Texas Federal Court Finds Alabama, Not Louisiana Proper Adjacent State Of Offshore Platform In Indemnity Dispute
Posted on Nov 26, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Litigation, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Texas Federal Court Finds Alabama, Not Louisiana Proper Adjacent State Of Offshore Platform In Indemnity Dispute
For work on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the operator of the platform and a contractor entered a master service contract in which each agreed to indemnify the other for the injuries of their own employees. An employee of the operator was injured on the platform and the worker filed suit against the operator and the contractor in Louisiana federal court. The contractor brought a...
BSEE Panel Investigation Cites Misunderstood Verbal Instructions And Failure To Account For Seemingly Routine Tasks
Posted on Nov 18, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, OSHA, Process Safety, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on BSEE Panel Investigation Cites Misunderstood Verbal Instructions And Failure To Account For Seemingly Routine Tasks
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) issued its results of a panel investigation into an October 2013 fatality off the Louisiana coast last week. The incident involved the death of a welder who fell into the Gulf when a 130-ton dry oil storage tank skid assembly became detached from a platform unexpectedly. The worker was employed by an oilfield services...
Be Cognizant Of Close Coordination Between OSHA And The NLRB
Posted on Nov 5, 2014 in Litigation, OSHA, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Be Cognizant Of Close Coordination Between OSHA And The NLRB
Following recent formal announcements that OSHA and the NLRB will be cooperating more in the future, be wary of an uptick in cross-agency investigations. Earlier this year, OSHA announced that it would refer any untimely whistleblower complaints to the NLRB. Specifically, a worker has only 30 days under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to file a complaint with OSHA alleging...
Eighth Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Brakeman’s Retaliatory FRSA Claim
Posted on Oct 29, 2014 in Investigations, Litigation, Transportation, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Eighth Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Brakeman’s Retaliatory FRSA Claim
In December 2009, a railroad brakeman with a long history of good work performance committed a serious safety violation for which he accepted responsibility and agreed to disciplinary measures including a year of probation. In September 2010, the railroad dismissed the brakeman following an investigation into a separate serious safety violation committed in June 2010. In March 2011,...
Offshore Welder’s Estate’s Tort Claims Can Proceed To Trial
Posted on Oct 28, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, OSHA, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Offshore Welder’s Estate’s Tort Claims Can Proceed To Trial
In November 2012, a welder was injured in an explosion on an offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico and later died from his injuries. In August 2014, one of the offshore contractor defendants moved for summary judgment, contending that at all material times, the welder was its borrowed employee under the nine-factor test set forth by the Fifth Circuit in Ruiz v. Shell Oil Co., and...
Louisiana Federal Court Importantly Rejects Notion Of Co-Invitors In Offshore Operation
Posted on Oct 25, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Litigation, OSHA, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Louisiana Federal Court Importantly Rejects Notion Of Co-Invitors In Offshore Operation
The owner of an offshore dive support vessel (the “Contractor”) and the operator of a pipeline recommissioning project (the “Operator”) disputed responsibility for injuries incurred by a worker employed by a services contractor hired to handle Hydrogen Sulfide issues. The Contractor and Operator had a Master Services Contract containing reciprocal defense and indemnity provisions. ...
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