Construction Insurance Bulletin

•Chemical test refusal

•Reckless driving

•Careless driving

•Leaving the scene of an accident

•Fleeing or eluding a police officer

•Speeding greater than 20 mph over the limit

•Passing a stopped school bus

•Driving after suspension or revocation of their license

The winter months are the most dangerous for people who work outdoors. Often workers succumb to cold weather illness when working outside. However, employees in other industries have ongoing cold exposure, many of them in warm climates.

These workers include:

• Delivery People
• Postal Workers
• Maritime employees
• Food Processing Workers
• Cold storage industry
• Supermarket worker
• Tow truck operators

Cold is punishing to people and exposure to cold has many negative effects that include dehydration, frostbite, numbness, shivering, hypothermia and immersion foot disease.

What Ongoing Cold Exposure Does

Hypothermia

Continued cold exposure first affects the limbs, toes and fingers and then progresses deeper into the body tissues and the core of the body. If the core temperature of the dips below 95 degrees F, the worker has hypothermia. Hypothermia is a dangerous illness and along with frostbite is one of the two most dangerous dangers of working in a cold environment – inside or out.

Frostbite

When a person’s skin is has a severe reaction to cold frostbite can occur. Frostbite freezes the skin and makes crystals of the body fluids including blood. The chilling effect of frostbite is permanent damage to hands and feet, ears, and the nose. When frostbite is severe, the worker may have to undergo an amputation.

Other Dangerous Illnesses

Frostbite and Hypothermia are two most common, cold environment, illnesses workers get from cold exposure. Other significant cold weather injuries include:

• Cold Immersion
• Chilblains
• Trench Foot

Prevention of Cold Weather Injuries

Keeping feet warm and dry is the best prevention measure against trench foot and frostbite of the foot. Boots that have insulation and are waterproof is one type of the many personal protection equipment available for cold weather injury prevention. Other measures include long johns that have insulation, cold weather outer coats, space heaters where possible and other appropriate cold climate measures.

Preventing cold weather injuries is better than treating them and having your construction company’s worker compensation rates rise. Make sure that you take all reasonable measures to prevent these types of injury.

Construction sites are dangerous places. Not only do contractors comply with the state worker’s compensation laws, they also follow the mandates for construction company owners regulated by the Occupational and Health Safety Administration (OSHA). In most state’s, construction employees have the “exclusive remedy” of coverage provided by worker’s compensation. But, construction sites are usually busy places with a myriad of sub-contractors and equipment provided by third parties not working on the construction site. When a worker suffers an injury on a building site, sometimes employers aren’t responsible and the employee files a personal injury lawsuit against a third-party. Following are scenarios where the employer may have no liability for an injury and the employee looks for recourse from a third-party.

Injuries or Fatalities Caused By an Employee of a Different Contractor

This is often the reason for an employee seeking compensation from a personal injury lawsuit. Imagine that a worker for an electrical subcontractor has an injury or suffers a fatality from a falling object such as a heavy hand tool or a cinder block. A careless employee of the plumbing subcontractor is the person who dropped the object. In this case the defendants in a personal injury lawsuit can include, the worker who dropped the tool, the employer of the worker, the general contractor and the project owner. In most cases, subcontractors must give proof of liability insurance through a construction general liability policy (CGL) or a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP). Since it is unlikely that the employee causing the accident has much in the way of financial resources, the final liability is likely the subcontractor/employer. This is because most construction contracts include indemnity and hold-harmless clauses.

Product Liability Lawsuits

There are lots of dangerous equipment in use on construction sites. An example is a carpenter employed by a subcontractor suffers an injury from a handsaw with a safety defect. An automatic cutoff failed to work while the saw was in use and an employee lost his thumb. While this seems to fall into the realm of WC insurance, on review, it is not so clear. Perhaps it is the liability of the manufacturer, distributor, or installer of the equipment (such as rigging and scaffolding). In these cases the employee is likely to file a personal injury lawsuit against one or all of these businesses. This is especially true if WC denies the case based on product liability.

Contractors, be alert for your state’s rules on Worker’s Compensation and Personal Injury lawsuits. Every state has their own worker’s compensation rules and regulations – in some states if a third-party caused the injury, then worker’s compensation may not cover the incident, while in other states the employee can successfully file a WC claim and file a personal injury lawsuit.

