Workplace deaths - Articles - Page 10

A FairWarning Story

Job-related falls should be easy to prevent, but workers are still dying in record numbers

April 11, 2019

Last August, Higinio Romero was working on the roof of a condo in South Florida when he slipped and fell two stories, landing on rocks below. Emergency workers found him unconscious and bleeding from his ears. Romero — a father of two children, 4 months old and 10 years old — died about an hour later. According to a sheriff’s report, he had unclipped his safety harness shortly before the fall.

Company managers indicted for obstructing OSHA investigation

Men threatened to fire workers who didn't change their stories

April 11, 2019

A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Ohio has indicted two managers at Extrudex Aluminum Inc. in Ohio for conspiracy to obstruct justice during a 2012 workplace fatality investigation by OSHA. The agency inspected the aluminum extrusion manufacturer after an employee suffered fatal injuries when a rack containing hot aluminum parts tipped over and pinned him. A second employee suffered severe burns.

A NIOSH Science Blog post

Construction fall fatalities still highest among all industries: What more can we do?

Elizabeth Garza

April 11, 2019

Falls are the leading cause of construction-worker fatalities, accounting for one-third of on-the-job deaths in the industry. In 2017, there were 366 fall fatalities out of 971 total fatalities in construction. According to the CPWR, from 2011-2015, 61% of fatal falls in construction occurred in small businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Almost two-thirds of fatal falls were from roofs, scaffolds, and ladders.

NTSB: CSX workers were walking on tracks when struck, killed

April 10, 2019

The 2017 deaths of two CSX Transportation workers were the result of their decision to walk on an active Amtrak train track in Washington, D.C., the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a report issued Tuesday. Investigators found that while the conductors were likely aware that the two tracks were active, they may have chosen this more comfortable way to walk back to the front of their train because no Amtrak trains had passed through the area for about an hour.

Falls, struck-by incidents claim workers lives in recent weeks

April 9, 2019

A worker who was replacing a roof at a Jefferson County, Kentucky high school died March 28 after falling through the roof. News sources say 40-year-old Fredy Godoy-Mendoza died shortly after 5 p.m. at Waggener Traditional High School. Godoy-Mendoza was reportedly employed by a roofing contractor. In Pacoima, California, a forklift operator was killed March 31, when he was struck by a car while making a delivery.

Roadside accidents in Mich., Ohio leaves construction workers dead, injured

April 5, 2019

A Michigan man is hospitalized with critical injuries after he was struck by a co-worker who was backing up in a construction zone. News sources say Daniel Clark Jr. has collapsed lungs, broken ribs, a fractured pelvis and other injuries. The incident occurred Wednesday morning along I-75, in Troy, a suburb of Detroit. Troy police responded to the accident at around 9:30 a.m. Clark had reportedly started working for the company on Monday.

Worker killed by lightning; employer cited by OSHA

April 2, 2019

OSHA has cited C.W. Hendrix Farms Inc. for failing to protect workers from recognized hazards after lightning struck and killed an employee at the Parkland, Florida, agricultural operation. OSHA inspectors determined that Hendrix Farms exposed employees to lightning strikes as they picked vegetables in inclement weather. The company faces a penalty of $12,934, the maximum amount allowed.

Most dangerous jobs in the U.S.: The top 20

April 1, 2019

Logging is not only the most dangerous job in America – it’s 31 times more dangerous than the average job nationwide. That’s one of the findings of a study recently completed by AdvisorSmith, which used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and the Current Population Survey to determine the most hazardous jobs, based on fatal injury rates.

Worker crushed by a stack of plywood; company cited by Cal/OSHA

March 28, 2019

Cal/OSHA has cited a Bay Area contractor for serious safety violations after a worker was fatally crushed at a San Rafael construction site on September 18, 2018. Investigators determined that West Coast Land and Development, Inc. did not follow regulations when it stacked plywood vertically without securing it. The accident occurred when two employees of the Concord company were framing and installing a shear wall on the third floor of a house under construction.

Explosion kills 2 at Fla. ammo maker; company cited

March 25, 2019

OSHA has cited ammunition manufacturer AMTEC Less Lethal Systems Inc. for exposing employees to explosive hazards after an explosion fatally injured two workers at the company’s Perry, Florida, facility. The company faces $188,290 in penalties for multiple serious violations, and a willful violation that carries the maximum penalty allowed.