The Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace

Continuing to honor worker's who have been lost to a work related incident who were not previously known to us.  Hearts and thoughts are with the families......

MAY 2012

May 3 - Honolulu, HI - Tran Nam Phuc died while working for David Vo Fishing, LLC.  He suffered a fatal heart attack. 

May 4 - Perkins, OK - 49 year old Francisco Cerda died on the job when he fell from an elevated platform, striking his head against a metal table. He was employed with Ralph's Packing Co. 

May 5 - Bronx, NY - 52 year old Edison Oseguera was killed on the job when he fell through a roof skylight.  He was working for ALR Environmental Corp.

May 7 - Asheville, NC - 63 year old Dana Bruce was killed on the job when the riding lawn mower he was operating slid down an embankment at a Blue Ridge Parkway overlook.  He was employed by U.S. Department of Interior/National Park Service.

May 7 - Roswell, GA - 64 year old John Clarke was killed on the job when he fell off the roof of a building as he was taking measurements for a pre-construction job.  He was employed by Malon D. Mimms Co., LLC.

May 7 - Jackson, MO - 29 year old Matthew Pooker was killed on the job when he became pinned between the tracks of a mobile crane and railroad timbers while helping to change a track on the crane.  He was an engineer for  Penzel Construction Company. 



May 8 - Boulder, CO - 39 year old Eduardo Castro was killed on the job when he was crushed under a steel canopy that collapsed as it was being erected.  Two other workers were injured. He was employed with Wyatt Construction Co, Inc. a sub for High Ball Erectors, LLC and Steelstar Corporation.  

May 9 - Edgeworth, PA - 47 year old Chester Sipes of Aliquippa, was killed on the job when a pole saw he was using in an elevated bucket contacted an overhead power line.  He was owner of DLS Services.

May 9 - Lake Sherwood, MO -  David Martin, Jr. was killed on the job when he came into contact with energized power lines while working for C. Bennett Building Supply, Inc. dba Contractors Roofing and Supply Co.

May 10 - Keatchie, LA - 22 year old Zachary "Ty" Stewart was killed on the job when he fell 90 feet on an oil rig. He was wearing fall protection but the cable was severed. 



May 12 - Portland, CT - 63 year old Andrew B. Sloan of Colchester, died on injuries he suffered in an incident May 10th. He was found under a powered industrial truck that rolled down an embankment. He was working for Fairways Fivesome LLC dba Portland Golf Club.

May 12 - Cleveland, OH - 43 year old Timothy Sherman of Garfield Heights, was killed on the job when he became tangled around the neck with an airline hose that caught on a cement truck auger.  He was employed by Sherman Trucking, cleaning out a cement truck at Cuyahoga Cement Co.

May 13 - Hawley, TX - 48 year old Barry Gordon was electrocuted as employees were raising a 25 foot antenna which came into contact with an overhead power line. He was employed by Downtown Design Services, Inc.

May 14 - Kingwood, WV - 63 year old Clifford Likens, of  Tunnelton, died of a broken neck when he was struck by an elevator car while working in an elevator shaft at Preston Memorial Hospital where he worked maintenance.

May 15 - Albion, ME - 52 year old Robert Rodrigues of Augusta, was killed and another worker injured when a structure fell onto them. The men were working to replace a support beam when rain soaked earth caused automotive bottle jacks to fail under the cottage causing it to collapsed on the workers. They were employed by Kennebec Home Improvements. 

May 15 - Houston, TX - Bradley Felchak died of electric shock and subsequent fall from a ladder while working for Hightower Electric Services, Ltd.

May 15 - Kane, PA - 53 year old Dale Ostrander suffered fatal blunt force trauma when an unoccupied truck rolled into him while he was working at Kane Community Hospital. 

May 16 - Odessa, TX - 42 year old Humberto Villanueva suffered a fatal heart attack while working for J M Carriers. 

May 16 - Harvey, LA - 47 year old Randy Harris drowned while working as he attempted to retrieve a boat that came loose from a dock. Co-workers threw him a life ring but he was unable to reach it. He was employed by Total Marine Services of Jefferson, Inc.

May 16 - Beaumont, TX - 36 year old Robert Dustin Whittaker of Nederland, died of electrocution when he was working in an electrical cabinet.  He was employed by Gulf Coast Machine & Supply Company.




