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OSHA fines Citgo refinery in Lake Charles for safety violations

Industry > Osha

June 17, 2008

Lake Charles, LA - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said that federal safety investigators have proposed $169,000 in fines against Citgo Petroleum Corporation's refinery in Lake Charles on allegations of failing to protect employees from hazardous working conditions.

Industry Overviews

Construction Manager's Liability for Worker Injuries

Construction managers are relative newcomers to the construction industry. Construction managers may be persons who have gained experience as design professionals or as contractors. Under their contracts, construction managers often perform services for the owner that resemble the duties undertaken by a ''supervising architect,'' as that term was used decades ago, or the coordination duties of a general contractor. The latter is especially prevalent when an owner desires to use prime contractors rather than the traditional general contractor/subcontractor system.

Like the architect, the owner of the property on which construction takes place is rarely protected by worker's compensation statutes from an injured worker's negligence suit for a construction accident. Most courts have refused to impose liability upon property owners without a finding of fault. Accordingly, a determination of liability generally rests on resolution of the following issues: (1) the legal relationship between the owner and the injured worker's employer; (2) whether the owner had a duty to the worker as to the event which caused the injury; and (3) whether the owner breached that duty by falling below the standard of care, and, if so, whether the owner has any defenses which may reduce or eliminate liability. These issues are resolved in light of governing statutes, the common law, and the particular contractual relationship between the owner and the contractor or architect.

Basic to any discussion of construction accidents and worker injuries are the occupational hazards of the construction industry. When questions arise over the origin of injuries, the dispute is frequently over where the incident occurred and what the person was doing at the time. Investigations involve whether the incident took place at a construction site, and how the activity was related to work. Conditions that at first may appear to support an opinion that an incident is occupational in origin may, upon thorough investigation, prove otherwise, and vice versa. Without knowledge of how it occurred, the existence of a broken bone in a worker's arm does not in itself indicate whether the fracture arose from an occupational setting. Liver damage can result from overexposure to certain solvents, but it can also result from excessive use of alcohol.

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