20 incidents & 1 update (8/8/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

FORKLIFT FATALITY Forklift operator killed outside Atlanta (a worker, 35, was killed when the forklift he was operating fell on him shortly before 7 p.m. – he was moving products when the forklift tilted, then fell on him and struck him in the head – he died at the scene)

LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY Coroner: Man killed at plant by automated machine (officials are investigating after authorities say a plant worker, 43, was killed when he was pinned against metal racks by an automated, laser-guided machine at a food warehouse – he was found pinned between an unmanned laser-guided machine used to lift and haul loaded pallets of product and a metal racking unit used to store those pallets – his duties included overseeing the laser-guided vehicles’ operation – there were no witnesses to the accident)

UPDATE on FATAL FLASH FIRE Workers in fatal accident weren’t wearing protective clothing (a report from the County sheriff’s department says the two workers who were fatally burned at a mill were not wearing protective clothing at the time of the accident – the workers were burned by fly ash while working for an industrial cleaning company at the mill – a worker, 47, died on the day of the accident after being rushed to a burn unit – co-worker, 29, died a week later after being transferred to a hospital)

EXPLOSION @ POWER PLANT IPL explosion injures 2 workers (two contract workers were injured in an explosion – both men suffered burns in the 1:30 a.m. incident and one also suffered a broken arm and broken leg – the two workers were taken to the hospital – one was treated and released and the worker who sustained the fractures remained in the hospital – the accident occurred in the area of the plant’s coal pulverizers, where large pieces of coal are ground into smaller particles)

EXPLOSION @ POWER PLANT MO. power plant briefly evacuated after explosion (more than 200 people were briefly evacuated after a small explosion and fire at a power plant – the explosion occured in a remote area known as a coal bunker – there were no injuries – a damage estimate wasn’t yet available)

FALL from PLATFORM Worker injured after 12-foot fall (worker was in stable condition after falling from a work platform about 12 feet high shortly before 10 a.m. at a construction site – the injured worker was taken to a Medical Center with injuries that were not considered life threatening)

UPDATE Man hospitalized after Sinclair refinery emergency (a contractor was hurt in a fire at the refinery – he was treated and released)

CONSTRUCTION

FALL Worker injured at Pegula Ice Arena construction site (one worker was injured at the Ice Arena construction site when he fell at the worksite and was taken to a Medical Center by ambulance – the worker was conscious when he was wearing protective equipment at the time of the accident)

CRANE FATALITY Chennai metro rail crane collapse kills one, injures six workers (one worker, 30, died and six others were injured when a malfunctioning crane dropped a massive steel reinforcement on workers – reinforcements weighing up to 25 tonnes were readied, lifted by a crane up to a height of 25 meters and slowly lowered into the diaphragm wall pit with the manual assistance below – the crane boom failed while it was lowering the reinforcements into the 20m deep pit dug for construction of the diaphragm wall around 9.45 pm – the fall of the reinforcements hit the workers around, killing one and injuring six others)

ELECTRICAL and EXCAVATION Electrical Accident Sends One to the Hospital (a worker was digging with a small front loader and struck a high-voltage line – the worker reportedly suffered burn injuries from the sparks and was transported to a local hospital)

CRANE Construction Worker in Hospital After Accident (a worker, 33, was hospitalized after he was crushed by a shifting crane at a construction site – he was working at the site when a crane that had been loaded onto a flatbed truck shifted, pinning him between the truck and the crane arm)

ELECTROCUTION Duluth construction worker electrocuted (a worker, 38, was electrocuted in a construction accident – the man was working on a home when the accident happened – he was without a pulse when first responders arrived – CPR was started and he was transported to a Medical Center where he was pronounced dead)

CRUSHED BETWEEN FRONT END LOADER and TRUCK Worker seriously hurt at construction site (a construction worker is recovering from serious injuries after he became pinned between a front loader and a work truck at the site – the victim was working on a repaving project when he was crushed – the man injured both of his legs)

FALL from LADDER Twenty Foot Fall Sends Construction Worker To Hospital (a construction worker was injured when he fell 20 feet while working in a trench – worker was climbing a ladder inside the trench when he fell and hit a large cement pipe just after 10 a.m.)

FALL Worker injured in elevator fall (a construction worker received a minor injury after falling in an elevator shaft at a Medical Center – he fell about 12′ at the new construction site – about one floor – he is in stable condition and received minor injuries)

WORKZONE IDOT worker helping motorist is critically hurt in Dan Ryan hit-and-run (a DOT worker, 42, is in critical condition after getting struck by a hit-and-run driver – the worker was helping a stalled motorist when he was critically injured by a hit-and-run driver on the Dan Ryan Expressway – he was hit by a gray or silver car, possibly a Nissan, around midnight – he was taken to a Hospital for a fractured right leg, but physicians found that he also had suffered internal bleeding)

MISCELLANEOUS

CRUSHED BY TRAILER FATALITY Florida collection worker killed (a collection worker, 25, was killed as he was picking up trash on the beach – he attempted to step onto a moving trailer of garbage around 7 p.m. and instead fell under the trailer – although the trailer was being pulled by a tractor at only 4 mph, he was crushed)

CRUSHING INJURY from FRONT-END LOADER Worker injured in accident (a worker, 20, was rushed to hospital following an industrial accident at a  landscaping business – the worker suffered a severe compound fracture to the lower part of his right leg in a mishap involving a front-end loader)

FORKLIFT and PROPANE TANK PROPANE ACCIDENT INJURES 2 (a propane tank ruptured and caught the forklift transporting it on fire – workers, 25 and 29, were both treated for first- and second-degree burns following the incident that occurred about 8 p.m. – the brothers were in the process of moving a propane tank when it shifted on the forklift and caught on a ladder, breaking a brass piece off the tank – “The tank was empty, but with propane, it’s not really empty,” he said. “The fumes from the escaping vapors started into the engine, and that’s what ignited” – two empty seed bins also were damaged in the incident – both young men were transported to a Hospital for treatment)