34 incidents & 1 update (6/8/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker 

STORY of INTEREST (UNREAL!!!) Grain Accident Results in $1.6M Work Injury Lawsuit Award (a work injury lawsuit has resulted in a $1.6 million jury award for a man who lost his leg in a grain bin accident – the verdict was handed down by a jury against the company which sold a conveyor system to the employer – according to the complaint, the worker was sweeping corn out of a grain bin when his right foot and leg got caught in a drag chain, severely injuring him and causing him the loss of his leg – at trial, product liability attorneys argued that the conveyor company was negligent in providing adequate warning, instruction and safety measures for grain bin workers – the lawsuit also claimed that the conveyor system was defective and unreasonably dangerous, as the drag chain was unguarded and only six inches from a large sump hole – the conveyor company argued that it was negligence on the part of the employer to send workers in to sweep out the bin while the conveyor system was running – jury found the conveyor company to be 46% at fault, the employer to be 44% at fault, and the worker to be 10% at fault – worker was awarded $1.6 million for past and future medical expenses, lost wages and lost earnings – a Kansas cap on compensatory damages is likely to reduce the award)

Industrial

FALL Man suffers 3rd degree burns in industrial accident (a worker, 23, was in critical condition after falling into a vat of toxic chemicals – he had burns over 60 percent of his body – he was decontaminated and flown from a Hospital in Richmond to a Hospital in Dayton – current condition is unknown at this time – NOTE some news account state it was Caustic he fell into)

BURNS Worker Drops Ladle Of Hot Metal, Suffers Serious Burns (a worker was seriously burned on the job at a metal plant – emergency crews got the call around 11:30 to respond – a man dropped a ladle of hot metal and suffered serious burns to his feet – he was flown to the hospital for treatment of his burns)

UPDATE on FORKLIFT FATALITY Companies fined over forklift death (two companies have been fined $55,000 dollars after a worker was rolled and pushed to his death by a forklift – the paper mill was handed down a $40,000 fine – the contractor was also fined $15,000 after the incident which happened when nearly six tonnes of pulp paper was being moved from a shed to the wharf last year- worker was struck by the forklift, and pushed about 17 metres until the forklift driver realized something was wrong and stopped – the Department of Labour said the accident was horrific and preventable)

FALL Worker falls through factory roof (a worker, in his 40’s, was airlifted to hospital with serious head injuries after falling through the roof of a building on an industrial estate – he suffered serious head injuries and was airlifted to a Hospital – no other details)

Offshore worker flown to hospital after cable accident (a worker has been airlifted to hospital with head injuries after being hit by a cable – the incident happened on a vessel which was involved in drilling operations – a coastguard spokesman said the worker could have received more serious injuries if he had not been wearing a hard hat –  no other details)

CRANE FATALITY Milwaukee man crushed by 3-ton steel bar at Acme Galvanizing (OSHA investigating this incident – a 23-year-old factory worker was crushed when a 3-ton steel bar swung down from an overhead crane – the crash was reported Tuesday about 4:15 a.m. – medical examiner’s report says several workers heard a noise and found the worker crushed beneath the bar – he was apparently trying to use a crane to move the 64-foot-long bar, but one of the hooks that attached to the bar was not securely fastened – the bar was 10 to 15 feet in the air when one end broke away and slammed into him)

RADIATION Two Fukushima workers overexposed (two workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant have reportedly been exposed to radiation amounts exceeding the safety limit set by the government – according to tests on two control room operators conducted by the National Institute of Radiology Sciences, a worker in his 30s internally absorbed an estimated 218 to 580 millisieverts of radiation, while another worker in his 40s received between 200 and 570 millisieverts – most of the radiation was in the men’s thyroid glands – the two men are reported not to be showing immediate health problems)

(construction workers begin cleaning up after a portion of one of the powerline towers fell – a helicopter dropped a section of the transmission tower around 8:40 a.m. – the 15,000 pound section fell about 200 feet to the desert floor, though company spokesman could not say specifically how close it fell to the highway – he did say it fell near the shoulder of the road – no one was injured – no cause has been determined yet – when asked whether 20 mile per hour wind gusts could have contributed to the accident, spokesman said the company is unwilling to speculate – no other property or county facilities were damaged – photos @ link)

GUARDING/LOTO Woman hurt in industrial accident (a woman was injured in an industrial accident just after 6 p.m. – she suffered serious cuts to her hand when her hand became caught in a machine – plant makes machinery for other companies, and she had come to the plant to learn how to operate a particular machine – workers at the plant had freed the woman’s hand by the time fire department paramedics reached the scene – she was taken to a Regional Medical Center and from there was airlifted to Vanderbilt Hospital)

