Workman’s Compensation

An Oklahoma City oil rig worker was killed after he was pinned under a piece of equipment. According to a KOCO news report, officers say a hydraulic line broke at an oil rig site in the 3400 block of Southeast 59th. Several workers were at the site,but only one worker was under the pipe when it collapsed. Officers say the force was so strong that the worker was pinned underneath it. He died at the scene despite other workers’ efforts to resuscitate him. The Department of Health and Safety will conduct an investigation in order to determine if proper procedures were followed.

Injuries on oil rigs are extremely common. Oil rig workers take on long and rigorous shifts. Oil rig accidents may be caused by failing equipment, working mandatory overtime without rest, and being expected to follow unsafe procedures. Employers are expected to provide oil rig workers with a safe working environment. Workers should also be properly trained for the jobs they are required to perform. In addition, workers should be provided with safety equipment that is necessary to perform the job.

Oil rig workers are often able to receive compensation if their injuries are caused by an employer’s failure to follow proper procedures or due to someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an Oklahoma City oil rig accident, please contact the experienced workers’ compensation attorneys in Oklahoma City at Maples Law Firm. We will review the circumstances of your accident and fight to ensure that you receive fair compensation for all your injuries, damages, and losses. Please contact us at (888) 226-6159 for a free consultation and comprehensive case evaluation.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Oklahoma-based Zaloudek Grain Company for four serious safety violations following an injury accident involving two 17-year-olds. According to an OSHA news alert, the teenagers had to have their legs amputated after they became caught in an inadequately guarded conveyor auger. The young workers were cleaning out a grain flat storage structure in late August when the accident occurred.

OSHA investigators concluded that the company failed to attach the machine guard, ensure that the storage structure’s exit was unobstructed, provide exit signs from the structure, and give specific training for workers who are assigned to enter these grain structures. The company faces about $21,500 in OSHA fines.

Under both state and federal law, all employers are required to provide safe working conditions for their employees. In addition to providing job and safety training for workers, Oklahoma employers are also required to provide their workers with safety equipment such as harnesses (to prevent falls), goggles, vests, and hard hats. Failure to follow these safety standards could result in catastrophic personal injuries such as limb amputations, brain injuries, spinal cord damage, loss of eyesight, or hearing. These are just a few examples of how workers’ lives can be turned upside down as the result of the employer’s negligence.

Injured workers can seek workers’ compensation benefits from their employer to help cover medical expenses, loss of earnings, and other damages. Additional compensation may be available if the worker has suffered catastrophic injuries or lifelong disabilities. If you or a loved one has been injured on the job in Oklahoma, the experienced Oklahoma City workers’ compensation attorneys at The Maples Law Firm can help you better understand your legal rights and options. Please contact us at 1(888) 226-6159 for a free and comprehensive consultation.

Four employees sustained injuries in an explosion at an Edmond manufacturing business, which officials say was caused by a dust cloud and a kerosene heater. According to a news report in The Edmond Sun, the workers were trying to clear an obstruction in one of the machines at the plant when it became clogged. At the time, a pipe became disconnected and a polymer, which is a type of powdery substance, was released creating a dust cloud. The dust reached an industrial space heater, which operates on kerosene and had an open flame. This sparked the explosion. Four workers suffered burn injuries. Two of the employees suffered severe burns. The facility has been shut down pending an official investigation.

Burn injuries, in addition to being extremely painful, can also be extremely expensive to treat. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a total of 4,547 people were killed in work-related accidents in the United States. Of those, 187 fatalities were caused by fires and explosions.

It is the duty of employers to provide a safe environment for their workers. After a workplace accident, there are several lingering questions. Were the workers properly trained for the job? Were there any safety violations that caused the accident? Did the workers involved receive safety training? Were the workers adequately supervised? Was there some type of a product defect or equipment malfunction that caused the accident? Injured workers can claim workers’ compensation benefits from their employers to help pay for medical expenses and treatment costs. In addition, depending on the circumstances of the incident, third-party compensation may also be available.

The experienced Oklahoma workers’ compensation lawyers at The Maples Law Firm have a long and successful track record of helping injured workers and their families. Please contact us at 1(888) 226-6159 for a free and comprehensive consultation.

Two 17-year-old boys working at Zaloudek Grain Company in Kremlin, OK, sustained serious leg injuries and remain in critical condition after an accident involving a grain auger. The teenagers are high school seniors from different schools, both on the honor roll and active in sports; one attends Kremlin-Hillsdale High School and the other goes to Chisholm High School.

