The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a division of the US Department of Labor, has issued a citation to an Illinois contractor over findings it made willful and serious safety violations that exposed workers to significant fall risks. According to a news release by the agency, the contractor, KW Framing in Justice, Illinois, faces proposed penalties […]
Personal Injury Law
Will the EPA Finally Ban Asbestos?
An illuminating new investigation by ProPublica examines the devastating effects of asbestos in US workplaces. As the report notes, the carcinogenic qualities of asbestos have been well known for decades, but the US has never banned it, even as “dozens of other countries” did. As a result, countless workers have been put at risk of […]
Brooklyn Construction Worker Killed by Falling Excavator Arm
A tragic construction accident in Brooklyn took the life of a 46-year-old worker last week. According to a report by the New York Post, the worker “was standing” at the worksite, at 1 Java Street in Greenpoint, when a 2,000-pound excavator arm fell on top of him. Police told reporters that the worker was found […]
New York DOB Audit Finds Worksite Inspection Flaws
A recent audit of construction worksite safety oversight by the New York City Department of Buildings revealed flaws in the regulator’s inspection practices. As the DOB stated in a report on the audit, “We found OB’s oversight of building construction sites, including construction site inspections and safety, and enforcement activity need to be improved.” The […]
Report: Delivery Workers Suffering, Dying Under Excessive Heat
Delivery workers across the country are sounding alarm bells about the deadly risks they face in extreme heat. According to a recent report by the New York Times, hundreds of drivers for UPS, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service “have been sickened and in many cases hospitalized from heat exposure” since 2015, a figure […]
Casa Promesa: Nursing Home Cited for Physical Abuse
Casa Promesa received 36 citations for violations of public health code between 2018 and 2022, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on September 2, 2022. The Bronx nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of seven inspections by state surveyors. The violations they describe include the following: 1. The nursing home did […]
Reports: Queens Hit-and-Run Places Spotlight on Inequitable Streets
A five-year-old boy lost his life after the driver of a Dodge pickup trust struck him in a hit-and-run in Queens last week. According to a report by ABC News, authorities are searching for the driver of pickup truck who was turning at the intersection of 100th Street and McIntosh Street, where the boy, his […]
Federal Court Denies Covid-19 Workplace Safety Rule Petition
A federal court of appeals has denied an emergency petition by healthcare labor unions to force the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to create a permanent workplace safety rules regarding Covid-19. As Reuters reported last week, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit decided in a three-judge panel that it lacked the power […]
Research Suggests Broader Cell Phone Bans Prevent More Crashes
New research released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety suggests that “broader” bans on cell phone usage while driving may prevent car crashes more effectively than narrower bans on texting while driving. As a news release by the nonprofit organization explains, its researchers looked at crash rates in three US states with those broader […]
Research Suggests Automatic Braking Tech Less Reliable at Night
Tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that automatic emergency braking systems, designed to prevent cars from hitting pedestrians, perform less effectively in the dark. According to a news release by the organization, more than half of the 23 midsize cars it tested earned “a basic score or no credit” in nighttime […]
Onondaga Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing: Bedsore Citations
Onondaga Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing received 67 citations for violations of public health code between 2018 and 2022, according to New York State Department of Health records accessed on August 26, 2022. The Minoa nursing home’s citations resulted from a total of 14 inspections by state surveyors. The violations they describe include the following: 1. […]
Report: Is OSHA Doing Enough to Protect Workers from Extreme Heat?
A new report by Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, argues that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is failing to protect workers from the dangers of unsafe heat. Arguing that the escalating effects of climate change pose an increasingly perilous situation for workers, the report calls for “immediate action.”