Always complete an employee injury report immediately. Tell your broker about the accident. Insurance brokers often communicate with carriers about the injury and can let you know if the case is likely to be approved as a WC case or not. It is also a good idea to speak with an attorney about the likelihood of a lawsuit against the employer of the responsible party or part of the distribution chain for faulty equipment has a chance of success.

Construction workers, painting contractors, and window washers are some of the industries that use scaffolding and rigging.

Although this equipment is for worker safety, it is also the source of many injury and fatality claims including injuries to passersby.. Even though insurance such as worker’s compensation and General Construction Liability Insurance (CGL) or a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) help protect companies from legal liability, it is simply good business and a moral obligation to take reasonable measures to cut these injuries and fatalities.

Rigging

Rigging is the term used to broadly describe the myriad equipment used to lift, push, hoist, or pull objects on construction sites the most common types of rigging equipment helps hoist and crane operators when the task is lifting, then moving, a load horizontally. Installing the rigging is the duty of licensed riggers. Among the safety measures riggers use include:

• Inspection of surroundings – riggers must survey the construction site and insure that there is enough room for lifting objects and moving them horizontally. Things to look out for include power lines and trees. Before the equipment operators use the equipment it must first be inspected.
• The inspection, according to OSHA regulations must make sure that the rigging and the equipment it is working with is safe to activate and all controls work correctly.
• Frequent inspections also called for too.
• When a rigging setup is in use, the area where it is in use need barricades or blocking off from the public and construction workers.

Scaffolding

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistic, 72 percent of workers injured in a scaffolding accident, reported that the accident cause was planking or support failing or, the employee was subject to either slipping or being hit by an object falling from above.

Cutting the number of accidents, construction sites simply need to follow the OSHA regulation on scaffolding. There are a number of OSHA requirements applicable to scaffolding used on construction sites. Key provisions include:

• Fall protection or fall arrest systems are in place and working properly when scaffolds are in use and a worker is 10 feet or higher from the ground.
• The uppermost guard rail on a scaffold is between 38 inches and 45 inches in height.
• Scaffolds must have proper planking, that is full planking or decking
• Guying ties and braces for supported scaffolds need a height-to-base ratio of greater than 4:1.
• The scaffolds should have restraining systems for tipping by guying, tying, bracing or their equal.
• Every employee has training in the correct way to use scaffolding.

More information is available at no charge from OSHA at https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3150.pdf,

Although the origins of Inland Marine Insurance have roots back to the times when the main way of moving goods throughout the United States was by rivers, canals and even the oceans.

About Inland Marine Insurance

Inland Marine Insurance covers these cargos from total loss, damage or theft while traveling to its destination. As roads and railroads replaced waterways as the primary way to move goods, the Inland Marine Insurance form kept its name, but it added to goods shipped by boats, it now covers goods that ship by rail and trucks.

Many times small and medium-sized businesses skip this coverage as the policy is an Inland Marine insurance and owners feel that this cover is useless coverage as their business has nothing to do with boats. Without this coverage, products they ship and are lost, damaged or stolen in transit are often limited to the carriers provided per pound insurance – creating a financial loss for the company. Sometimes, it can cause a great enough loss that a company is bankrupt with it.

What is Covered By Inland Marine Policies

Modern Inland Marine Insurance Policies cover many things and comes in four major kinds of policies. Covered by these policies are:

• Property being transported
• Building under construction (also unknown as builder’s risk insurance)
• Heavy construction equipment
• Computer equipment and data

Inland Marine Insurance is also a form used to protect a business with expensive or unique property situation such as:

• Bailee’s Coverage (for property of others accepted for cleaning, repairing, etc.)
• Furriers Block
• Jewelers Block
• Equipment Dealers
• Camera and Musical Instruments
• Fine Arts
• Exhibition Floater

Does Your Business Need Inland Marine Insurance?

If your business is a service and does not transport goods or products, you don’t need it, right? Wrong! Suppose you are an accountant or financial advisor who sees clients in their homes and offices. You work from your home and your business is kept on an expensive computer. Between appointments you stop for lunch, you left your computer in the car and during lunch someone stole it. Most general business property insurance limits or excludes the protection offered for lost data. Inland Marine Insurance often offers the best solution.

Contractors who own heavy earth moving equipment use Inland Marine Insurance to protect it while on a job site and on the way to the site.

