Category Archives: Injuries

by | December 12, 2010 · 8:19 am

Hotel Pool Safety: Hotel Owners Should Review Designs Of Fountains, Drains And Water Troughs To Prevent Drownings

Hyatt spokesman Pete Hillan says the hotel has emptied the fountain and erected a barrier around the 29-inch-deep trough where the boy was found.

The barrier will serve as a temporary solution, as hotel officials look to permanently change the fountain’s design.

A toddler found floating in a fountain at a downtown hotel suffered life-threatening injuries.

The unidentified boy remains hospitalized, a day after officers pulled him from a decorative fountain at the  Hyatt Regency Hotel and revived him using CPR.

The officers went to the hotel after the 18-month-old boy’s mother reported him missing. Fire officials tell the San Francisco Chronicle the incident appeared to be an accident.

Hyatt spokesman Pete Hillan says the hotel has emptied the fountain and erected a barrier around the 29-inch-deep trough where the boy was found. The trough serves as the fountain’s drain.

For more:  http://www.wsbt.com/news/ktla-fountain-toddler,0,1847787.story

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by | November 23, 2010 · 5:52 am

Hotel Industry Employee Safety Issues: OSHA Will Target Hospitality Employers That Exhibit “A Pattern Of Non-Compliance” With An Aggressive Enforcement Campaign

“…if OSHA believes that the violation at a particular hotel is indicative of a pattern of non-compliance, then it will launch investigations into other hotels owned or operated by the same company. This company “profiling” should put all hotels on high alert…”

“… In light of the significant penalties and the new focus on enforcement from the government and labor unions, it is important for hotels to take worker safety issues seriously and to have a plan in place should OSHA launch an investigation into their respective properties…”

The housekeepers allege injuries arising from their daily room quotas and argue that cleaning rooms and lifting heavy mattresses lead to accidents and workplace injuries. The complaints allege that workers are discouraged from reporting injuries due to fear of retaliation and that monetary rewards for having a safe workplace discourages complaints. The housekeepers recommend several solutions, including changes to fitted sheets, mops and other equipment used to clean a room, as well as a cap on their daily room quota.

Hospitality employers must be on alert of similar OHSA complaints at its properties. OHSA has begun an aggressive enforcement campaign against employers when it unveiled its “Severe Violator Enforcement Program” (“SVEP”) earlier this year. Under SVEP, OSHA will target those employers who disregard their obligations through willful, repeated, or multiple violations. This will lead to a significant increase in OSHA inspections at workplaces that not only have a history of health and safety violations, but also allows for nationwide inspections of related workplaces.

 Thus, Additionally, because OSHA investigators are more likely to approach local managers at each property, it is important that these managers receive proper training on OSHA regulations and how to comply with an OSHA investigation. Accordingly, hotels should take the necessary steps now to ensure compliance with applicable federal and state requirements through attorney-client self-audits.

For more:  http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c08060f9-c1d2-4b11-ba11-e20e66a39ab3

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by | November 20, 2010 · 4:08 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Hotel Spas And Restaurants Must Review And Improve Air Quality And Purification Systems To Limit “Volatile Organic Compound” (VOC) Health Risks To Guests And Employees

Spas and Salons across the Country have demonstrated increasing evidence of illnesses affecting employees, customers, and even children due to the presence of Volatile Organic Compounds (“VOC”) emitted by a variety of hair, nail and other personal grooming treatments, in many instances with little or no air purification whatsoever provided.

Restaurants generally prove vulnerable to poor indoor air quality, particularly with respect to the use of cleaning solvents in the dining room and bar areas, as well as the possibility for odors, mold and mildew that can plague food preparation areas.

In the personal grooming arena, Spas and Salons across the Country have demonstrated increasing evidence of illnesses affecting employees, customers, and even children due to the presence of Volatile Organic Compounds (“VOC”) emitted by a variety of hair, nail and other personal grooming treatments, in many instances with little or no air purification whatsoever provided.

“There are serious ramifications building across the Country due to the lack of education on how damaging these contaminants are to the long term health of the people that are breathing them on a regular basis,” said Jack Lennon, President of UV Flu Technologies. “We are contacted on a weekly basis by parents, as well as workers and customers, who have experienced symptoms of illness themselves, or whose children have experienced negative effects while certain treatments were underway with no air purification in evidence, or with non-functioning air purifiers being used.”

“A particularly troubling aspect is that many of these individuals breathing these VOC’s are at young ages critical to the development of their heart and lungs,” continues Mr. Lennon, “Some of these popular hair treatments have been shown recently to contain up to 20% formaldehyde, while acetone and benzene are being used for nails. These contaminants are known carcinogens, and salons who are not addressing the concerns of their employees and customers are not only facing a loss of business, but the risk of litigation, as well as potential legislation.”

