Workplace Injuries

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - PERC - Part II - Drycleaning Controls 101

  Steve Lombardi | February 03, 2008 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Drycleaning 101 moves into the next stage, identifying the machines used in the different stages. We can't begin to identify the risks without a firm understanding of the machinery involved.PERC Exposure Controls - The NIOSH study evaluated the primary working hypothesis that four general categories of drycleaning machines were capable of maintaining an 8-hour TWA personal exposure to PERC of...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - PERC - Part I - Drycleaning 101

  Steve Lombardi | February 02, 2008 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Typical Drycleaning Process -- The typical process begins when garments are brought to the shop by customers or arrive by van from another "satellite shop," which does no drycleaning on site. Garments are initially tagged for identification. Prior to spotting or being loaded into the drycleaning machine, garments are typically inspected and sorted according to weight, color, and finish. Modern...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - PERC - Introduction to dry cleaning worker hazards

  Steve Lombardi | February 01, 2008 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  That is a significant number of employees working in an industry that is inherently risky with risks that are not so obvious. These are risks not many people know about. This is a multi-part series at injuryboard.com. We will explore the risks, how dry cleaning workers can identify the risks and can protect themselves. I've taken most of this material from the NIOSH site. I've rewritten and...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - Another Example of a Potential Third-party Claim

  Steve Lombardi | January 07, 2008 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  The Associated Press reports that two eastern Iowa companies were cited for failing to divert power from a substation and not properly grounding the work site. Two workers at the Alcoa plant in Davenport received severe injuries on May 7, 2007 when while cleaning insulators and equipment at a substation they were burned by a "burst of electricity". One worker returned to work a month later the...

• IBP Fined $1 million for ammonia leak

  Steve Lombardi | December 30, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Over $1 million in fines proposed as a result of an ammonia leak at a Waterloo meat packing plant. Over $1 million in fines have been proposed by the Iowa Division of Labor against those it believes were in violation of Iowa's laws when ammonia leaked and took the life of Elizabeth Myers and several other workers to the hospital. This is an indication of serious violations and the fact there are...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - Is fighting on the job ever covered?

  Steve Lombardi | December 24, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Is the pickax victim entitled to Work. Comp. benefits when he's hit in the head by a coworker? Fighting on the job may or may not be covered under the workers' compensation act. It all depends on the facts. Is the pickax victim entitled to Work. Comp. benefits when he's hit in the head by a coworker?The Sioux City Journal reported that an Ellsworth, Iowa man was charged with willful injury after...

• Another confined space incident claims four men's lives.

  Steve Lombardi | December 21, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  On November 2, 2007 four Superior, Wisconsin workers were found dead in a confined space. This is the second time I've blogged on confined space deaths associated with asphyxiation. (See Iowa Workers' Compensation - Death caused by sewer gas. December 14, 2007. ) Four workers from Superior, Wisconsin were overcome by toxic vapors after entering a manhole to unplug a blockage in the village. ...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - Working around sewer gas can be deadly.

  Steve Lombardi | December 14, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  Workers working around sewer gas need to be aware they can be overcome by hydrogen sulfide. This is what happened to two young workers working in 600 feet of underground sewer pipe. After being overcome by the gas they collapsed and drowned. How could and can this be avoided? The first thing wrong was neither was wearing a respirator. The worksite had stood undisturbed for ten or more days just...

• Iowa Workers' Compensation - How to report an injury.

  Steve Lombardi | December 13, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  There is a right way to report an injury. Let us first identify a common problem. What most people do is tell someone verbally, who they later can't identify, that they were hurt. Six months later that someone is no longer with the company or claims not to remember. If they do recall the incident they don't remember it the same way you do and now we have a conflict as to the basic details of how...

• Iowa Workers Compensation - In what state should I file for benefits?

  Steve Lombardi | December 12, 2007 12:00 AM | 0 CommentsDes Moines, IA

  If you are injured outside of Iowa can you get Iowa workers' compensation benefits? The answer is sometimes you can. A lot of workers don't work in just one state. So when they are injured in what state should they be paid workers' compensation? As an example, over-the-road truck drivers often times find themselves driving through many states along the interstate highway system and wreck outside...