D.R. Diedrich & Co. Ltd. cited for 19 safety violations
August 7, 2015
Proper safety guards would have stopped a 1,500-pound steel roller before it crushed and killed a 59-year-old maintenance worker, but his employer did not use them, an OSHA inspection has found.
An employee of Wilbert Inc., based in Belmont, North Carolina suffered severe burns at the company’s Bellevue, Ohio manufacturing facility because procedures had not been taken to prevent the machine from releasing hot plastic during maintenance resulting in the injury.
A 30-year-old temporary employee required extensive surgery after suffering burns and lacerations of tendons and ligaments in her right hand after she used a cutting and sealing machine at a frozen bread manufacturer that supplies products to Costco Wholesale Corp., IGA, Piggly Wiggly and others.
Recently in Texas, two men were seriously injured on the job. In some ways, their circumstances looked very different. They were in different cities, working for different employers. One was repairing a roof, high above the ground. The other was in a trench, about eight feet down.
Owner changed company names, still faces $153K+ in penalties
July 30, 2015
OSHA compliance officers who happened to be in the area noticed residential construction workers falls from heights up to 14 feet. The inspection resulting from that observation found even more safety violations by Transformers Construction Services Inc. and Buildtronix LLC – both owned by Leanna Richardson.
Despite his request for a safety harness, a temporary worker without fall protection on a roof later fell 12 feet through the roof. His fall resulted in his hospitalization with fractured arms and severe contusions.
Hassell Construction fined $424K for egregious safety violations
July 23, 2015
One minute, a man was working in the 8-foot trench below ground. The next, he was being buried in it. His co-workers came to his rescue, digging the worker out with their bare hands. Moments after they pulled the injured man to safety, the unprotected trench collapsed again. His injuries were serious and led to his hospitalization.
Labor Secretary Tom Perez came into office pledging to create good jobs and take on the economic injustice that oppresses blue-collar workers, from raising the minimum wage and restoring unpaid overtime to combatting wage theft.
OSHA inspectors found that employees of at a Shenandoah, Texas construction site were exposed to a variety of dangers, earning citations for both the company conducting the work and the one that supplied it with temporary workers.
Lauren Manufacturing ignored machine safety hazards, faces $105K in fines
July 17, 2015
A hydraulic press crushed a 62-year-old machine operator's left hand at a seal and gasket manufacturer, resulting in multiple broken bones. The injured worker, a 15-year employee, has been unable to return to work and has endured three surgeries as a result.