Rancho Mirage Workers' Compensation Law Blog

According to a recently published article, the work environments of first responders nationwide, including California, put them at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. Sleep deprivation, fatigue, low nutrition and trauma are par for the course for emergency services workers, leading to many workers' compensation claims. The buildup occurs because many first responders do not talk about the trauma at work, nor do they seek help. Instead, many let off steam when they get home, which might cause family problems.

Emergency medical workers, police officers and firefighters have to deal with destruction and death every day. They hear and see things that would be too much for most individuals, and they never know what the next call might bring. During one shift they deal with the worst moments in the lives of others. They could come across a decapitated body on one call and find a dead infant on the next call. And then, when they expect the worst, the next call might be an addict faking pain to get medication.

California victims of work-related injuries are typically entitled to workers' compensation benefits. The same applies to the surviving family members of employees who suffered fatal on-the-job injuries. However, the state-regulated insurance program typically pays benefits that are limited to medical expenses or end-of-life costs along with a portion of lost wages. Third-party cases could be filed if the injury or death resulted from the negligence of  third parties not linked to the same employer. In those circumstances additional financial relief might be obtained through the civil justice system.

Depending on the factors that led to the death of a Southern California employee at the John Wayne Airport, a third-party lawsuit might be viable. A spokesperson for the airport reports that the incident occurred in one of the workshops on a recent Tuesday. It happened while two workers were busy working on a tire on one of the company's jet bridges.

California employers must address safety hazards in the workplace. And yet, construction workers' accidents claim thousands of lives each year. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health says most, if not all, workplace accidents are preventable through compliance with prescribed safety standards and a designating competent person to identify and rectify injury risks.

Construction sites are high-risk operations, in which the most hazardous areas require particular caution. Workers on scaffolds face multiple hazards, including falls and being struck by falling objects, along with electrocutions if the scaffolding is near overhead power lines. Electrocutions can happen anywhere on construction sites, through direct or indirect contact with a power source. Multilevel construction projects have workers at different elevations, increasing the risk of being struck by falling objects like building materials, tools and even beams.

Any construction site in California must have a so-called designated competent person, and a safety inspector could ask anyone on-site to identify that person. What qualifies a person to have this designation? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has no established standards for this, and it is up to the employer to choose an employee to play that role to prevent industrial or construction workers' accidents

The presence of a competent person is required on sites at which scaffolding, excavations, hazardous materials, machine guarding, electrical work and other dangerous jobs are done. That person is expected to have a level of knowledge, experience and skills that will enable him or her to identify potential severe injury or fatality risks. Furthermore, the individual must have the authority to implement the necessary actions to mitigate the hazards.