PPE violations can lead to serious health effects during the pandemic, and it is interesting to note that many of these are happening in hospitals and other healthcare facilities across the country. Recently, OSHA fined a number of hospitals for failing to adequately protect its workers from coronavirus by failing to test respirators before distributing them to workers, as well as failing to train their employers on their proper use.
Bergen New Bridge Medical Center is the latest perpetrator of OSHA violations after it failed to follow safety protocol for proper respirator use. The hospital, based in Paramus, is managed and operated by Care Plus Bergen.
OSHA Fines New Jersey Hospital Due to COVID Safety Violations
OSHA Office Director Lisa Levy gave a statement saying that OSHA standards required that fit testing must be done to ensure respirators provided sufficient protection. The government agency also fined the hospital $9639 as a result of two serious violations, and required that the hospital comply with all OSHA regulations going forward.
New Jersey Companies Flouting COVID-19 Safety Laws
In addition, a total of eight other companies in the state received warnings and asked to pay fines by OSHA, with the federal agency providing rationales for its citations such as failure to keep proper health and worker safety records, failure to provide a medical evaluation, failure to implement a written respiratory protection program, failure to report a fatality, illness or injury, and failure to provide a respirator fit test.
As of late last year, OSHA had issued over 200 citations across the country due to COVID-19 violations, and asked companies pay in excess of $2.8 million in fines.
New Jersey has been at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the state receiving the highest threat level multiple times last year. In addition, the hospitals that were cited by OSHA had staff die needlessly due to not following safety protocol, with a 62 year old woman dying days just before she was set to retire from Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville.
COVID-19 Negligent Exposure Attorneys – Call Us Today!
If you contracted COVID-19 due to negligent safety protocols at work, we’d love to help you get the justice and compensation you deserve. Please call our coronavirus negligent exposure attorneys NOW at (773) 985-5139 to learn more about how to go about filing your legal claim. We look forward to hearing from you.