Tragedies from the OSHA Incident Log

The following fatality reports were summarized from recent OSHA News Releases (osha.gov).

CONFINED SPACE FATALITIES

Welder Fatality in Confined Space

PALATKA, FL – As he had many other days, the morning shift welder arrived to work at 5 a.m. on Aug. 28, 2023. Tasked with doing some fabrication work in a 4-foot by 8-foot space in a ship’s hull, the employee began work unaware that fatal suffocation would soon end his life.

Less than two hours after entering the ship, a supervisor found the unconscious welder and signaled for help, only to fall unconscious as well. A third employee appeared, alerting EMS and the Palatka Fire Department, who soon transported all three workers to a nearby hospital. Despite emergency treatment, the welder died from a lack of oxygen. The supervisor and the third worker received medical treatment and were released.

OSHA inspectors determined that the shipbuilder exposed workers to oxygen deficiency by sending the welder into a confined space without first testing the air for oxygen content. The presence of welding gas in the space created an oxygen-deficient atmosphere.

"Following proper maritime industry protocols could have prevented this worker from losing his life," explained OSHA Area Office Director Scott Tisdale. "The ship building company must perform hazard assessments and implement safety procedures to ensure a tragedy like this does not recur. Every employer should make health and safety a core value in their workplaces."

"Following proper maritime industry protocols could have prevented this worker from losing his life"

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports more than 1,030 U.S. workers died from 2011 to 2018 from workplace injuries related to confined spaces.

Fatality in Houston Tank Cleaning Incident

HOUSTON, TX – A La Porte tank cleaning company again chose to disregard federal safety standards that may have protected their employees from hazardous working conditions and prevented another employee from suffering a fatal injury. Just two days before Christmas, the wife and son of an employee at the company grew concerned when he didn't return after his shift. Later that day, he was found unresponsive.

A workplace safety investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that the employer of the fallen worker had failed to ensure that atmospheric testing was done inside the tank before allowing the 53-year-old employee to enter it.

Even more tragically, the same company had been cited for the same violations four years earlier after two workers succumbed while cleaning inside a tanker truck.

"Had the company acted responsibly and made the safety reforms as required in 2020, another employee would not have lost their life," explained OSHA Area Director Larissa Ipsen in Houston.

In addition to identifying the company's failure to conduct required testing, OSHA cited the company for seven serious violations, including the following:

• Failing to implement measures to prevent unauthorized entry into a permit-required confined space.
• Not providing an attendant while employees entered permit-required confined spaces.
• Numerous failures related to the confined space entry permit, including:
• Not identifying the authorized duration of entry.
• Which rescue and emergency services are to be summoned?
• How to summon emergency services.
• Failing to specify personal protective, rescue, and communications equipment and alarm systems.
• Overexposing employees to carbon monoxide.
• Not protecting conductors that entered an electrical panel box from abrasions and leaving an electrical outlet without a cover plate.

"This employer's complete disregard for its employees' safety is unacceptable. Complying with safety and health standards is not optional,” added Ipsen.

TRENCH INCIDENT

Fatal Trench Cave-In Investigation

BRIDGEPORT, CT – A concrete and earthwork contractor could have prevented an employee repairing an underground water line from suffering fatal injuries in a trench collapse at a work site but failed to follow federal safety standards for excavations.

Five employees were exposed to cave-in, engulfment, or struck-by hazards when the employer did not do the following:

• Provide cave-in protection for the more than 12-foot-deep vertical walled trench, which resulted in the death of an employee.
• Train employees on how to recognize and avoid trenching hazards.
• Ensure an excavator is kept more than two feet from the trench's edge.
• Verify the location of underground utilities and/or structures prior to excavation.

"Despite prior warnings, the company ignored trench safety protections, and that decision cost an employee their life," said OSHA Area Director Catherine Brescia in Bridgeport, Connecticut. "All employers should make workplace safety a priority or risk being responsible for leaving the family, friends, and co-workers of one or more of their employees to grieve this kind of preventable death."

"Despite prior warnings, the company ignored trench safety protections, and that decision cost an employee their life"

FATAL FALLS

29-story Fall Fatality from Damaged Fall Pro & Rope Equipment

Employer’s failure to inspect and replace damaged fall protection equipment leads to a 29-story fatal fall…

BRAINTREE, MA – The U.S. Department of Labor has determined a window cleaning company's failure to inspect and replace damaged or defective equipment contributed to an employee's fatal 29-story fall from a building in downtown Boston's financial district in October 2023.

The department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the employer willfully exposed employees to fall hazards by not ensuring personal fall protection systems and a rope descent system workers used were in proper working condition at the work site. Specifically, OSHA investigators learned the company had not inspected the rope and equipment adequately for damage and other deterioration and did not remove defective components from service before each work shift and replace them.

OSHA's investigation determined that the employer:

• Failed to adequately train employees on how to inspect ropes for maximum allowable wear, to recognize defects and conditions that warrant removal from service, and on proper use of the rope descent system. The ropes used in the rope descent systems were not effectively padded or otherwise protected to prevent them from being cut or weakened.
• Allowed the use of rope descent system ropes, lifelines, and lanyards for personal fall protection that were not compatible with connectors and unprotected from damage such as cuts and erosion.
• Failed to use only certified building anchorage for the rope descent system.
• OSHA cited the company for two willful, four serious, and two repeat violations and assessed $447,087 in proposed penalties, an amount set by federal statute.

"To ensure the safety of employees who work at heights, employers must make their responsibility to provide comprehensive training on inspecting rope descent systems and fall protection equipment and components before each use an absolute priority," said OSHA Regional Administrator Galen Blanton in Boston. "The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to hold employers accountable when they fail to take the necessary steps to protect their workers."

"To ensure the safety of employees who work at heights, employers must make their responsibility to provide comprehensive training on inspecting rope descent systems and fall protection equipment and components before each use an absolute priority,"

A Construction Worker Falls 23 Feet After Employer Neglects Equipment and Training

The worker’s fatal fall was preventable if the contractor had provided employees with fall protection equipment, training…

SYRACUSE, NY – A construction contractor could have prevented an employee’s fatal fall at a New York job site by providing adequate fall protection and training employees in its effective use, a U.S. Department of Labor investigation found.

OSHA Inspectors found that the contractor failed to provide the worker who was fatally injured and three other employees with effective fall protection, exposing them to falls of 23 feet as they replaced an aluminum standing seam roof on a building.

OSHA also determined that the company neglected to ensure that its employees were trained on fall hazards, in the use of personal fall arrest systems, and on the correct procedures for installing, maintaining, and inspecting the fall protection systems on site.

In addition, the employer designed, installed, and used fall protection systems at the worksite without the supervision of a qualified person, which was in violation of OSHA requirements. The limited fall protection systems in place were neither installed nor used correctly.

“Falls are the leading cause of construction industry deaths, and yet this company chose to ignore federal standards and exposed four employees — including the deceased — to this deadly hazard,” said OSHA Area Director Jeffrey Prebish in Syracuse, New York. “This led OSHA to cite and fine the company for the lack of fall protection on an instance-by-instance basis – one citation for each of the four exposed workers.”

“As is often the case in workplace falls from elevations, this tragedy could have been prevented had the contractor followed and maintained basic, commonsense, and legally required safeguards. Employers must commit to providing and using effective fall protection systems and equipment and training workers in their use,” added Prebish.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 395 people died in workplace falls from elevation in 2022.

54-year-old Dies After Falling Through Unprotected Skylight

The employer allowed employees to work 19 feet high without protective harnesses…

ATLANTA – A five-man crew's first day working to remove tar and stone from metal roof panels at a Macon warehouse ended abruptly when a 54-year-old laborer tragically suffered fatal injuries after stepping on a skylight and falling about 19 feet.

A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found Georgia construction contractor could have prevented the incident by providing their employees with required fall protection.

An ambulance rushed the worker, who suffered severe injuries, to a nearby hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries hours later. In addition, the company failed to notify OSHA of the incident within the required 8 hours.

OSHA's inspection found the company failed to protect its employees by not using fall protection systems and leaving skylights without safety guardrails on the roof on the day of the fatal incident. Despite this tragic incident, agency inspectors once again found that the company allowed employees to work without these life-saving measures 2 months after OSHA was notified of the violations.

"After more than 20 years of experience as a roofing and framing contractor, the company should know the work its employees do is dangerous and potentially fatal, especially when safety protocols are ignored," said OSHA Area Director Joshua Turner. "Falls are widely known as the leading cause of death in the construction industry and had required fall protections been in place in this case, a worker's family, friends and co-workers would not be left now to grieve a terrible loss."

"Falls are widely known as the leading cause of death in the construction industry and had required fall protections been in place in this case, a worker's family, friends and co-workers would not be left now to grieve a terrible loss."