Industrial Accident Lawyer Blog

A West Virginia construction worker was needlessly killed recently while performing ground operations during the costruction of a strip-mall in West Virginia.

The project's general contractor, Agsten Construction Co., employed the worker. The worker injured in the workplace accident was a carpenter when a 35-foot-long, 500-pound joist suspended by straps on a crane fell because the straps failed. The straps may not have been properly secured to the joist mechanism, which may have caused the strap failure.

Crane accidents are responsible for thousands of injuries and deaths every year, and are the one of the leading types of construction accidents which lead to worker injury.

The crane subcontractor, Kanawha Valley Construction and Erection Co. Inc. was cited for "serious" violations, including exposing employees to being struck or crushed by a falling bar joist, failure to remove from service a severely frayed sling used to lift bar joists, and failure to use padding that would prohibit a sling from easily being cut by a sharp bar joist edge. OSHA proposed a total of $4,000 in penalties.

Victims of construction accidents may be able to recover under workers compensation, and also might have claims against other culpable third parties. If you have been injured on the job, contact Jonah Flynn, a Georgia workplace accident attorney, to learn about your rights.

A proposed fine by Cal-OSHA (California's own work place safety agency) has been issued against ExxonMobil for the burn injury and death of a refinery worker at one of its refineries in California.

Nelson Tan suffered serious second- and third-degree burns over 85 percent of his body on when he was struck by a blast of boiling water and steam. He subsequently died from his injuries while in a local burn unit.

Mr. Tan's death was the third in the last six years at ExxonMobil's Torrence, California refinery. The Cal-OSHA citation indicates ExxonMobil failed to implement its own written procedure, which led to Mr. Tan's burn injury and subsequent death.

Refinery explosions and burn injuries are almost always caused by the oil company's failure to perform adequate hazard analysis, failure to follow its own written procedure, or some other negligent (or, sometimes, reckless) act by the refinery owner. Burn injuries and refinery explosions don't have to happen, and can be prevented by safe practices by the employer. If you have been injured in a workplace accident or refinery explosion, you should contact a Georgia workplace accident attorney to determine what rights you have.

According to news reports, a consultant warned Imperial Sugar about combustible dust hazards at its Georgia refinery just two days before a deadly explosion devastated the plant near Savannah.

The Savannah Morning News reports that consultant McAljon Engineering warned of impaired dust collection systems at the refinery in a report dated Feb. 5, 2008. A huge explosion rocked the plant two days later, killing 14 and injuring scores more. Many of the injured workers sufferred devastating third-degree burns.

OSHA later blamed the explosion on sugar dust that ignited like gunpowder. Fourteen workers died and dozens more were injured. Had Imperial followed even the most basic housekeeping standards, the refinery explosion could have been avoided.

OSHA said last year that its investigation revealed Imperial knew about the hazards of cimbustible dust since 2002.