May 16 - Joplin, MO - 40 year old Robert W. Clark of Baxter Springs, KS, died on the job when a power saw he was operating kicked back and struck him in the neck. He was employed by Missouri American Water. 

May 17 - New York, NY - Adrian Zamora died on the job when he fell two stories from a scaffold onto a ground level shed. He was not wearing fall protection. He was employed with Bras-Al Construction Corp.  



May 17 - Seattle, WA - 26 year old Francisco Montex-Lopez died while working when he was overcome by toxic gases produced by a gas engine of a pressure washer he was using in an enclosed space. He was employed by Karma Coating & Maintenance at Clipper Seafoods, Ltd.

May 17 - Big Spring, TX - 45 year old Kenneth Caddell was killed on the job when he fell approximately 80 feet from a derrick board. His fall device failed.  He was employed by ACME Energy Services, Inc., dba Big Dog Drilling. 


May 19 - Philadelphia, PA - 44 year old Gregory Morgan was killed on the job when he was struck by a motorist while painting a fence. He was employed by Sandmeyer Steel Company.

May 20 - Natchez, MS - 24 year old Catlain Carithers of Meadville died on the job of blunt force head trauma when he was attacked by inmates during a prison riot.  He was employed with Corrections Corporation of America dba Adams County Correctional Center.


May 20 - Hartley, TX - Jeremy Tunnell died of electrocution while working alone on an irrigation electrical system for 15 Black, LLC.  

May 21 - Northvale, NJ - 48 year old Gregory B. Barber was crushed to death under a wood chipped when a hydraulic jack under it failed.  He was employed by Ken's Tree Care, Inc.


May 22 - Fairview Heights, IL - 48 year old Dennis Beard died and three others were injured when they were struck by an erratic driver while working on a road construction project. They were employed by Briteway Striping Services, Inc.


May 22 - Mesquite, TX - 52 year old Jose Monsirais-Garcia died at an area hospital after feeling ill during a cleaning process. He was employed by Transportation Services, Inc.


May 22 - Pittsburg, PA - 26 year old Joshua Oswalt died of electrocution after coming into contact with live wires.  He was working for American Contracting Enterprises, Inc. 



May 22 - Arlington Heights, IL - 55 year old Neil Nicholson of Itasca, died on the job from blunt force trauma caused by an explosion of equipment at Arens Controls Company, LLC.

May 24 - New York, NY - 44 year old Antonio U. Dardenas was killed on the job when he fell about 30 feet through a window opening to the ground. He was employed by Stephen Gamble, Inc.

May 24 - Bridgeville, DE - 47 year old Richard White of Milford, died on the job when he was buried in an 8 foot trench that collapsed onto him.  He was employed by Walter H. Sharp & Son, Inc.

May 24 - Clewiston, FL - 20 year old Richard Ramsey of Okeechobee, was killed when an airboat he was operating collided with another airboat. He was working for Applied Aquatic Management, Inc.


May 25 - Garland, TX - 76 year old Nancy Harris died of thermal burns she suffered May 20th when she was set on fire by a robbery suspect while working as a clerk at Fina Whip-It (owned by TMT, Inc.) Her attacker was arrested.



May 25 - Quincy, MA - 42 year old Freddie Clay was killed at work when he was pinned between his truck and a gate as he attempted to stop the rolling truck. He was employed by Devaney Energy, Inc.

May 25 - Cincinnati, OH - 35 year old Miguel Nicanor-paz was killed on the job when he slipped and fell while working on a sloped roof with no fall protection. He was employed by Esponiza Construction.

May 25 - East Greenbush, NY - 48 year old Daniel Tobin of Petersburg, died of electrocution when he came into contact with a high power line.  He was employed by DelSignore Blacktop Paving, Inc. 

May 25 - Kearny, NJ - 55 year old David Kornas was killed on the job when a machine he was operating ejected a piece of aluminum, smashing through the viewing window, striking him in the head and neck.  He was employed by Hummel Machine & Tool Co.

May 25 - Kansas City, MO - 18 year old Brandon Ford was killed on the job when he lost balance and fell from the back of a rear-loading refuse truck and as the driver was reversing, Ford was struck by the rear wheels.