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In the event of an emergency, an emergency action plan can result in reducing the number of injuries and even saving lives. The purpose of an emergency action plan (EAP) is to organize and develop safe procedures for employers and employees to follow in emergency situations. The more organized the emergency action plan is, the better. A disorganized evacuation can result in injuries, damages, and overall confusion among employees. OSHA requires an employer to keep a written emergency action plan in the workplace that is available to all employees to review. Click here to read more:

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has resumed normal enforcement throughout most of Florida and Georgia. The agency had ceased most programmed enforcement actions following Hurricane Irma. In the hurricane’s aftermath, OSHA provided compliance assistance and outreach to employers and workers involved in the clean-up and recovery operations. Thousands of crews and individual workers received job safety and health technical assistance. OSHA retained the right to inspect fatalities, catastrophic accidents, employee complaints, and employers who repeatedly exposed employees to serious hazards during cleanup and recovery activities. Click here to read more:

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited L.I. Aluminum Design Inc., a Naples-based patio and pool enclosure manufacturer and installer, for failing to protect employees from fall hazards. Proposed penalties total $40,096. OSHA investigated the company after an employee installing patio screen enclosures suffered a fatal fall. L.I. Aluminum was issued four serious citations for failing to provide fall protection to employees working at heights of 10 feet or more; exposing employees to falls; and failing to train employees on fall hazards and the proper use of ladders. Click to read more:

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Douglas N. Higgins Inc., a South Florida utility company, after an employee suffered fatal injuries at a Naples Park worksite. The company faces $162,596 in proposed penalties, the maximum allowed. The employee suffered the fatal injuries when a steel plate fell on him as he installed sewer lines. OSHA cited the company for permitting employees to work in a trench without adequate cave-in protection; failing to provide safe entry and exit from a trench, perform atmospheric testing, and train employees on signals used when moving trench boxes; and allowing employees to use defective equipment to hoist a compactor. The Agency cited the company for a similar violation in January 2017 after three employees succumbed to toxic gases while working in a manhole. Click to read more:

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited C.W. Hendrix Farms Inc. for failing to protect workers from recognized hazards after lightning struck and killed an employee at the Parkland, Florida, farm. OSHA inspectors determined that Hendrix Farms exposed employees to lightning strikes as they picked vegetables in inclement weather. The company faces a penalty of $12,934, the maximum amount allowed. Click to read more:

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited PGT Industries Inc. – operating as CGI Windows and Doors Inc. in Hialeah, Florida – for machine guarding hazards after an employee suffered a partial finger amputation while working on an unguarded punch press. The window and door manufacturer faces $398,545 in penalties, including the maximum amount allowed by law for the violations that can cause life-altering injury. Click here to read more:

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Compass Group USA Inc. – operating as Chartwells Dining – for exposing employees to burn and chemical hazards at its cafeteria in Coral Gables, Florida. The company faces $134,880 in penalties. OSHA cited Compass Group for exposing employees to hazards associated with exit routes, failing to provide suitable facilities for quick drenching for employees who work with cleaning chemicals, and for not providing effective training to the employees working with the chemicals. Click here to read more:

Electrical hazards accounted for 19 deaths in Florida in 2017. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), fatal work related injuries for calendar year 2017 in Florida totaled 299, of which 19 were the result of exposure to electricity. Though this is a decrease in electrical work related fatalities from that of 2016, which experienced 23 fatalities, there has been a general upward trending of electrical related workplace fatalities within Florida since 2011. This indicates a need for increased awareness of potential electrical hazards in the workplace, requiring the attention and involvement of personnel at all levels of every workplace. Most electrical incidents result from one or more of the following three factors: • unsafe equipment or installation, • unsafe environment, or • unsafe work practices. Some ways to prevent these incidents are through the use of insulation, guarding, grounding, electrical protective devices, safe work practices, and probably most importantly; training on recognizing and reporting electrical hazards. Click to read more:

Kissimmee man was arrested in Palm Beach County after deputies say he ripped off an insurance company of more than $1 million in an elaborate case of worker's compensation fraud. Arturo Santos Zuniga, who also went by the name David Hernandez, was busted as part of an investigation led by the Broward Sheriff's Office in conjunction with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the Miami-Dade Police Department, according to his arrest report. Click here to read more:

State regulators have approved a 14.5 percent increase in the cost of business insurance to protect injured workers. The increase is across the board and effective for all new and renewing policies after December 1st, but the hike will have different impacts on different industries. Click here to read more:

Yet another Florida insurer is on the chopping block, as insurance regulators order Fort Lauderdale -based Guarantee Insurance to stop writing new business after an audit reportedly revealed the insurer’s financial difficulties. According to an August 18 consent order issued by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, the insurer has been placed under administrative supervision. State insurance regulators did not offer further documentation on the “identified weaknesses” in the order, or any of the “outstanding findings” Guarantee has been ordered to rectify in a re-audit of its year-end financial statement for 2016. However, a report by SNL.com has revealed that the state order came two weeks after an independent financial audit stated that it had “substantial doubt” about the company’s ability to operate. The audit, conducted by BDO USA LLP, revealed that Guarantee “overstated” its year-end financial health for 2016. Click here to read more:

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A Vero Beach man was charged with insurance fraud after deputies said he filed a fraudulent worker's compensation claim worth more than $100,000 following a crash in June. Indian River County deputies arrested Curtis Huff Jr., 50, of the 900 block of 32nd Avenue, on Monday. He was charged with filing a false insurance claim greater than $100,000 and released from the Indian River County Jail Tuesday on $20,000 bail. Click here to read more: