Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace

NY operator of heavy machinery killed at construction worksite

August 7, Amenia, New York — In Amenia, New York, Police officials are heavily investigating the construction accident where an operator of an asphalt machine happened to fall to his death when working, as reported by the Associated Press. The construction worker was on site in Amenia when he suddenly fell off of the large piece of equipment pouring asphalt and landed on the ground which claimed the employees life. Authorities received news of the accident Wednesday morning. The man from upstate New York has been identified as 23 year-old Donald Flood, a resident of Wassic, which is a small town of Amenia, New York.


Fatal industrial accident reported at Lebanon County recycling center

August 7, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania - A man was killed Friday afternoon in an industrial accident at the Quaker Alloy Plant in Jackson Twp. Emergency crews responded to calls for a man who had fallen from a high lift just after noon at the East Richland Road site. A message left for the company's owner at the York offices was not returned. The incident remained under investigation. No information about the man's identity was released by the Lebanon County Coroner's Office because next of kin had not been notified.


Farmer killed when tractor overturns

August 7, Jonesboro, Arkansas - The body of a Jonesboro area farmer has been found in a tractor that overturned into a water filled ditch. Craighead County Sheriff Jack McCann says the body of 45-year-old William Todd May was found Wednesday afternoon. May's wife had reported him missing about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. McCann says it appears May was mowing when the tractor overturned into the ditch.


DEATH: Worker electrocuted at Benton City farm

August 6, Benton City, Washington - A Benton City farm worker was electrocuted this morning when a pipe he was carrying hit an exposed power line, authorities said. The incident happened at Judkins Family Farm on Truhlicka Road in Benton City, said Benton County sheriff’s Capt. Steve Keane. The worker was carrying a 4-inch aluminum pipe that came into contact with an exposed power line, Keane said.


PHA Worker Dies From Shooting Injuries

August 6, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - A Philadelphia Housing Authority carpenter has died from his injuries nearly two weeks after being shot while on the job. Police said 46-year-old PHA worker Rodney Barnes died Wednesday after being shot while working in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia on July 25. Barnes, a father of four, was working on weatherization and maintenance at Raymond Rosen Manor near the corner of North 24th and Norris Streets when he was shot once in the back of the head. Police said the gunman fled the scene after the shooting.


Construction Worker Dies From Heat Stroke

August 6, Corpus Cristi - The extreme heat has claimed the life of construction worker. Guadalupe Liscano, 32, was working with a crew building homes on Westridge Wednesday in the Flour Bluff area when he collapsed. Co-workers found him slumped over, lying in the sun around 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon. He was taken to an area hospital where he later died. The medical examiner says he died from a heat stroke.


Arlington man killed by falling 5,000-pound metal plate

August, 5, EULESS, Texas - An Arlington man was killed Tuesday night when a heavy steel plate that he was cleaning fell on him at a manufacturing plant, police said Wednesday. No other injuries were reported. Royce Bunkley, 53, was pronounced dead Tuesday night at Camtech Precision Manufacturing in the 1400 block of Westpark Way, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office. Bunkley died shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday.


Worker Electrocuted on Queens Roof

August 5, New York, New York - A man working on a roof in Queens was electrocuted when the ladder he was using came into contact with power lines, PIX News has learned. According to police, the incident occurred around 9 a.m. as 27-year-old William Barrett was leaning against a two-story home on 117 Street in College Point. Witnesses told fire officials Barrett had been replacing shingles on the roof when he suddenly fell two stories from the ladder. Officials said Barrett suffered cardiac arrest after being electrocuted. He was rushed to New York Hospital where he was pronounced dead.


PHA Carpenter Shot While at Work Has Died

August 5, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - A Philadelphia Housing Authority carpenter, shot on the job last month, has died. Rodney Barnes was making repairs and improvements to a unit in Raymond Rosen Manor in North Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon, July 29th. He went out to his truck for some tools and was shot in the back of the head, in a drive-by that police believe was a case of mistaken identity.


Customers find employee dead at Waxahachie pawn shop

August 5, Waxahachie, Texas - Two women walked into a Waxahachie pawn shop Tuesday to find a worker dead on the floor, police said. Investigators said they believe the employee, whose name has not yeat been released, was killed during a robbery at the store, which is located at Highway 77 and Interstate 35.


