worker fatalities

If only The Pump Handle had a crew of correspondents to report from the many Worker Memorial Day events held this past week. If you attended a Worker Memorial Day event, I’m calling on you to share some highlights from it in the comment section below. I spent time in Houston, TX where Mayor Sylvester Turner and the City Council issued a proclamation to remember workers who were killed, injured, or made ill because of their jobs. Our event featured remarks by Mr. Joseph Reyna, whose son Steven Reyna died in November 2015 while working for Atlantic Coffee Solutions, four workers from La Espiga…

I spend a lot of time each March preparing to commemorate Worker Memorial Day on April 28. I end up reading way too many news stories about workers who were killed on-the-job. I search here and there trying to identify the victims by name and figure out the circumstances that contributed to their deaths. Year in and out, one thing is clear: some companies are just plain reckless and they gamble with the lives of their employees. Reckless business decisions and work-related deaths is the subject of a new manual developed by the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR). "Preventing Death and Injury…

Albert James Speed, 25, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Friday, March 4 while working at Gestamp in McCalla, Alabama. AL.com reports: “…a large piece of equipment fell on the victim.” AL.com's story was updated: The victim “...was using a [remote-controlled] crane to move parts.” “He became pinned between two large pieces of equipment.” Gestamp is an engineering and manufacturing firm that supplies parts to automakers. It has eight plants in the USA. Just last week it was named General Motors Supplier of the Year. The company’s plant in McCalla has been the subject of four OSHA…

Last week OSHA announced citations and proposed a $99,000 penalty against DuPont for safety violations related to the November 2014 incident that killed four employees at its LaPorte, TX chemical plant. Wade Baker, 60, Gibby Tisnado, 48, Robert Tisnado, 39, and Crystal Wise, 53 were asphyxiated by methyl mercaptan because of gross failures in DuPont’s systems to manage highly hazardous chemicals. OSHA’s proposed penalty stems from one repeat, nine serious, and one other-than-serious violation. What baffles me is why OSHA didn’t propose the $70,000 maximum for the repeat violation. OSHA gave…

Ronald Lee MacKnight, 39, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Monday, April 13, 2015 while working for Awnings and More Inc. in Farr West, Utah. The Salt Lake Tribune reports: the incident happened "when a modular home [MacKnight] was helping to move fell on top of him” the incident occurred "at the Westwood Village mobile home retirement community at 12:25 pm local time" ABC4News reports: MacKnight and a co-worker “had the home up on jacks” and they were underneath it. "Either the jack failed or it came off of the jacks and it ended up coming down on top of him,” according to Lieutenant…

John P. Stoll, 58, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Friday, February 20, 2015 while working at a construction site in the 1100 block of John Nolen Dr. in Madison, Wisconsin. Channel3000.com reports: EMS was called to the scene at 7:38 am to respond to “an entrapment” Firefighters said a crew was “working on a stairwell when it collapsed” When completed, the construction project will be the site of the Watermark Lofts, an apartment and retail space scheduled to open this summer. The Daily Reporter says Mr. Stoll was an employee of Badgerland Metal Building Erectors, but their story does…

Juan Carlos Reyes’ 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, Angel AAA Electric, LLC. The 35-year-old was working at a construction site in Harlingen, TX for a new Marriott hotel. He suffered fatal traumatic injuries in May 2014 when he fell from scaffolding while moving supplies into a fourth floor window. I wrote about the incident shortly after it was reported by local press. Federal inspectors out of OSHA’s Corpus Christi, TX office conducted an inspection of the worksite following Reyes’…

Milton “Tito” Rafael Barreto Hernandez, 22, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Tuesday, October 28, while working for Scott Materials in Scott, Louisiana. KLFY provides some initial information on the worker’s death: His employer, Scott Materials, is a “concrete crushing company.” A supervisor and another employee were with Hernandez when the accident occurred. They were working to remove debris from a conveyor belt on a piece of heavy machinery. The equipment was turned back on and Hernandez was pulled into the machine. OSHA’s on-line inspection data suggests Scott Materials has not been…

