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There are frequently stories in the news that remind us of dangers in the workplace. See Thoughts on Safety from the News (September 2022). Work can present safety challenges that require persistent attention, and are the subject of various statutes, rules, and regulations, both state and federal. The topic of workplace safety is complex and detailed.
The news last week was replete with reminders of the challenges of our roadways, vehicles, and people who make their living with them. In 2020, the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) noted that auto accidents continue to trouble us all:
"from 2011 to 2016, while the frequency of all workers compensation (WC) claims continued to decrease, the frequency of MVAs increased in both WC and in the general population."
Motor vehicle accidents are not listed by the Center for Disease Control in its top three causes of injury. These are essentially being struck by objects, overexertion, and slipping/tripping with or without a fall:
"The three leading causes of work-related injuries treated in an emergency department were contact with objects and equipment, overexertion and bodily reaction, and falls, slips and trips without a fall"
However, for the most serious injuries, automobiles are a significant risk. The CDC notes that
"In 2020, 1,038 U.S. workers died in work-related crashes involving motor vehicles (22% of all deaths)"
That is almost a quarter of work-related deaths. Motor vehicle safety is a concern. It is worthy of attention and awareness.
A recent exchange on LinkedIn involved a risk professional touring a company, and noting a perceived safety issue with the company's vehicle(s). The writer mentioned the issue regarding vehicle tires, and was later admonished by a supervisor because her/his company did not write auto liability coverage, and thus (essentially) the condition of the vehicle was seemingly not their concern. That seems a bit curious when the driver of the vehicle might be hurt. The post, and ensuing discussion, has returned periodically to my thoughts.
Last week, in Hanover Kansas, a "cement truck blew a tire and crashed." It struck another vehicle causing both to leave the roadway. The impact caused the cement drum to separate from the truck. According to KAKE. The driver of the smaller vehicle passed away at the scene. The "22-year-old . . . driving the cement truck was hospitalized with potentially serious injuries."
KAKE reports there was a second cement truck accident recently. In this one, there was sufficient velocity involved that when the cement truck left the road, it "went airborne and rolled an unknown number of times." With or without a load of concrete, we might expect a cement truck to be significantly heavy. Certainly terrain and more can be important considerations regarding causation of such an event. However, an airborne cement truck is noteworthy. The driver of that truck also passed away. The report also notes that "he was not wearing a seat belt."
Vehicle accidents are not limited to highways or high speeds. Coincidentally, a third driver was killed in Kansas last week when his own vehicle inadvertently began to roll while he was outside of it. The driver was "pinned" between two tractor trailers, and passed away "at the scene." Such events with "rolling" vehicles are in the news periodically, another occurred last week in Atlanta, though it does not appear to involve a driver working at the time.
Driving can be as dangerous away from the highway. A forklift driver last week was reportedly killed in Michigan "when the machine turned on its side and on top of her" in a parts warehouse.
The dangers to drivers do not end when the vehicle is parked. In another incident that made headlines, The Guardian reported that a driver was recently "found dead" in the vicinity of two dogs. The driver had what "appeared to be wounds from an animal attack." The police reportedly killed both dogs, but as yet have "stopped short of confirming that the slain dogs killed the . . . driver."
In another incident, The Detroit Free Press reported a truck driver was killed last week when lumber he had hauled was being unloaded from the truck. Some portion of the load fell striking him. Not a motor vehicle accident per se, but within the primary causes of accident listed by the CDC "contact with objects and equipment."
The coincidence of all of these examples reminds us that the workplace can be a dangerous place. There are challenges and risks faced in many contexts and activities, but the use of vehicles is highlighted in these news stories. In the course of a week or so, multiple people lost their lives in events involving vehicles and driving occupations. There are suggestions in the coverage of behavior potentially contributing. One story suggests a failure to use a seatbelt, and another suggests vehicle speed. In one, there is a suggestion of either a failed parking brake or neglect to use it.
The point, in the end, is that we would all do well to remember that the workplace is not inherently safe and carefree. There are potentials for risk and therefore injury, illness, and even death. It benefits everyone for us all to be cognizant and attentive to those potentials, and to the possibilities for accident prevention. Was last week an anomalous coincidence of vehicle/driver tragedies? Perhaps. But, perhaps the safety challenges in transportation in our daily lives are worthy of greater consideration and concern?
By Judge David Langham
Courtesy of Florida Workers' Comp
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About The Author
About The Author
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Judge David Langham
David Langham is the Deputy Chief Judge of Compensation Claims for the Florida Office of Judges of Compensation Claims at the Division of Administrative Hearings. He has been involved in workers’ compensation for over 25 years as an attorney, an adjudicator, and administrator. He has delivered hundreds of professional lectures, published numerous articles on workers’ compensation in a variety of publications, and is a frequent blogger on Florida Workers’ Compensation Adjudication. David is a founding director of the National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary and the Professional Mediation Institute, and is involved in the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators (SAWCA) and the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC). He is a vocal advocate of leveraging technology and modernizing the dispute resolution processes of workers’ compensation.
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