Official: Pillsbury plant employee kills co-worker

August 5, New Albany, Indiana — An employee crashed his car through a Pillsbury plant's security gate during a shift change Wednesday morning and then fatally shot a co-worker as others watched in horror, authorities said...Floyd County Coroner Leslie Knable, however, told The Tribune that the shooting involved a "love triangle" between a woman who lived at the home, the suspect and the victim, whom police identified as Christopher J. Trowell, 48, of Louisville, Ky.


Progressive Protein cited after forklift accident kills worker

August 5, Tulsa, Oklahoma - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Progressive Protein LLC of Omaha, Neb., for alleged safety and health violations following a fatal accident. An employee died after a forklift overturned and pinned the employee under the overhead protective cage. OSHA's inspection found three alleged serious and one alleged other-than-serious violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.


Man dies in Staten Island industrial accident

August 5, Staten Island, New York - A man was fatally injured by a piece of heavy machinery during an industrial accident yesterday in an Elm Park construction yard. The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. in Perfetto Enterprises, located at 2319 Richmond Terr. The unidentified victim -- in his 50s -- was apparently crushed by a backhoe, according to a source, and rushed to Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton, where he was pronounced dead.


Waynesville man dies in landfill accident

August 5, Waynesville — A Waynesville man died after he was run over by a large dump truck in what authorities called a freak accident at the Haywood County landfill. The truck pushed James M. Huskey's pickup truck for some 200 feet before the driver realized there had been a collision and stopped, said Mark Mease, a detective with the Haywood County Sheriff's Office. Authorities provided this version of events: Huskey, 54, of Garland Street, went to the landfill about 11 a.m. Monday with his neighbor, Ronald Demers, to dump some trash.


UPDATE: Worker found unconscious at Deere Foundry dies

August 4, Waterloo, Iowa — A worker has died after being found unconscious Tuesday at the John Deere Foundry in Waterloo. The worker, an employee of an electrical contractor working at the Deere & Co. Foundry, was taken to a local hospital shortly after noon, said Ken Golden, spokesman for Deere. Golden said the company would not disclose the worker’s identity. “The cause of death is unknown but is expected to be determined by autopsy,” Golden said via e-mail. “The individual was found unconscious in the workplace and was transported to the hospital by ambulance.”


Dubuque man killed in skid steer accident

August 4, Dubuque, Iowa - A Dubuque man was killed at his home Friday when he was pinned by a piece of machinery he was working on, police said. Merlin J. Merfeld, 76, of 380 Cedar Cross Road, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police arrived at his home at 10:40 a.m. Friday to find him pinned underneath a skid steer loader, a small excavator. He was working under the left arm with the bucket in the raised position when it somehow dropped and fell onto him.


Truck driver killed in southern Utah crash


August 4, Panguitch, Utah - A female truck driver was killed in a crash on S.R. 20 near Panguitch Monday evening when the semi she was driving rolled over. UHP troopers say the semi was traveling eastbound on SR-20 at about milepost 11 near Panguitch in Iron County. Troopers say it appears the driver was traveling too fast around a curve and lost control of the vehicle, which rolled onto its right side and hit a guardrail....The victim was later identified as Janine M. Koons From Stage Coach, Nevada.


Tips sought in Apple Valley cabdriver's stabbing

August 3, St. Paul, Minnesota - Apple Valley police are appealing for help from the public after a 41-year-old man who seems to have been living in his own taxi in the shadows of Apple Valley's downtown died in a stabbing over the weekend in his cab. Michael Allen Palm, known to some as "Cabbie Mike," was found on Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of an office building not far from the city's main business artery, Cedar Avenue.


Worker Crushed When Truck Gives Way

August 3, Huntsville, Alabama - A mechanic was killed this morning when he was pinned under a dump truck. The incident happened around 1o a.m. at a subdivision construction site on Hardiman Road in Madison. Madison Police tell us 31 year old Daniel Duplechain was crushed when the bed of the dump truck he was working under suddenly gave way.

1 comment:

Climbing gear said...

Safety of its employees is the main concern for any company working in the industrial field. Employees who work under unsafe and risky conditions must be supplied not only with adequate safety equipment but also with supervision. However many managers don't follow this rule since they believe that their employees have decent health and safety education and they are well equipped to manage any situation.

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