Articles Posted in Machinery Accidents

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited PEP Direct LLC, a mailing and printing company based out of Wilton, New Hampshire, with 17 willful and serious citations for violating workplace safety protocol, accompanied by fines of $170,000.

OSHA has cited and fined this company for the following serious safety breaches of workplace safety:

· Three of their four printing presses lacked guarding to protect operators and other workers against being caught or falling into the presses and despite the employer’s knowledge
· Workers were fixing electrical equipment without training, lack of protection equipment, and were fixing live electrical equipment without first turning off the power, all resulting in possible electrocution
· Untrained industrial truck operators
Rosemarie Ohar, OSHA’s New Hampshire Area Director, said that “These conditions, left uncorrected, expose workers to potential death or serious injury from being caught in operating machinery, struck by powered industrial trucks and electrocuted. The employer must comprehensively address all these hazards to eliminate them and keep workers safe…The sizable fines proposed here reflect the breadth and gravity of the hazards found at this plant as well as the employer’s knowledge of and failure to correct some of these conditions.”

Here in Massachusetts, the US Postal Service was charged earlier this year with similar citations and $238,000 in fines for electrical hazards at their Shrewsbury mail processing facility, as previously reported in the Altman & Altman’s Workers’ Compensation Blog.

If you have been injured in the workplace, our experienced lawyers can help. Please do not hesitate to contact us for advice on a workers’ compensation case and a free consultation.

Source:

US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Wilton, NH, direct mail printer and distributor for 17 willful and serious safety violations, OSHA Regional News, March 16, 2011 Continue reading

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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recently released a compliance guide to help small construction businesses adhere to an important new rule for the use and operation of cranes and derricks. The new standard, Cranes and Derricks in Construction, was introduced in August of 2010, and had not been updated since it was first issued in 1971. Since then, there have been a large number of deaths and injuries related to cranes and derricks and also significant technological improvements to the cranes, both of which the new standard aims to address. It is estimated that crane and derrick accidents are the cause of approximately 22 fatalities and 175 injuries per year.

The compliance guide that was released on Tuesday, March 8, 2011, aims to help smaller businesses understand the changes and adhere to the new standard in order to promote a safer work environment for the construction industry. Some of the updated requirements include inspections of crane parts before they are assembled and assessment of ground conditions. The guide also outlines the new requirements which include, but are not limited to:

• Crane operators will need to be officially qualified or certified as of November 10, 2014.
• Clearance distances from power lines and to protect workers against electrocution hazards.
• Use of synthetic slings when climbing tower cranes and other assembly activities, and use of approved riggers, to ensure the structural stability.
• The new standard includes equipment that was not covered or had very few requirements in the prior standard, such as floating cranes.

Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, said “Over the past four decades, we’ve continued to see a significant number of worker injuries and deaths from electrocution, crushed-by and struck-by hazards while performing cranes and derricks operations…This guide will help employers understand what they must do to protect their workers from these dangerous, sometimes fatal incidents.” For the complete guide, visit OSHA’s Small Entity Compliance Guide for Final Rule Cranes and Derricks in Construction.

If you have been injured while working on a construction site or have a question about a case, feel free to contact one of our experienced attorneys for a free consultation.

Source:

OSHA issues guidance document to help small businesses comply with cranes and derricks rule, OSHA Trade News, March 8, 2011 Continue reading

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Working alone on Wednesday after the most recent blizzard to hit the East Coast, a Plainville school department employee suffered a serious hand injury while clearing snow at the Jackson School on Route 106. The man stuck his hand in the jammed snowblower to clear an obstruction and, subsequently, got caught in the machine.

A tow truck crew from Achin’s Towing in North Attleboro heard the man’s screams as they were driving by and stopped to help. The workers applied pressure to his hand to stop the bleeding and called 911, Plainville Fire Chief Ted Joubert said. The victim was treated by Plainville paramedics and was taken to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence because of the seriousness of the injury.

Fire and hospital officials cautioned residents to take it easy when clearning snow from their driveways and cars. Fire officials also recommended clearing fire hydrants nearby their homes.

Dr. Brian Kelly, assistant chief of ambulatory care at Sturdy Memorial Hospital advised residents to pace themselves while shoveling snow.

Source:
Winter Storm Wallops Area, The Sun Chronicle, January 12, 2011 Continue reading

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This Friday, an 18-year-old golf course employee drowned while cutting grass at a Massachusetts golf course.

The victim, a college student, was operating a ride-on lawn mower at a Lakeville golf course when he drove into a manmade water hazard.

The worker was pinned by his ride-on lawn mower under approximately five feet of water. The young man was discovered about twenty minutes after being submerged. He was given CPR at the scene of the work accident and was rushed to Morton Hospital and Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
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A 24-year-old worker at the Yankee Candle Co. warehouse in Deerfield died after falling from a forklift. The man started his employment at the warehouse only a few months before the accident. He obtained the position through a local temp agency.

The man fell approximately 30 feet from the forklift. The police have stated that the worker may have been standing on a forklift extension at the time of the accident.

According to the local district attorney’s office, following the fall, the employee was taken by ambulance to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield where he was pronounced dead.
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Our Boston workers’ compensation attorneys have learned that a workplace accident injured a Massachusetts man earlier this week. The accident occurred at a gas pipeline work site when the man lost control of the bulldozer he was operating and it went down a steep embankment with a grade of about 1,800 or 1,900 feet.

The worker was found about 1,100 feet from where the bulldozer initially went out of control and was taken to a local hospital. He was listed in stable condition and his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

Police say it’s unclear whether the fall was the result of mechanical failure or operator error. Federal workplace safety investigators plan to look into what caused the bulldozer accident.

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According to The Boston Globe, a cleaning man was hospitalized after he was sucked into a seasoning machine at a sausage-making company in Danvers, Massachusetts. He was reportedly cleaning the vacuum-type machine on Thursday evening when it activated, sucking his head and shoulders into the machine.

A policeman told reporters that the man was freed from the machine and showed no obvious signs of trauma. He was transported to a local hospital as a precaution.

The machinery accident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Source: Police: Man sucked into sausage seasoning machine, The Boston Globe, May 23, 2010 Continue reading

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Last week, an industrial accident in Franklin, Connecticut trapped a worker inside the cab of a skid steer after a fork lift reportedly crashed into the skid steer. It took firefighters roughly 50 minutes using cutting tools and hydraulic lifts to free the unidentified man. State police say he was taken to a local hospital for minor injuries.

The fork lift accident was reported just after 7pm on Wednesday, March 24. It occurred at a construction site for a cell phone tower near the town’s library and fire department.

A state crane inspector and a compliance officer from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the construction accident.

Site: One man injured in construction accident in Franklin, Norwich Bulletin, March 25, 2010 Continue reading

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A Plainville, Massachusetts manufacturer and packager of medical equipment has received two citations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) following a machinery accident. A worker’s finger was pinched by a heat seal bar used to seal plastic bags, and the worker lost the tip of that finger as a result.

When inspectors investigated the plant, they identified three packaging machines that lacked required safeguards to prevent such accidents, exposing workers to amputation and laceration injuries. As a result, OSHA has issued one willful citation for the lack of machine guarding. That citation has a proposed fine of $56,000. In addition, the company received two serious citations for not providing a hazard communication program and training for employees working with hazardous chemicals in the workplace. Those citations carry $2,100 in proposed fines.

The company faces $58,100 in total proposed fines.

Source: OSHA cites Mass. manufacturer after amputation accident, ReliablePlant.com, December 2, 2009 Continue reading

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