FLASH FIRE 7 Intel workers injured in fire (a flash fire erupted in a solvent-collection room injuring seven employees, one severely – several hundred people were evacuated from Building OC-10 – one employee suffered second- or third-degree burns and was transported to a Medical Center – the burns are not life-threatening – two others were taken to a Regional Medical Center and another to a different Medical Center – three others were treated and released on site – the fire that erupted about 2:15 p.m. was quenched by the time three hazmat units and 70 firefighters arrived – investigation is under way to determine if the accident was human- or machine-caused – the collection room contains four types of solvents – some are deposited into 55-gallon drums after running over metals, while others are stored in drums)

WORKZONE FATALITY Sanitation worker killed on upstate NY road (a sanitation worker, 24, has been struck and killed by a federal government vehicle while picking up recyclable material along a road – driver crossed into the opposite lane of the road early Tuesday morning and was struck by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement car – he was pronounced dead at the scene – police believe the worker didn’t see the car when he walked into the road – agent driving the car wasn’t ticketed)

FATAL MINE EXPLOSION Blast kills Chinese miner, worker (an accidental dynamite explosion killed a worker operating a small-scale mining site and one of his co-workers – they died on the spot after the dynamite sticks  they were installing inside the mining tunnel went off – three other workers, who survived the explosion, told investigators that the mine hired the alleged dynamite expert to help him in his blasting activity at the mining site)

LOADING DOCK FATALITY Truck hits and kills warehouse worker in Hickory (a worker, 49, was killed when he was hit by a truck backing up at a food supplier warehouse at 10:30 am – a tractor trailer was backing up to a loading dock when it hit the worker who was in the area)

FALL into SILO Silo plunge puts man in clinic (a worker, 37, was hospitalised with undisclosed injuries after falling into a silo – the worker was ordered to close a ventilation shaft on the silo’s roof when he slipped and fell around 10 metres – he refused to follow company rules and use a safety belt – his landing was softened by a few cubic metres of cereals – he complained about pains in his chest and was taken to a clinic)

HOTWORK FIRE – TANK LINING Welding eyed as cause of Searsport tank fire (the fire may have been caused by welding work that was being done on top of the large tank – the day of the fire, the fire broke out in the tank while routine maintenance and upgrade work was being done – the tank was empty at the time and the fire started in a rubber ring or lip around the top of the tank – the fire was contained inside the tank – officials do not yet have a dollar estimate of how much damage was done to the tank)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION on GAS TANK Seven Killed in Gas Station Blast East of Beirut (seven people were killed and 15 were injured in a fuel tank explosion – the incident occurred in a diesel warehouse at a petrol station – the explosion set off a huge fire that caused serious damage to the surrounding area – the explosion was the result of a malfunction during the welding of one of the fuel tanks)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire destroys Tuscola recycling facility (a recycling business was destroyed by fire – a spark from a worker’s cutting torch caused the fire – the alarm came in at 4:27 a.m. – the rear third of the building was engulfed in flame and smoke when firefighters arrived four minutes later – using two tanker trucks, firefighters got the bulk of the fire knocked down, but had to wait for more water and the fire “regained control”  – it had progressed at that point into the middle third of the building – several firefighters were treated at the scene for heat-related stress)

REFINERY FIRE Fire at ExxonMobil in Beaumont (fire was put out at 1:35 p.m. and refinery is still monitoring it – cause of the fire is under investigation – the fire was on a hydrocarbon storage tank – the tank was being emptied for maintenance – all refinery personnel have been accounted for – no injuries reported – fire is isolated and fully contained within a single storage tank)

NUCLEAR Fire disrupts cooling system at Neb. nuclear plant (a small fire disrupted the cooling system at an eastern Nebraska nuclear power plant, but regulators say there was no danger of radiation release because the plant has been shut down for refueling – the fire in a switchgear room was reported Tuesday morning and extinguished by automated systems within less than an hour – plant briefly lost its main cooling system for the spent fuel pool, but the temperature of the pool remained at safe levels – plant regained cooling ability and didn’t have to use any of its backup cooling systems – the plant has been shut down since April)

EXPLOSION – INJURY DURING EVAC One Injured After Explosion At Camp Minden (an explosion rocked a black-powder plant – one worker was injured when he fell during the evacuation – a resulting fire was out shortly after that – authorities evacuated everyone in a 1,000-yard radius of the plant until emergency crews were sure the situation was stabilized – five employees were in a part of the plant called the corning mill when the incident occurred – approximately 1,000 pounds of black powder exploded – the injured worker who fell during the evacuation was taken to a Medical Center)

EXPLOSION Explosion injures workers at Simon Bolivar hydro project in Venezuela (two workers have been injured in an explosion at a 10,300-MW hydroelectric project – the technicians, who suffered first and second degree burns, were performing final tests on the hydro plant’s unit 12, which is currently disconnected from the national SEN network for refurbishment)

AMMONIA Gas leak at Malaviya Nagar, major mishap averted (an ammonia gas leak at an ice factory caused local residents to suffer from breathing difficulties and itchy eyes – though a major mishap was averted local residents and factory owners had a harrowing time for almost two hours – the leakage was traced to a cold storage factory that contains more than 700 kg of ammonia and four of its cylinders carrying 200 kg ammonia each had leaked)