Emergency responders received a frantic 911 call the morning of August 4 from a representative at Zaloudek, according to the report, stating that there was a “kid in an auger.” A grain auger is an industrial metal platform system used to move grain from the ground to higher levels in the factory or to trucks. Emergency personnel from the Kremlin Fire Department were the first to arrive and were supported by neighboring departments to rescue the teenagers. Among the officials who provided service at the scene were members of the Hillsdale-Carrier, Enid, Breckinridge, Hunter, and Pond Creek fire departments, Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, Life EMS, Garfield County Emergency Management office, and EagleMed.

Rescue professionals were forced to cut through the auger before they could free the victims from the steel apparatus, said the Kremlin Fire Chief. The boys were pried free more than one hour after the 911 call and taken by helicopter to OU Medical Center, where they both received surgery for severe leg injuries.

Online Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OHSA) records show no previous violations for Zaloudek Grain Co. A spokesperson for OSHA said the administration has started investigating the accident, according to reporting on NewsOK, but cannot disclose details until the examination is finished. The OSHA representative said the agency has up to six months to complete its investigation.

If you or a family member has been injured in a work accident due to negligence, call 1-888-226-6159 to contact the Oklahoma City workers’ compensation attorneys at The Maples Law Firm for assistance and a free consultation.

New legislation is being sought to improve the way workers’ compensation lawsuits are treated in Oklahoma, according to an article on NewsOK.com. The governor of Oklahoma addressed the House and the Senate recently regarding her proposal to change the way personal injury lawsuits are handled in order to help injured workers in a more timely manner.

The governor stated that with the way things are now, Oklahoma workers’ compensation costs are too high and claims are not processed quickly enough. Currently, the state has roughly 170,000 open workers’ compensation claims. The governor wants to see a hard cap set for non-economic damages at $250,000 which would include pain and suffering. At this time, there is no cap; however, a bill was passed two years ago that would place a $400,000 cap on all negligence cases if legislators passed an indemnity fund, which would cover jury awards over that amount. No fund has been created thus far.

Workers’ compensation in Oklahoma is available to those who have been injured while on the job, though it oftentimes does not cover the full extent of costs suffered by an injured worker. Medical bills can skyrocket quickly, leaving the injured worker and their family in distress. However, an experienced Oklahoma City workers’ compensation attorney can help.

Ray Maples, dedicated personal injury lawyer and founder of The Maples Law Firm, has the skill and resources necessary to hold negligent employers accountable for their actions in a court of law. If you have been injured while at work, you deserve to know your rights and options. Contact Ray Maples for a free and confidential consultation at 1-888-226-6159.

According to Oklahoma City’ s koco.com, an underground explosion took the lives of at least 25 miners working in West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch mine. The explosion may have likely been caused by a buildup of methane gases. This accumulation may have resulted from improper ventilation. It is suspected that the explosion was ignited by a spark of some kind. Reportedly, the mining company who operates the coal mine, Massey Energy, has a less than stellar track record when it comes to employee safety.

Massey Energy is one of the largest coal producers in the country, owning 2.2 billion tons of coal reserves throughout West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. However, in the past year, the coal company has been hit with federal inspector fines totaling more than $382,000 for multiple repeat infractions pertaining to improper venting techniques and venting equipment at the Upper Big Branch location. If methane gas is not allowed to properly vent, a buildup of the combustible can be ignited with the slightest spark of electricity.

The death toll in this particular accident is the highest since the 1984 Orangeville, Utah explosion that took the lives of 37 workers. Four miners are still unaccounted for, but rescue efforts to find them are being thwarted by poisonous gas that accumulated near the site.

Coal mines may not be the safest places to work, but with proper ventilation standards implemented, miners are at the very least afforded a greater chance of not being involved in a poisonous gas explosion. Negligent coal mining companies who fail to correct safety violations may be held liable for injuries, loss of life, and damages resulting from their negligence. In the above mentioned accident, Massey Energy didn’t even take the time to inform relatives of miners that their loved ones had been killed during the accident. This alone is a sad fact that could be labeled as neglectful behavior emblematic of their overall failure to provide safe working conditions for their employees.

At the Maples Law Firm, our skilled Oklahoma workman’s compensation attorneys will hold negligent companies accountable for failing to protect their employees, and will seek compensatory damages on your behalf as an accident victim. For more information and a free consultation of your case, please call us at 1-888-429-0609, and we will fight to ensure that your rights as an injured employee are upheld in court of law.

Source:http://www.koco.com/news/23060042/detail.html