Bailee’s coverage is important for any business that repairs, does other work on customer’s property such as a jeweler, or cleans other’s property benefit from marine insurance

These are only a few examples of how versatile Marine Inland Insurance is for businesses of all kinds. Speak with your insurance advisor to discover if and how this property coverage can work for you – even if your business has nothing to do with boats or water.

Obesity has just become a disease. But how is obesity defined?

The current definition is twenty percent more weight than the ideal weight for an individual’s height and weight. A six-foot one-inch man weighing 216 pounds is considered obese.

Typically, some big people who are muscled from labor are on sites. This definition will almost certainly paint the construction industry labor force as obese.

As a disease, obesity and its affects must be dealt with the Americans with Disabilities Act in mind. What accommodations will be required?

What will be the effect on workers’ compensation work related disease coverage?

Safety personnel should consider these issues. Perhaps some site humor can be expected, but worker body mass index (BMI) might be a future consideration when hiring.

Employees who appear obese by the old definition probably need to be educated on the risks of weightiness. The physical stresses of the construction industry added to true body fat content is not a joke, it is dangerous. Even some safety equipment is not available to fit certain body types.

Consider adopting a physical fitness culture for onsite workers which includes maintaining a body mass index of below 30. This number may result in technically obese employees, but the BMI does not consider muscle mass or conditioning.

Visual inspection of the crew will indicate relative obesity which can be addressed individually. Begin to move in that direction, and then when the clarifying regulations promulgate new standards, you’ll be in a position to correct any deficiencies.

The secondary issue is whether this disease is work related; therefore treatment is covered by workers, compensation, or is it an individual issue which means Affordable Health Care Act or group coverage.

The lines blur with this issue. Good risk management suggests watching this issue carefully for future regulations, but in the meanwhile, begin informing employees about preventative healthcare.

Owners and Contractors Protective Liability (OCP) coverage form addresses the vicarious nature of some liability issues. When an owner orders a subcontractor to complete work, and property damage or bodily injury to a non-employee occurs, the subcontractor is liable. But suppose the injured party sues the owner too. The owner will not have liability coverage for the acts of the subcontractor – vicarious liability.

OCP is designed for the subcontractor to insure the owner under these circumstances.

Suppose a contractor is acid washing a building. Traffic lanes near the curb are blocked, it’s a windless day. The crew is acid washing while a car pulls into the barricades and parks. The crew continues doing the job.

The driver complains to the owner and the contractor about damage to the paint job. The contractor turns the claim in and awaits denial since the driver ignored all the warning signs. The building owner can only respond to the claim through the OCP policy since it was within the scope of the work of the subcontractor at his direction.

Now suppose under the same scenario, the workers stopped and yelled at the driver to move his car. The building owner comes out and directs the workers to keep going regardless of the car or its paint job. The subcontractor would be covered under his liability policy, but the building owner would be excluded under the OCP because the damage was a result of his direct instructions, in effect, he became the workers supervisor.

OCP extends coverage to owners who rely on the subcontractor to supervise and complete operations. When the owner crosses the line to take control of the work, OCP no longer applies.

OCP also excludes the usual exclusions under a general liability policy. You cannot be the building owner and the contractor.

Site management includes proper storage of fuels and other potentially toxic supplies. Fuel tanks require secondary containment for rupture control and a safe low-traffic location. Other potential toxins need proper containment and inventory control.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will remind you of these requirements if you fail to comply.

Environmental awareness is critical to avoiding problems:

* Roofing. When roofs leak, mold grows in the affected area frequently because wet, dark, cooler areas promote mold growth. When performing repairs, always check for mold. Take pictures of any suspicious growth and show the owner. Contractors are often blamed for mold after the repair when common sense might suggest the mold occurred during the leak. But the time for remediation is before new materials are installed. Check for mold. Any large black or white stain should be sampled and tested by trained mold inspectors. Don’t take a chance with mold.

* Equipment. When diesel equipment is used around an area which has or had heating oil storage tanks, any leak can be attributed to the contractor. Check the soil in the area where work is to be performed. Does it smell like heating oil? Does it look stained? Is there any evidence of overfilling the tank? Get samples and send them to a laboratory for testing before the project starts.

* Avoid toxic products. The green product industry has blossomed over the past few years. The products have nearly the same efficacy of traditional formulations, and have the benefit of not creating long-term problems for the owner.

