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On Tuesday, a worker died when the cable of a hydraulic boom snapped, pinning him against the vehicle. William Barnes, 48, was operating the hydraulic boom on Throgs Neck Bridge in New York. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. According to authorities, the electrical worker did have a commercial driver’s license, which was required to operate the equipment.

The original emergency call, around 10:25am said the worker had fallen, but later reports stated that he had been pinned against the vehicle. Lanes on the bridge were temporarily shut down for emergency rescue workers, and the contract employees directly involved in the construction accident have been removed from the project.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the bridge accident.

Electrical Worker Killed by Crane Boom on Throgs Neck Bridge, New York Times, August 25, 2009 Continue reading

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As of Thursday, two of the workers who survived a construction accident last week were still in the hospital. Jessis Dominguez was listed in fair condition, and Maria Lima was listed in serious condition and was still in the intensive care unit.

The workers were building a steel bridge pylon frame at the state Route 75 bridge replacement project last Wednesday when the structure broke, plunging three construction workers in the South Fork of the Holston River. The other worker, Frangel Garcia, died at the scene of the accident. Rescue divers discovered his body near the collapsed column roughly an hour after the incident. The company’s compliance officer said all three were using safety equipment.

According to the findings from an initial investigation, the steel frame collapsed after a cable snapped. The Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the fatal accident.

Construction Accident Survivors Remain Hospitalized, TriCities.com, August 24, 2009 Continue reading

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On Tuesday, a construction worker died after the front-end loader he was driving fell seven stories. Carlos Maryorga, 35, was pinned inside the Bobcat and rescue crews had to extricate him.

The construction accident occurred at a construction work site on Chicago’s Near South Side around 9:40am. The work was part of a $3.1 million demolition project, which was scheduled to be completed in December. The construction accident victim was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:08am.

Police and detectives are investigating the fatal construction accident but not as a criminal case.

Construction worker killed in seven-story fall on Near South Side, Chicago Sun-Times, August 18, 2009
Man Dies After Construction Accident, CBS2Chicago.com, August 18, 2009 Continue reading

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A subcontractor in Holly Springs, North Carolina was working on the electrical system at the Utley Wastewater Treatment Plant when he was shocked and knocked unconscious. The electrical accident occurred just before 11am.

A town employee reportedly administrated CPR after the worker, age 34, stopped breathing and appeared to have no pulse. The injured worker is apparently an employee of Via Electric Co., but his name had not been released as of late Thursday afternoon. Paramedics were able to revive the injured worker before taking him to WakeMed.

The man was later flown to the Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals where he was listed in critical but stable condition.

Worker is critically hurt at sewage plant, NewsObserver.com, August 14, 2009 Continue reading

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Our workplace accident attorneys have recently learned that a Massachusetts composites factory is facing a total of $442,150 in proposed fines. The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited the Rockland, Massachusetts manufacturing and assembly facility for alleged violations of health and safety standards.

According to OSHA’s area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts, a safety inspective revealed inadequate or absent safeguards against workers’ exposure to lead. The two companies involved reportedly failed to conduct required air and biological monitoring to determine and track workers’ lead exposure levels. They also failed to implement adequate controls to reduce lead exposure and did not keep work surfaces and floors as clean of lead accumulation as possible.

Globe Composite Solutions faces $209,500 in proposed penalties for two willful, 41 serious, and 6 other-than-serious violations. ADP TotalSource II faces $233,650 in fines for two willful, 29 serious, and one other-than-serious violations. OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from hazards about which the employer knew or should have known. The companies have 15 business days from receipt of their citations to take action.

Composites factory facing $442,150 in OSHA penalties, Reliable Plant Magazine, August 6, 2009 Continue reading

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Last Wednesday, two workers in Boston’s Financial District clung to a safety line in panic for 20 minutes after the engine let go of a window-washing platform 37 stories above the street. According to one official, who spoke to the Boston Globe on condition of anonymity, officials believe the scaffolding accident was a freak accident rather than human error.

Massachusetts does not regulate window-washing scaffolding, which means that enforcement of safety regulations may have fallen into a void between state and federal authorities. The state inspects elevators and other hoisting equipment but it does not certify scaffolding. Firefighters broke the glass of the Exchange Place tower and rescued the two traumatized workers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the scaffolding accident.

Questions raised on scaffold regulation, Boston Globe, August 7, 2009 Continue reading

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Massachusetts manufacturer for more than two dozen willful, serious, and other-than-serious violations of safety and health standards at its Watertown, Massachusetts production plant.

Fluid Management Systems Inc. faces proposed fines totaling $125,000, mainly for electrical, chemical, and respirator hazards. According to OSHA’s area director for Middlesex and Essex counties, OSHA inspectors found employees working without personal protective gear in close proximity to energized electrical circuits. OSHA safety regulations mandate that employees wear protective equipment if de-energizing is not feasible. Inspectors also found unqualified employees working on energized equipment and unguarded or uncovered live electrical parts. OSHA issues serious citations when injury is likely to occur from hazards that the company knew or should have known about.

The company also received one other-than-serious citation for not recording work injuries and illnesses in the OSHA 300 log or equivalent. OSHA gives companies 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, participate in an informal conference with the OSHA area director or contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

OSHA proposes $125K fine for Massachusetts manufacturer, ReliablePlant.com, August 3, 2009 Continue reading

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In Springfield, Massachusetts, construction crews laying a fiber optic cable along I-91 reportedly severed an underground electrical line, causing a power outage that impacted almost a fifth of the city at its peak.

The accident occurred around 1pm last Thursday. According to Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECO) officials, service would be restored to most customers by 6pm.

Twenty-four hours later, thousands of residents were still without power. WMECO placed automated calls to its customers on Friday afternoon asking them to conserve power and report any new outages. As a result of the accident, traffic lights were out, and businesses were forced to close.

Damaged line cuts out power in Springfield, MassLive.com, July 31, 2009
24 Hours On, Power Still Out for Thousands, CBS3Springfield.com, July 31, 2009 Continue reading

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Following an investigation into a fatal fall accident in Lincoln, Nebraska, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued two serious citations to a Kansas construction firm. The alleged violations come with $13,300 in proposed penalties.

When OSHA inspectors visited the construction work site, they discovered that employer had altered equipment to accommodate personnel lifting, but it had not evaluated the equipment’s ability to support the alteration. A worker died after falling from an elevated platform that was attached to a skid steer loader to the concrete below. One of the serious citations was for altering the equipment and the other was for a lack of employee safety training.

OSHA issues serious citations when death or serious injury is likely to result from a hazard that an employer know or should have known about. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with their OSHA area director, or contest the findings.

Kansas Construction Firm Fined $13,300 Following Fatality, OHSonline.com, August 3, 2009 Continue reading

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According to a recent editorial on Impre.com, deaths of Hispanic workers have increased 76% since 1992 despite the fact that the overall workplace death rate has decreased.

Latinos are becoming a larger segment of the United States workforce, but they also represent a disproportionate number of deaths. Five out of every 100,000 Hispanics die at work. For Caucasians, that number is 4.0 and for African-Americans, 3.7.

Latino immigrants also have 70% more fatal workplace accidents than non-immigrant Latinos, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Researchers attribute this statistic to possible language and cultural barriers, as well as a lack of training and supervision.

Another factor is that undocumented immigrants tend to work in construction, which has a higher accident rate than other industries, and tend not to report unsafe conditions because they fear the repercussions.

Death in the workplace, Impre.com, July 21, 2009 Continue reading

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