by Rebecca Walker — April 15, 2009 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined a company for an employee’s injury while not on the premises, and some are concerned this could set a dangerous precedent.
Tom Borrelli, a sports writer for the Buffalo News in New York, fell while climbing a steep set of stairs on Nov. 8, 2008, while covering a football game at Buffalo’s All High Stadium. He apparently hit his head at the top of the stairs and fell down them. He was paralyzed from the neck down after the fall and died of his injuries 12 days later.
Now OSHA has issued a $31,500 fine against the newspaper, not against Buffalo public schools.
“Reporters were exposed to the hazards of falls and head injuries whenever they used the press box,” said Arthur Dube, regional director of OSHA’s Buffalo office.
Reporters aren’t the only workers who are sent to conduct their jobs off-site. All sorts of contractors and repair people do this every day, as do salespeople.
To read more, go to the Safety News Alert Web site.