Ernesto Rodriguez, 41, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Wednesday, September 10 while working at an oil rig site in southern Oklahoma. Local news reports provide some initial information on the worker’s death: The incident occurred at an XTO Energy well near Mannsville, OK (about 2 hours north of Dallas, TX). Rodriguez was employed by Mercer Well Service. The company’s headquarters is in Gainseville, TX, which was also Rodriguez’s hometown. Sheriff John Smith reported “that a pipe was somehow forced out of a well hole and struck Rodriguez.” “Rodriguez was operating a workover rig…

Elbert C. Woods, 45, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Thursday, August 21 while working at Cleveland Track Material. Local reporters provide some initial information on the worker’s death: The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports: Woods’ clothing became stuck in a machine and he was pulled into it. Woods’ co-workers were able to free him from the machine while they awaited response by the local fire department. Cleveland.com notes that Cleveland Track Material: Employs about 250 people. The company manufactures railway track and components, such as switches that move trains from one…

Erik Deighton’s work-related death could have been prevented. That’s how I see the findings of Michigan OSHA (MIOSHA) in the agency’s citations against his employer, Colonial Plastics (here, here). The 23-year-old was working at the firm’s Shelby Township, Michigan location in March 2014 when he suffered fatal traumatic injuries involving a stamping press. I wrote about the incident shortly after it was reported by local press. MIOSHA conducted an inspection of the worksite following Deighton’s death. The agency recently issued citations to Colonial Plastics for seven serious violations and…

[Updated below (8/28/14)] Jessica Robinson at Northwest Public Radio reminds us today that penalties assessed are meaningless until they are paid. She updates us on the fatal injury death of silver miner Larry Marek, 53, who was killed in April 2011 at Hecla Mining's Lucky Friday mine. Marek was killed by a massive rock fall. It took rescuers 10 days to recover his body. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) investigated the incident and socked the company with citations for "unwarrantable failures to comply" with ground support standards. The agency proposed penalties of nearly $…

[Updated below (9/5/14)] Jose Alfredo Isagirrez-Mejia, 29, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Monday, July 21 while working at a construction site in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The incident occurred on a $15 million project managed by Miller Construction Company. It’s the future site of a BMW/MINI dealership and service complex. Local10.com reports the following about the incident: a ceiling roof beam “came crashing down” three workers were lowering the beam in place with a crane. “Something went wrong and it struck all three workers.” The Sun-Sentinel reports: a carpenter who was an eye-…

[Update below] Chandler Warren, 19, suffered fatal traumatic injuries on Wednesday, July 2, 2014 while working at FedEx’s World Hub in Memphis, Tennessee. WAFF reports that the Memphis Fire Department received a call at about 2:53 a.m. about the incident. WREG reports “a loader that lifts containers onto aircraft came crashing down.” FOX13 reports Warren was new on the job and was working as a material handler at the facility.  He underwent emergency surgery for injuries that his father said were "worse than he could have ever imagined."  The 19 year old survived the surgery, but succumbed…

You’d think the man responsible for the death of 29 coal miners would show remorse and not subject us to his opinions. Nope. That’s not what we should ever expect from Don Blankenship, the former CEO of Massey Energy. Four years ago this coming Saturday, April 5, will mark the 4th anniversary of the coal dust explosion that killed 29 workers at the Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine. Blankenship thinks it is appropriate to mark the anniversary with his propaganda. Blankenship hired Adroit Films of Chesapeake, VA to produce a documentary called “Upper Big Branch – Never Again.”  It…

What do Kraft Foods Global, Tyson Foods, Sea World and Lucas Oil Production Studio have in common? They are four of the 147 employers identified by OSHA as "severe violators" of worker health and safety standards. Earlier this month, federal OSHA posted on its website a document listing employers in 30 States who meet the agency's criteria as a "recalcitrant employers who endanger workers by demonstrating indifference to their responsibilities under the law." The OSHA document is a 4-page PDF and for your convenience, I've converted it into a spreadsheet in MS-Excel to make it easier to…

Karen Lubanty recounts: "He kissed me goodbye, told me he'd call me at work later. He kissed Jennifer goodbye. That was it, he never came home." Her husband, Walter Lubanty, was killed in October 2006 while working at a Tilcon NY Inc. plant in Wharton, NJ. He was crushed by 75 tons of steel. The company was assessed a $7,500 penalty by OSHA for three serious safety violations. The young widow tells part of the story of how her life changed that day in a 5-minute video produced by the Machinists Union (IAM). The piece was filmed at a town hall meeting held in Virginia to discuss much-…