Large Vehicles Are Especially Dangerous to Children, Study Finds
A new study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Springfield found that large vehicles like SUVs are dramatically more dangerous than passenger cars to young pedestrians. Using crash and hospital records to examine “the relationship between striking vehicle type and medical outcomes of pedestrian and pedalcyclist cases,” the study ultimately found evidence that […]
New York Lawmakers Propose New Drunk Driving Penalties
Newly proposed legislation in both New York’s Assembly and Legislature would require people convicted of drunk driving incidents that resulted in the death of a custodial parent to make child support payments until the victim’s child (or their children) reach 18 years old. According to a recent report by Streetsblog, New York State Senator Andrew […]
Reports: NHTSA Investigating Deadly Tesla Crash in Florida
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the US Department of Transportation, is probing a fatal car crash involving a 2015 Tesla near Gainesville, Florida. According to a report by the New York Post, the crash involved a Tesla that collided with the rear of a semi-trailer truck at an Interstate 75 rest […]
Will New York Governor Hochul Sign Construction Safety Law?
New York construction sites are about to get much safer—if Governor Kathy Hochul signs a bill passed by the state legislature last month. Known as “Carlos’ Law,” Senate Bill S621Bwould “substantially” raise the fines that can be levied on companies convicted of crimes that led to workplace deaths or injuries. According to a recent report […]
Report: Brooklyn Residents Call For Safer McGuinness Boulevard Redesign
The New York City Department of Transportation’s preliminary redesign plan for McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint, has received criticism from local residents and elected officials. The large, busy Brooklyn road has seen 1,548 reported car crashes in the last nine years, resulting in injuries to 40 cyclists, 59 pedestrians, and 236 drivers, according to a recent […]
Analysis: What Can the US Learn About Traffic Safety from Canada?
A recent analysis by Bloomberg examined why traffic fatalities have declined in Canada as they’ve risen dramatically in the United States. The differences between the two nations, which are “comparably young and similarly configured,” are dramatic: in 2020, 118 Americans for every million died in car crashes, while only 46 for every million died in […]
NYC Commits to Subway Accessibility Upgrades by 2055
Last month New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced an agreement to improve accessibility in 95% of subway stations in New York City that currently lack elevators or ramps. According to a press release by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agreement is part of a class-action settlement between the MTA and accessibility advocates. While it is […]
Uber Safety Report Tracks Rising Car Crash Deaths
Rideshare platform Uber released its second US Safety Report last week, covering the years 2019 and 2020. According to the report, there were 3,824 sexual assaults reported on the platform in those years, including 141 rapes. These figures reflected a decline in sexual assaults since its previous annual report, though it reportedly saw an increase […]
Survey: Construction Zone Car Crashes on the Rise
A new survey by HCSS Software Solutions and Associated General Contractors found that vehicle crashes continue to pose a threat to highway construction workers, as work zones likewise pose a threat to vehicle drivers and passengers. The survey found specifically that a whopping 64% of highway contractors “report that motor vehicles had crashed into their […]
Data: Vehicle-into-Building Crashes May Injure 16,000 Annually
As many as 100 vehicles crash into buildings every day in America, according to an audit by risk management company CHC Global of data gathered by the Storefront Safety Council. That number reflects an upward revision of the Council’s previous estimate that vehicles crash into buildings 60 times per day; it also reflects a total […]
NYC Expands School Zone Speed Camera Operation
School zone speed cameras will now operate 24 hours/day, seven days/week in New York City, thanks to new legislation signed last week by New York Governor Kathy Hochul. The approximately 2,000 speed cameras in the city’s 750 school zones were previously only able to operate from 6am to 10pm on school days. As a report […]
NHTSA Updates Child Safety Test Requirements for T-Bone Crashes
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the Department of Transportation, issued a final rule last week that “updates testing requirements for child safety seats to improve the protection of children during side-impact crashes,” according to a press release. The rule is designed to keep young children from sustaining serious injuries in motor […]
Research Uncovers Racial Disparities in Car Crash Deaths
A new study by researchers at Boston University and Harvard University, reported on by Streetsblog, found that Black and Hispanic Americans experience “systematically” higher fatality rates per 100 million miles traveled on US roads. Drawing on data provided by the 2017 National Household Travel Survey and the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System, the study looked at miles traveled […]
