not an accident
cmonforton | January 13, 2016Justin “J.D.” Jorgensen, 30 suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Wednesday, January 6 while working at an excavation project in Altoona, IA. His employer was JRS Excavating. WHOTV reports:
the project was in a residential area where workers were “digging water and sewer lines.”
the incident occurred about 8 am local time.
an Altoona police spokesperson said that Mr. Jorgensen was working inside a trench that was “10 to 12 feet deep” and the “dirt caved in.”
"family friends say he worked with his brother.”
Using OSHA’s on-line database, it does not appear that Iowa OSHA has conducted any…
lborkowski | January 6, 2016Gerald Lyle Thompson’s work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings of Minnesota OSHA (MN-OSHA) in the agency’s citations against his employer, DSM Excavating.
The 51 year-old was working in June 2015 at a construction site for Ryland Homes in Lakeville, Minnesota. The initial press reports indicated that Thompson and his brother were installing drain tile inside a 6 to 8 foot deep trench. Thompson was trapped at the bottom of the trench when the soil collapsed onto him. I wrote about the incident shortly after it occurred.
Inspectors with MN-OSHA conducted an…
cmonforton | December 10, 2015Eric McClellan, 55, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Wednesday, November 25 while working at Reynolds Metals in Chesterfield County, Virginia. WTVR reports:
Mr. McClellan was “caught in a machine.”
His widow said her husband worked for Reynolds Metals for 25 years and was a seasoned machinist.
The incident occurred at the company’s packaging plant on Reymet Road.
Reynolds Metals is a subsidiary of Alcoa.
Using OSHA’s on-line database, it does not appear that Virginia OSHA has conducted an inspection at this Reynolds Metals facility, at least going back to 2000. A Reynolds Metals plant…
cmonforton | November 11, 2015Tim Cooper, 49, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Wednesday, October 28 while working at Independence Tube in Decatur, Alabama. The Decatur-Daily reports:
"...Cooper was handling steel coils when one coil, which weighed about 6,000 pounds, fell on him."
The coil "...was held on a cart designed to support the coil’s weight."
"Cooper, who was working with a team that slits the coils into narrower pieces, was preparing to band the smaller pieces when the coil fell off the cart, according to a police statement."
The Decatur-Daily also notes that Cooper had worked for Independence Tube since…
cmonforton | November 11, 2015Davide Nascimento’s work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings of federal OSHA in the agency’s recent citations against his employer, A. Martins and Sons Construction.
The 28 year-old was working in July 2015 at a sewer-line replacement project contracted by the Town of Longmeadow, MA. The initial press reports indicated that Nascimento was trapped inside a trench when it began filling with water. I wrote about the incident shortly after it was reported by local press.
Federal OSHA conducted an inspection at the worksite following the fatal incident. The…
cmonforton | October 20, 2015Kenneth Schultz, 56, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Tuesday, October 13 while working on a commercial construction project in Oceanside, CA. The Seaside Courier reports:
The construction site will be the site of a new FedEx distribution center.
The deceased worker “…was using a hand-held hydraulic machine to compact dirt in a drainage channel” at about 9 am local time.
A retaining wall “fell on him." It was a 3 X 12 foot slab of concrete.
NBC San Diego quotes a police spokesperson who said
"Workers moved a crane near the worker and lifted the cube off of him."
Construction of the $…
cmonforton | September 23, 2015Alejandro Anguiana’s work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings of Indiana OSHA in the agency’s citations against his employer, Markman Peat.
The 41 year-old was working in March 2015 at the company’s operation in Kingsbury, IN. The initial press reports indicated that Anguiana was pulled into a piece of machinery when his sweatshirt got wrapped around the power takeoff shaft. I wrote about the incident shortly after it was reported by local press.
Inspectors with Indiana OSHA conducted an inspection at the workplace following the fatal incident. The agency…
cmonforton | September 17, 2015Terry Leon Lakey, 51, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 while working at Terex Services in Waco, TX. KCEN reports:
*The incident occurred at 5:40 am when “the victim was crushed by a piece of hydraulic equipment.”
The CSB affiliate in Waco was more specific, reporting:
*Mr. Lakey “was crushed by the hydraulic aerial lift that he was servicing.”
The Waco Tribune indicates:
*"Terex officials did not answer the phone Wednesday and did not return phone messages."
Terex is multinational firm that manufacturers and services industrial machinery and equipment. Its…
cmonforton | September 1, 2015Norberto Galicia Romero’s work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings of federal OSHA in the agency’s citations against his employer, Thomas Concrete.
The 49-year-old was working in February 2015 at the company’s plant in Marietta, GA. The initial press reports indicated that “someone was trapped inside a concrete silo.” I wrote about the incident shortly after it was reported by local press.
Inspectors with federal OSHA conducted an inspection at the workplace following the fatal incident. The agency recently issued citations to the firm for two serious…
kkrisberg | August 20, 2015More than 1,000 U.S. workers have died due to job-related events in the first seven months of 2015, according to new data from the U.S. Worker Fatality Database. Researchers estimate that total fatalities will likely reach 4,500 by the end of the year, which would mean that the nation’s occupational death rate experienced little, if no, improvement over previous years.
