Douglas E. Spiker

Doug helps employers – health care, retail, manufacturing, and construction businesses ranging in size from family-owned businesses to Fortune 50 companies – reduce Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance and workers' compensation claims. His advice, founded on an in-depth understanding of each client’s business practices and goals, balances the employer’s operations, personnel, products, and services needs to craft proactive and preventative workplace safety programs that reduce injuries while avoiding legal repercussions down the road. In addition, Doug regularly represents employers before the Ohio Industrial Commission, Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and in Ohio's state and appellate courts.
Doug fights allegations of Violation of Specific Safety Requirement (VSSR) and all related litigation. He handles rating, classification, and premium issues before the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation Adjudication Committee and Administrator’s Designee levels as well as the 10th District Court of Appeals and Ohio Supreme Court. And when accidents occur in the workplace, he guides his clients through effective responses to OSHA citations that mitigate their business and regulatory impact, often obtaining reduced or eliminated fines. For example, in a matter involving the death of an employee due to his unsafe activity, Doug successfully negotiated with OSHA to work out a non-citation that absolved the employer of responsibility for the accident.