For more:  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uv-flu-technologies-identifies-new-prospects-for-uv-400-air-purifier-with-rising-health-concerns-within-hospitality-market-segments-2010-11-16?reflink=MW_news_stmp

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Filed under Food Illnesses, Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management, Training

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by | November 9, 2010 · 6:49 pm

Hotel Industry Employee Injury Risk Management: Housekeepers File “Multicity Injury Complaint” That Demands Hotel Management Use “Fitted Sheets”, “Long-Handled Mops And Dusters” And Lower Room Quotas To Reduce Injuries

The complaints recommend the hotels:

  • use fitted sheets to reduce the number of times that women must lift 100-plus pound mattresses;
  • long-handled mops and dusters, so workers do not have to get down on their hands and knees to clean the floors or climb bathtubs to reach high surfaces;
  • and what the union considers to be “reasonable” room quotas.

Housekeepers at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa joined with their mainland counterparts to file the first multicity injury complaint against the hotel operator with the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

In addition to Honolulu, complaints were filed by workers at a dozen Hyatt properties in San Antonio; Chicago; San Francisco; Santa Clara, Calif.; Los Angeles; Long Beach, Calif.; and Indianapolis. Those properties employ more than 3,500 workers, according to Unite Here Local 5, the hotel workers union.

Some Hyatt properties require room attendants to clean as many as 30 rooms a day, nearly double the industry standard, according to the union. Housekeeping duties include heavy lifting of beds, linens and other work that can strain the body.

For more:  http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/businessbriefs/20101110_Business_Briefs.html

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by | November 1, 2010 · 12:04 pm

Hospitality Industry Employee Safety And Wage Issues: Hotel Management Should Expect 2011 OSHA Regulations To Require A Written “Injury And Illness Protection Progam” And Dept. Of Labor (DOL) Rule Requiring Full Disclosure On “Worker’s Pay Computation”

 

  • The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is developing a regulation mandating that employers have a written health and safety program, referred to as an Injury and Illness Protection Program or “I2P2.”
  • This rule would give an OSHA investigator the authority to find that an injury should have been avoided even if it was not regulated under a specific standard.
  • OSHA will also publish a regulation that will require employers to analyze every employee injury to determine if it is a work-related recordable musculoskeletal injury.
  • This regulation would set the stage for OSHA to revive its controversial ergonomics standard.

 

  • The Wage and Hour Division at DOL has a highly anticipated rule that would greatly expand recordkeeping requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
  • It would require employers to disclose how a worker’s pay is computed and complete a written “classification analysis” for each worker who is exempt or outside of the coverage of the FLSA.

For more:   http://www.worldtrademag.com/Articles/Column/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000932009

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by | October 31, 2010 · 12:44 pm

Hotel Industry Employee Risk Management: Employee’s Use Of Stairs In Multi-Story Hotels Subject Them To “Significantly Greater Risk Of Injury” And Result In Higher Workers’ Compensation Benefits

“Because the employees’ periodic breaks were mandatory, Phillips was required to use the staircase six times during each shift. In fact, in its opening brief, Rio calculated that during the course of Phillips’ 17-year employment, she traversed the stairs approximately 25,000 times,’
 
“…the court concluded that the frequency with which Phillips was required to use the stairs subjected her to a significantly greater risk of injury than the risk faced by the general public. Consequently, Phillips should be awarded benefits, the high court wrote…”
 

The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that although employers are not “absolutely liable” when employees are injured “on the job,” companies should apply the “increased risk test” to determine whether they are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

The justices explained the increased risk test in Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino v. Phillips. According to court documents, Kathryn Phillips was a poker and blackjack dealer at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. While taking her mandatory 20-minute break during her usual eight-hour shift, she walked down the stairs to the employee break room, slipped, and fractured her ankle.

Her treating physician determined her injury was work related, and Phillips had surgery to repair her ankle. But Rio’s third-party administrator, Sedgwick CMS, denied her claim saying Phillips did not prove the injury arose out of her employment.

“The types of risks that an employee may encounter during employment are categorized as “those that are solely employment related, those that are purely personal, and those that are neutral,” the high court said.

 

 

 

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by | October 18, 2010 · 9:38 am

Hospitality Industry Health And Safety: Use Of “Improved Safety Practices” And “Older Workers” Contribute To A Decrease In Workers Comp Claims

“Indemnity and medical severity for workers compensation claims continued to rise in 2009…

“…the frequency of workers comp claims dropped 4% in 2009 following a 3.4% decrease in 2008. A downward trend in claims frequency that started in 1991 likely will continue through this year, NCCI said…”

Factors such as increased use of robotics, improved safety practices and an aging workforce have contributed to the continuing frequency decrease, NCCI said.