Think environment before a job starts. What is already there which needs documentation as an existing condition?

These conditions may be an opportunity to increase the contract, but they will certainly be a point of contention if not documented properly.

The experience modification indicates relative claims experience by offering a credit modification, lower premium, for positive claims experience and higher premiums, debit modification, for poor experience.

But does an experience modification help you understand the rate of injuries in your operations rather than the raw cost? Frequency of claims correlates to safety more so than the costs associated with those claims.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag23.htm), full-time construction professionals suffer four injuries per year for every 100 employees on average. Half of those injuries result in loss of time or light duty assignments.

The average time lost is one and one-half days.

First, four injuries out of 100 employees may not sound like a high average, but that rate makes construction a very hazardous occupation. Personal protective gear and safety awareness over the past few decades has helped reduce jobsite claims, but this rate can be reduced further.

Slips and falls are the most common claims and yet very avoidable using proper techniques for ladder safety and spill clean-up. Tie ladders off or use a buddy to steady it; clean spills immediately and thoroughly.

Back pain from lifting incorrectly or excessively is common in the construction industry. Again, avoidable using a weight limit per lift and a buddy system for heavier loads.

Use your insurance carrier resources to reduce and eliminate injuries through advanced and aggressive loss control techniques. Use government resources like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (www.OSHA.gov) which can provide safety regulation awareness or instructions in Spanish and other languages.

Workplace safety is an employee benefit. Can you prove your work sites are safer than average? Do you have light duty options for unfortunate injuries? Do you investigate all injuries and find a cause of and prevention for each incident?

Worker safety pays in cash and improved morale.

With summer over, cold wet weather is not far away. Workplace safety is important for those workers who are outdoors working. Unfavorable weather conditions can cause health problems that are severe such as frostbite and hypothermia. In addition to cold and wet weather, wind is also a danger. With a blowing or gusty wind, cold wet weather is dangerous even if the temperature is above freezing.

Fortunately, by staying aware of your surroundings and using simple precautions you can avoid dangerous illnesses such as hypothermia and frostbite. A buddy system is a good idea for outdoor workers too. Know the signs of cold stress to look for it in yourself and your co-workers when your team works outside in cold climates.

Following are some cold weather safety tips for workers.

Frostbite

Frostbite is a medical term used when your skin and body tissue start to freeze because of exposure to cold weather. Your body’s most vulnerable parts are extremities including the nose and ears, fingers and toes.

Frostbite can come on quickly. Symptoms can include,

*A tingling sensation much like pins and needles.
*Numbness
*Pain
*Pale or waxy skin that hardens
*Protective thermal clothing such as gloves, socks and a ski mask are helpful in deterring frostbite.
Nevertheless, prolonged exposure may cause frostbite even when extremities have some protection.

What to do if you or a coworker has frostbite

*Remove tight clothing and jewelry
*Place affected body parts in warm water bath. Do not use hot water as body tissue needs slow warming to avoid damage
*When normal feeling returns, pat dry the area and cover it to keep it warm
*Go for medical attention
*Notify a supervisor

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a dangerous illness that happens when your body temperature drops below 95 degrees.

Hypothermia symptoms

Victims of hypothermia have uncontrollable shaking. Other symptoms include:

*Bluish skin (especially fingers and lips)
*Exhaustion
*Irrational behavior
*Irritability
*Uncoordinated movements

Helping hypothermia victims

Hypothermia is a dangerous illness. Take the following steps when a worker displays hypothermia symptoms:

*Call 911 at once
*Move the victim to a warm dry place
*Take off wet clothing and put warm dry clothing on. Wrap the victim in a blanket.
*The victim should drink anything high in sugar such as a sports drink. Avoid caffeinated and alcoholic drinks.
*Make every attempt to keep the victim awake if possible
*Ask the person to move their extremities to make muscle heat

Working in cold, wet weather is physically tiring. In order to cope follow these tips.

*Take short breaks in a dry place often to warm up
*Use layered clothing that you can add or take off as conditions dictate
*Work boots need proper insulation and waterproofing
*Wear the right cold weather clothing
*Use a buddy system and try to work in groups – be aware of the fitness of your co-workers
*Keep clothing changes available so you can change out of clothing that will get wet

All employees need training on the symptoms and emergency treatment for frostbite and hypothermia.