workplace. NSC will provide educational materials to raise awareness about the opioid crisis and the importance of naloxone in mitigating its impact.
• Employee Training: NSC will provide comprehensive training resources to educate employees on the proper administration of naloxone, empowering all workers to respond swiftly and effectively in emergency situations.
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