22 million American workers suffer partial or total permanent hearing loss on the job each year, making this condition the most common workplace injury claim.
The number of claims – which come largely from construction, manufacturing, and mining operations – cost an estimated $242 million per year, according to the Department of Labor. In response, the government has launched an aggressive educational campaign designed to help employers know about available noise-reduction technologies. However, critics say that poor regulation, and not technological underutilization, is to blame. They want the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to update its maximum noise-exposure workplace injury rules to more accurately reflect current conditions and also account for exposure to non-work noise that adds to the cumulative exposure risk. OSHA says that it is considering such actions. [Read more…] about I Wish I Could Hear You…
Deadly Pedestrian Crash in Eastern Louisiana
A 22-year-old woman faces negligent homicide charges after a fatal pedestrian-auto crash in West Feliciana Parish.
Sherriff’s deputies state that Tiffany Cage was on Solitude Road near the Heir Road intersection when she hit 59-year-old James White, who was walking near the Solitude Road shoulder. He was pronounced dead at the scene; Ms. Cage was not injured. No other details were available.
Mr. White represented District 3 on the West Feliciana Parish School Board. [Read more…] about Deadly Pedestrian Crash in Eastern Louisiana
Driver Charged With Fourth DUI After Injury Collision
A Leesville man is in the Beauregard Parish Jail because he was allegedly intoxicated when he rammed into a woman and two children on U.S. Highway 171.
According to Louisiana State Police, 48-year-old Brian Hayes was southbound 171’s right lane near the Louisiana 112 intersection when he illegally changed lanes and sideswiped a vehicle waiting in the turn lane. The impact seriously injured 29-year-old Erica Fowler, of DeRidder, and two children whose names were not released. All three were rushed to a nearby hospital, while authorities took Mr. Hayes into custody at the scene.
Investigators suspect that Mr. Hayes, who had three prior DUI convictions on his record, was once again driving while impaired. [Read more…] about Driver Charged With Fourth DUI After Injury Collision
Two Dead After Speeding Car Slams Into School Bus
A high-speed car wreck in Shongaloo transformed a vehicle into a twisted piece of metal and sent two area residents to the morgue.
According to the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office, 35-year-old Freddy Bryant, of Shongaloo, evidently lost control of his fast-moving 2006 Toyota Corolla on State Highway 2 and crossed over the center line. The vehicle then careened into a school bus carrying mostly pre-kindergarten through second grade students; the driver – 67-year-old Michael Timmons of Sarepta – was unable to avoid the car wreck. Mr. Bryant and a passenger – 29-year-old Gary Matlock of Plain Dealing – were both pronounced dead at the scene.
None of the forty-eight people on board the bus (the driver and forty-seven students) were seriously injured. [Read more…] about Two Dead After Speeding Car Slams Into School Bus
Could A Few Extra Pounds Cost A Few Extra Dollars?
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin believe they found a direct link between employee obesity and workers’ compensation costs.
The researchers examined 2,300 Louisiana cases to form their conclusion. They found that 75 percent of workers’ compensation claimants were either overweight (a Body Mass Index of at least 25) or obese (a BMI of 30 or more); most of the claimed injuries were torn tendons and broken bones. The study also looked at costs for major injuries, and found that the major-injury costs for non-overweight/obese workers ($180,000 per incident) were significantly lower than similar costs for overweight ($270,000) and obese ($470,000) workers.
The study found no correlation between weight and less severe injuries, or weight and recovery time. [Read more…] about Could A Few Extra Pounds Cost A Few Extra Dollars?
Authorities Look For Clues In Deadly Crash
Investigators have little to go on after a wrong-way car accident in the overnight hours killed one person and seriously injured two others.
Louisiana State Police troopers report that 25-year-old Daniel Elwood, of Tallahassee, Fla., was southbound on State Highway 21 in one of the northbound lanes. Roughly four miles south of Bogalusa, Mr. Elwood collided head-on with a northbound car driven by 17-year-old Jodi Vasbinder, of Covington. Mr. Elwood, who was apparently not wearing a seatbelt, was declared dead at the scene; Ms. Vasbinder was airlifted to a local hospital with serious injuries.
19-year-old Nathan Nicolasi, who was a passenger in Ms. Vasbinder’s vehicle, was injured and transported to a nearby hospital via ambulance. [Read more…] about Authorities Look For Clues In Deadly Crash