Construction

WORKZONE Three injured in accident (an accident involving a road maintenance vehicle left three people injured – a westbound vehicle driven by a 43-year-old man struck a County road maintenance vehicle – the road maintenance worker was working on shoulder maintenance in the westbound lane – poor visibility from dust was a factor in the accident, which led to the driver of the car and his two passengers being taken to a Medical Center for treatment of non-life threatening injuries)

TRENCH Cave-in hurts city worker (a city water department worker was injured by a trench cave-in – three water department employees were digging a trench along the south side of the road to install a 12-inch water line – one worker was operating a backhoe, and another worker was observing from ground level – the third worker was in the approximately 4-foot-deep trench, cleaning dirt – the rest of the article requires a subscription to the NEWSPAPER)

WORKZONE FATALITY Caltrans Worker Killed (a Department of Transportation lead maintenance worker, 53, was killed when he was struck by a vehicle – accident occurred shortly after 1:00 p.m. on eastbound Interstate 8 – he was working inside of a closed lane on the freeway when he was struck by a vehicle – DOT had a crew working on the entrance to the Rest Area and had the #2 lane closed – worker was inside the area that had been closed off but the driver veered into that lane and struck him , causing fatal injuries – driver attempted to flee the scene by going through the closed rest area but was involved in another accident that caused his vehicle to overturn – he sustained major injuries as a result of the second collision and airlifted to a Medical Center- he was placed under arrest for Gross Vehicular Manslaughter and Felony Hit and Run – worker started working for DOT in 1989)

WORKZONE MTA worker badly hurt after driver of white Jaguar hits and runs (worker, 51, is clinging to life after being hit by a white Jaguar – he is breathing through a ventilator – police are hunting for the driver of the white Jaguar that hit him about 9:10 p.m. on Sunday – he has fractured legs, a broken pelvis, collarbone and shoulder bones, and bruising all over his body – he remains in critical condition – he has worked as a subway car cleaner for more than a decade)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITIES – 2 Entrants 2 workers identified in fatal manhole accident (two men, 34 and 32, died in a manhole on a dirt path off a Road near U.S. 70, in a rural area – a man called 911 about 6 p.m. when his truck broke down by the dirt path and he noticed the men in the manhole – both workers were construction workers with a grading and paving company – the incident is considered a confined space accident and is being investigated by NC OSHA – authorities are waiting for autopsy results to determine the cause of death – this company has been investigated 31 times for various reasons by the North Carolina Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Division since 1997 – the most recent violation cited by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration was in 2010 – the company was fined $57,000 for exposing workers to hazardous conditions)

Worker crushed to death by concrete slabs (worker, 54, was pronounced dead at the scene – he died after a pile of concrete blocks fell on him at a construction site – it is understood that another worker had called for help after he spotted an arm sticking out from under a pile of concrete slabs which had fallen off a piling machine – worker had been standing next to the piling machine when the five blocks, each weighing 4.5 tonnes, slipped off the machine and crushed him – it is unclear how the incident happened)

WORKZONE FATALITY Road worker killed in Cairns (investigations have begun into the death of a road worker, 66, who was killed overnight – he was part of a line marking crew when he was hit by a car at 11:00 pm)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING Man seriously hurt in scaffolding plunge at Bedworth house (a man was taken to a hospital with serious injuries after falling 25ft from scaffolding – the man, believed to be in his 50s, is thought to have also hit a garden wall during his fall – he has serious chest, shoulder and spinal injuries)

MIscellaneous

TREE TRIMMING FATALITY Worker killed by falling branch (a council worker, 53, died after a branch fell off a tree that he and his colleagues were cutting back – he passed away shortly after the thick branch landed on his head in the work accident at a park – he was pronounced dead by an emergency doctor who arrived in an ambulance minutes after the incident – the men were cutting back some trees in several steps when one heavy but brittle branch dropped on the worker after it was diverted by another, more solid branch)

PROPANE FLASH FIRE lighting oven Hospital worker hurt when propane ignites (a kitchen worker at a community hospital was thrown backward two feet and had her hair and eyelashes singed when a build-up of propane ignited – a fan being used to keep the kitchen cool for staff might have extinguished the pilot light on the industrial grade stove – the stove was inspected earlier this year and again following the incident and has been found to be functioning properly – the staff member realized after a short few moments that the stove was not heating up like it should – she followed the same procedure as other staff members have done when the burner failed to light and used a barbecue lighter to create a flame – what appears to be different this time is that the propane gas had not yet dissipated, and there was more gas in the chamber than expected – lighting it caused a localized burst of flame and the worker sustained minor burns)

CHEMICAL Man Wanders into Fire Station After Chemical Spray (accident at a nearby hardware store sends a man into a fire station for help – he was passing a compactor in front of a nearby hardware store as it was crushing an aerosol spray paint can, and was then sprayed in the face by the contents – he complained of respiratory issues, but because he was wearing sunglasses, the spray did not affect his eyes – police are issuing citations to the business)

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