Personal Injury News

Cal/OSHA completes its investigation of worker injuries on the SF Bay Bridge project

San Francisco - Cal/OSHA just completed its six-month investigation into whether alleged worker injuries were recorded for the San Francisco Bay Bridge project and found that, in fact, there were some discrepancies. As a result, three citations were issued for under $5,800 to KFM. KFM is the joint venture that has been constructing what will ultimately be the new eastern span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge running from Oakland to Treasure Island.

"The investigation leading to the citations we have just issued revealed some discrepancies between the injuries recorded on KFM's Cal/OSHA 300 Log and the recordable injuries found to have occurred at this project," said Len Welsh, acting chief of Cal/OSHA. "However, we still consider the informal compliance assistance partnership to be successful overall in that no fatalities and very few serious injuries have occurred."

The compliance assistance partnership, established between Cal/OSHA and KFM, allows Cal/OSHA free access to the worksite at any time in exchange for KFM's agreement to correct identified hazards found during a visit. According to the agreement, Cal/OSHA does not issue citations for hazards found during these visits provided they are promptly corrected.

Numerous hazards had been identified and eliminated without delay. This partnership approach has facilitated more effective hazard reduction then would normally be the case with traditional enforcement measures. According to Cal/OSHA, the San Francisco Bay Bridge project is one of the safest construction worksites given that construction work of this type is considered to be among the most hazardous.

The law and Cal/OSHA requires that employers record all injuries and illnesses on the job that result in death, days away from work, restricted work, medical treatment beyond first aid, or loss of consciousness. Employers are also required to report directly to Cal/OSHA all serious injuries that occur on the job.

For more information regarding the law and Cal/OSHA's recording and reporting requirements, please visit the Web site dir.ca.gov.

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	Did You Know?
	There are four general types of slip and fall accidents Trip-and-fall accidents, where there is a foreign object in the walking path. Stump-and-fall accidents, where there is an impediment in the walking surface. Step-and-fall accidents, where there is an unexpected failure or hole in the walking surface Slip-and-fall accidents, in which the interface of the shoe and the floor fails Both the property owner as well as the injured person can be held to varying degrees of responsibility for an injury.