Complex claims, such as those related to carpal tunnel syndrome and lower-back issues, declined more than average during the past five years, NCCI added.

Increasing claim costs, however, have partially offset the decline in frequency. Average indemnity costs increased about 4.5% in 2009 despite a decline in average weekly wages.

“It remains to be seen whether changes in average wage and indemnity cost per claim will begin to converge in 2010,” NCCI said in the research brief.

Average medical costs for workers comp claims rose 5% last year, the lowest increase in the past 15 years, NCCI said.

For more:  http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20101018/NEWS/101019945

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by | September 25, 2010 · 7:08 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management: “Premises Liability” Holds Owners And Managers Legally Responsible For Accidents And Injuries And Can Only Mitigated By “Daily Documented Property Inspections” Of Potential Hazards

“Premises liability” holds owners and property managers legally responsible for accidents and injuries that occur on property. Liability will vary depending on the legal rules and principles in place in the state where the premises liability injury occurred.

There are, essentially, three classifications of people on your property:

  • Uninvited trespassers
  • Licensees—those entering with permission for their own purposes
  • Invitees—those entering for the benefit of the owners and occupiers

Your obligations to each will vary, and your duty gradually increases as you move from trespasser to invitee.

Trespassers can be undiscovered or discovered. For an undiscovered trespasser, the obligation is not to willfully cause injury. A discovered trespasser should receive a warning of hazards that are not obvious. This is the same duty you owe a licensee.

The invitee garners the greatest obligation. Here the owner or occupier must act to keep the property in reasonably safe condition and warn the invitee of any latent defects.

For best results, employ and document daily property inspections. Have a plan in place that requires employees to keep an eye out for hazards and a system in place to document compliance with the process.

Nonetheless, injuries on your property can occur. However, liability is not automatic. If you have maintained a diligent inspection process and can document compliance, the claimant will have a difficult time proving that you knew or should have known about the condition causing the injury. This provides an avenue to escape liability.

Other traditional defenses center upon the comparative negligence of the injured person and can take many forms. For example, it includes the provision of warnings that go unheeded. It also includes hazards that are so obvious as not to require warnings, but nonetheless go unnoticed.

For more:  http://www.hotelworldnetwork.com/injuries/premises-liability-take-steps-now-protect-your-hotel

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by | September 23, 2010 · 1:56 pm

Hospitality Industry Security Management: Hotel Surveillance Cameras In Garage And Parking Areas Can Assist Police And Deter Crime At Properties

Surveillance cameras in the hotel captured the suspect’s image walking through the hotel’s garage and up a stairway in the hotel. He is described as a black male, about 5-foot-10, weighing about 200

Surveillance cameras in the hotel captured the suspect’s image walking through the hotel’s garage and up a stairway in the hotel. He is described as a black male, about 5-foot-10, weighing about 200 pounds and estimated at 25-35 years old.

pounds and estimated at 25-35 years old.

Police are searching for a man who entered an apartment at the Alexandria Hotel in the early morning of Sept. 21 and stole cash, credit cards and laptops from the couple who live in the unit.

The married couple was awoken when the apartment’s main room lights were turned on at about 4 a.m., apparently by the suspect who entered the unlocked unit. The suspect then entered the bedroom wielding a knife, Lt. Paul Vernon said. The victims agreed to cooperate with the suspect, and gave him their ATM access codes.

“Most burglars go out of their way to avoid confrontation,” Vernon said. “This suspect was not afraid of running into his victims, and perhaps, intended to all along. That makes him more dangerous.”

Police use the phrase “hot prowl” to refer to robberies or burglaries that take place while victims are present.

Based on the captured surveillance image, police are hoping someone will recognize the suspect and contact detectives. Vernon said that investigators are currently working with staff at the hotel, at 501 S. Spring St., to determine whether the suspect was possibly a resident.

“We hope someone will recognize him so we can arrest him before he hurts someone,” Vernon said.

Anyone with information on this crime is urged to call Det. Alfredo Rasch at (213) 972-1245. Anonymous tips can be called into Crimestoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477), or by texting 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.”

For more:  http://www.ladowntownnews.com/articles/2010/09/23/news/doc4c9b8e5aeb21d597761290.txt

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by | September 18, 2010 · 9:43 am

Hotel Industry Pool Safety: Mitch Stoller Of “Safe Kids USA” Speaks On Child Safety At Swimming Pools And Spas (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6B-MB_67j4]

Pool Safely Press Conference – Mitch Stoller, Safe Kids USA

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