Spinning Blades, Broken Bodies and Danger by Design
A safety standard created by the lawn mower industry hasn't stopped riding mowers from backing over and seriously injuring small children.
Consumer Protection
Writer: Eli Wolfe
Labor
Job-Related Falls Should Be Easy to Prevent, But Workers Are Still Dying in Record Numbers
887 workers were killed in falls in 2017, the highest number reported by the government in nearly 30 years. Preventing workers from falling off roofs, scaffolds, ladders and other elevated surfaces should be simple. Public information about fall hazards is widely available, and so is equipment and training. Safety regulations are effective when followed. Yet the deaths continue to mount.
Consumer Protection
ATV Deaths Top 15,000 Threshold in Latest Government Report
Federal officials concede that the death toll is an undercount. Fatalities involving some trail machines are not included.
Consumer Protection
Dubious Record for Highway Safety Agency in Public Information Lawsuits
When sued for withholding records, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has fared poorly in court.
Environment
Bug Bombs Are Duds at Killing Insects Yet May Pose Harm to People, Study Finds
Pesticides released by bug bombs can linger in homes for weeks at a time, which some researchers claim is a potential health risk.
Labor
Labor Department Waters Down Injury Reporting Rule Targeted by Business
Agency won't require employers to routinely report detailed internal records of worker injuries or illnesses.
Labor
Law Puts Big Retailers on the Hook for Pay Owed to Truckers
For years, truck drivers hauling billions in consumer goods have complained about rampant wage law violations by the trucking firms that hire them. But even when truckers’ claims have been upheld by state authorities, they have often found it nearly impossible to collect.
Public Health
Federal Vaccine Court Quietly Pays Out Billions
An obscure program that has judged vaccine injury and death claims for three decades passes a financial milestone.
Labor
When Workers Are Killed on Small Farms, OSHA’s Hands Are Tied
A fateful decision by Congress more than 40 years ago gives the sites unique immunity from safety oversight, even as hundreds of employees have been killed or seriously injured.
Transportation Safety
Federal Regulators Deflated the Numbers on Tire-Related Crash Deaths, Then Took Victory Lap
Without explanation, officials eventually altered crash data, revealing a death toll more than 3 times higher than previously acknowledged.
Consumer Protection
Safety Agency Nixes Tracking Deaths Involving ROVs
Despite mounting casualties from crashes of recreational off-highway vehicles, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has shot down a proposal to track injuries and deaths involving the popular trail machines.
Labor
Violence Against Emergency Room Staffers Seen as Increasing
A new survey has found that nearly 50 percent of emergency physicians have been physically assaulted on the job.
Labor
Feds Extract Penalties in Crashes That Killed Five Migrant Farm Workers
For the second time in recent months, the U.S. Department of Labor has extracted penalties from a California farm business blamed for the deadly crash of a vehicle transporting migrant field workers to their jobs.
Labor
With Death of Port Worker, Checkered Safety Record of Cargo Handler Comes into Focus
For the third time in six years, a branch of one of the world’s largest cargo-handling companies has been accused by workplace safety authorities of a willful violation linked to a worker’s death.
Labor
Study Links Declining Union Strength to More Workplace Deaths
It’s no secret that the waning power of American unions has contributed to stagnant wages. But a new study suggests that this trend hasn’t affected just worker income. It also may have cost thousands of lives.