The database, which launched last year and represents the largest open-access data set of individual workplace fatalities ever collected in the U.S., also breaks down 2015 data by state. So far, Texas leads the pack, followed…
cmonforton | August 19, 2015Davide Nascimento, 28, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Friday, July 31, 2015 while working at a construction site in Longmeadow, MA. WFSB.com reports:
The incident happened at a sewer project on Hazardville Road around 7:45 a.m.
Nascimento “…was trapped inside a trench that began rapidly filling with water.”
“The man was employed by Ludlow-based construction company A. Martins and Sons. They were contracted by the town for the project. “
Masslive.com notes:
The trench was part of an ongoing sewer-line replacement project in Longmeadow.
The incident occurred at the corner of Tedford…
cmonforton | August 4, 2015Ascencion Molina Medina, 44, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Thursday, July 30, 2015 while working at a construction site in Greenville, SC. Greenville On-line reports:
Medina “lost his footing” and fell about 30 feet, according to the county coroner. He died several hours later at the local hospital.
The construction project is a new mixed use development called Main + Stone which will house residential and retail properties. The Beach Company is the developer and the project broke ground in late 2014.
The general contractor of the Main + Stone development is Yeargin Potter Shackelford…
cmonforton | July 29, 2015Timothy Winding’s work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings of federal OSHA in the agency’s citations against his employer KCI Inc and Ford Motor Company. The 50 year-old was working in December 2014 at the Ford Motor Company’s Kansas City assembly plant in Claycomo, MO, when he was killed on the job.
The initial press reports indicated that Winding was part of a crew of contractors who were working to retool the plant for a new line of Ford trucks. While working on a body marriage machine, a safety rod broke and Winding was crushed. I wrote about the…
cmonforton | July 16, 2015Jason Strycharz’s work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings of federal OSHA in the agency's citations against his employer Kloeckner Metals. The 40 year-old was working in January 2015 at the company’s warehouse in Middletown, CT. The initial press reports indicated that Strycharz was struck by a piece of steel swinging from a crane. I wrote about the incident shortly after it was reported by local press.
OSHA inspectors conducted an inspection at the facility following Jason Strycharz’s death. The agency recently issued a citation to the firm. The agency…
cmonforton | July 9, 2015Gerald Lyle Thompson, 51, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 while working in Lakeville, Minnesota for DSM Excavating.
KSTP reports:
His employer, DSM Excavating was hired by Ryland Homes for the excavation project. The trench in which Thompson was working caved in on him.
The Star-Tribune reports:
Thompson and his brother were “installing drain tile on the perimeter of a lot…when the trench collapsed ...”
The trench was 6 to 8 feet deep and Thompson was trapped at the bottom of it when the soil collapsed onto him.
The Dakota County Special Operations team recovered…
cmonforton | July 3, 2015The work-related death of drill rig operator Ernesto Rodriguez, 41, did not result in any OSHA citations against his employer Complete Energy Services dba Mercer Well Services. I wrote about Rodriguez’s death on-the-job shortly after it was reported by local press.
The incident occurred on September 10, 2014 at an XTO Energy (ExxonMobil) well near Mannsville, OK. OSHA commenced its investigation on September 11 and closed the case on April 9, 2015. This is the only information on OSHA’s website about the fatality involving Ernesto Rodriguez. To find out more, I sent a FOIA request to the…
cmonforton | June 15, 2015Richard Johnson’s work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings of the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health (ADOSH) in the agency’s citations against his employer, Southwest Fabrication. The 31 year-old was working in January 2015 at the company’s facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The initial press reports indicated that his clothes got entangled in a metal fabrication machine. I wrote about the incident shortly after it was reported by local press.
Inspectors with ADOSH conducted an inspection at the facility following the fatal incident. The agency…
cmonforton | June 11, 2015John Dunnivant’s work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings of federal OSHA in the agency’s citations against his employer, Kia Motors. The 57-year old was working in October 2014 at the company’s plant in West Point, Georgia. The initial press reports indicated that Dunnivant was crushed by a stamping machine in the steel-press section of the facility. I wrote about the incident shortly after it was reported by local press.
Inspectors with federal OSHA conducted an inspection at the facility following the fatal incident. The agency recently issued citations…
cmonforton | May 23, 2015Milton “Tito” Rafael Barreto Hernandez work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings of Federal OSHA in the agency’s citations against his employer, Scott Materials (Central Rock Corporation/ Southwinds Express Construction.) The 22-year-old was working in October 2014 at the company’s concrete crushing facility in Scott, Louisiana. The initial press reports indicated Hernandez and a supervisor were trying to remove debris that was jamming up a conveyor belt. The equipment was turned back on and Hernandez was pulled into the machine. I wrote about the incident…
cmonforton | May 14, 2015Selvin Antulio Lopez-Castillo, 43, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Monday, May 4, 2015 while working at a residential construction site in Franklin Township, NJ. ABCNews reports:
The incident occurred around 4 pm at a site where a home was under construction.
Five other workers were nearby when the incident occurred.
NBCNY reports:
“The worker was about 8 feet down when the walls of the hole gave way. The other workers attempted to get him out but were unsuccessful.”
“Firefighters from Community, East Franklin, Somerset Fire and Rescue and New Brunswick Fire responded to the scene.…