OSHA Issues New Safety Rule to Protect Workers in Confined Spaces

The experienced Delaware workers’ compensation lawyers at Silverman, McDonald & Friedman are here to protect workers’ rights to workers’ compensation benefits, and to provide representation in any type of claim dispute. Contact us to schedule a free consultation at one of our offices in Wilmington, Seaford and Newark.

While they were trying to do their jobs, two men lost their lives repairing a manhole. One workers became asphyxiated while he was working in the confined space, and the second worker died while trying to rescue his coworker. To protect construction and other workers who work in confined spaces such as manholes, tanks, ducts, tunnels silos and other small spaces which do not have an emergency escape route, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a new safety regulation.

Under the new rule, construction workers will have additional safety protections when they are required to work in a confined space. OSHA defines a confined space in this way:

A confined space is a space whose configuration and/or contents may present special dangers not found in normal work areas. Confined spaces may be poorly ventilated and, as a result, contain insufficient oxygen or hazardous levels of toxic gases. If a confined space contains an actual or potential hazard that can cause death, injury or acute illness, incapacitation or entrapment, it is a permit-required confined space, or permit space. Employers must take precautions whenever employees enter a permit space which include:

• Specifying the precautions to be taken to protect the workers in the space
• Training the workers who are covered by the standard to give them the knowledge to protect themselves and others; and
• Planning how to rescue injured workers promptly and safely.

OSHA has issued several documents with information for employers on how to comply with the new confined spaces rules including a Small Entity Compliance Guide.

Delaware workers who are injured on the job may be entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits, which includes medical expenses related to the workplace injury or occupational illness and a partial wage-replacement benefit for the time an employee loses at work recovering from their injury or attending medical appointments. When a worker is killed in a workplace accident, their heirs may be able to receive a death benefit, which covers funeral expenses and lost wages to the decedent’s dependents.

If a worker recovers from a workplace injury and is unable to go back to doing the work they did prior to the injury, they may be able to recover benefits to make up for their diminished earning capacity. There are also vocational rehabilitation services, which provides job retraining and job search assistance to workers who are forced to transition into a new industry.

Contact the skilled Delaware workers’ compensation lawyers at Silverman, McDonald & now by calling 302-888-2900 or filling out our contact form to schedule a free consultation with a dedicated workers’ compensation lawyer in Wilmington, Newark or Seaford today.