Industrial Accident Lawyer Blog

Construction accident lawsuits have been filed in Atlanta over the work injures sustained in the Botanical Gardens elevated platform collapse. The lawsuits allege that the Botanical Gardens and certain contractors working on the elevated platform, as well as the project architects, were negligent in the design and assembly of the horizontal structural system used on the platform, leading to its collapse. Several construction workers were injured, and those workers filed Atlanta construction accident lawsuits as a result.

Philip Soukup, a 35 year-old construction worker, was killed in a construction accident. Mr. Soukup was operating a soil compactor on an embankment when he suddenly fell off the machine. At that point, it rolled over him, killing him instantly. OSHA has begun its investigation, and will be examining whether Mr. Soukup's employer provided rollover protection safety training to it's workers.

Atlanta workers compensation lawyers and construction accident lawyers handle complex factual and legal issues which always exist anytime a work injury occurs.

An explosion and fire at the U.S. Steel Plant in Clairton, Pennsylvania has caused numerous burn injuries, according to recent news reports. It appears one of the coke ovens at the Clairton plant exploded. These ovens heat coal at very high temperatures to carbonize it and turn it into fuel used for steel production (called "coke").

This explosion will undoubtedly lead to the need to hire an experienced workers compensation lawyer and also require a cause and origin analysis to determine what caused the explosion and whether it could have been prevented. Often, contractors and other third parties are involved in the cleaning and maintenance coke ovens used for steel production, and those entities could provide a viable avenue for injured workers to file a work injury lawsuit.

Often, there's only so much even the best Atlanta worker's compensation attorneycan do for Georgia workers. Dangerous working conditions often lead to work injury and sometimes worker death. Dangerous workplace practices often lead to injuries which are usually avoidable had safety guidelines been followed.

Continue reading "Work Death and Worker's Compensataion Claim Caused by Dangerous Workplace" »

After repeated injuries, which undoubtedly required Georgia worker's compensation attorneys, including amputations, Crespac, an Atlanta area manufacturer, has been cited for willful violations of OSHA standards for failing to ensure that machines were equipped with guards and functional emergency stop cords. Other serious work injury hazards noted by OSHA include failure to provide proper safety equipment, exposure to harmful chemicals, and electrical hazards.

As an Atlanta Workman's Compensation lawyer, electrocution injuries are commonly seen. With proper workplace safety practices, they are almost always avoidable, and should not happen in the modern workplace.

Recently, OSHA cited a contractor following a work injury and workplace death caused by an employee removing contacting a live wire while removing a demountable wall. The employer was cited for failing to protect employees from energized electrical circuits and failing to tell workers about energized electrical components in the area.

Continue reading "Worker Electrocution Leads to Fine" »

OSHA violations and dangerous working conditions often lead to work injury and to a search for the best Atlanta workers' compensation attorney. Recently, Georgia work injury claims have once again been avoided by aggressive enforcement of OSHA standards before disaster struck.

HP Pelzer Automotive Systems in Thomson, Georgia was recently visited by OSHA, where it was discovered that HP had not met the standards set forth for combustible dust. Combustible dust is a well-known workplace danger. In fact, the Imperial refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia was destroyed because of an excess of combustible dust in the sugar refinery, which led to several deaths and Georgia burn injuries.

The Flynn Law Firm an Atlanta work comp lawyer and work injury law firm, is pleased to announce a settlement on behalf of two injured workers burned in a boiler explosion in Mississippi. Jonah Flynn, along with attorneys from Fitts Zehl in Houston, Texas, represented David and Darren Clark.

Supervisors at a facility owned by International Paper Co. (IP) completed annual maintenance on a recovery boiler and restarted it without clearing workers from the area. Instead of turning on the boiler's fans to purge excess combustible gas, the supervisors decided to use "natural draft" conditions--allowing the gas to naturally rise to the top and exit the boiler. The boiler exploded, injuring several workers.

Brothers David and Darren Clark, 29 and 27, respectively, worked for an industrial insulator subcontractor at the International Paper Vicksburg, Miss. facility and were injured in the explosion. David sustained second- and third-degree burns to his hands, arms, face, and torso. His lungs were also injured due to sustained inhalation of steam, and he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Darren also suffered second and third-degree burns to his arms, face, and hands.

Both men are permanently disabled. The Clark Brothers, who had each been earning approximately $40,000 annually, incurred about $1.45 million in lost income each.
The U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration cited IP for a willful violation for not developing safety procedures for boiler startup when the primary boiler is offline. It also issued a serious violation for failing to have a procedure determining an adequate amount of odorant to be added to the gas so that workers could smell the gas as it built up.

Continue reading "Work Injury Lawsuit Settled" »

Just before the CT explosion at the Kleen Energy Power Plant in Middletown, CT, a frantic warning about high levels of natural gas was given by a plant employee, urging workers to evacuate. Those warnings came to late, and, as a result, worker deaths and work injuries occurred when the Kleen plant exploded.

Prior to the CT Explosion, operators pumped natural gas into a manmade depression behind the main plant building, called the "power block building." During this purge, welders were allowed to continue working in the area, despite OSHA guidelines which mandate that non-essential personnel be evacuated from the area during a purge.

Connecticut explosion lawyer. Connecticut burn lawyer. Kleen Energy Explosion.

Continue reading "Warning Given Before CT Explosion at Kleen Energy Plant" »

Five construction workers repairing balconies at a residential highrise were hurt at work, and subsequently died, after scaffolding the men were working on collapsed. The men plunged thirteen stories. Four men died, with one living but in critical condition.

According to OSHA, scaffolding collapse is a leading cause of work accidents, including Atlanta Workers' Comp claims. If you've been hurt on the job or have sustained a work injury, call the Flynn Law Firm.

OSHA has fined the Disney company Disney $44,000 after a July accident on the Walt Disney World train caused a worker death. According to reports, one of the trains was driving in reverse during a track switch, backing into another train, killing the driver.

This type of accident, whether it's a Georgia work injury, requires an Atlanta workers comp lawyer or a product liability case, is entirely preventable with adequate worker training and communication. Here, a worker in a maintenance bay apparently mistakenly radioed that it was clear for the train to begin backing up, even though the track had not been realigned.

Continue reading "OSHA Fine Against Disney For Work Injury" »

OSHA has issued a significant fine against a Massachusetts manufacturer after an injured worker suffered the loss of a finger tip due to a machine which did not have the required guard needed to prevent a workplace injury. The lack of machine guarding was noted on other machines at the facility, and thus OSHA found the failure to have such guards "willful."

Thousands of workplace injuries and worker deaths occur each year because of an absence of machine guarding. Additionally, many Georgia workers comp claims could be avoided if machine guards were in place. Often, employers remove machine guarding to increase production, in doing so putting profits over worker safety.

Often, as an Atlanta Workers' Compensation Attorney, and Atlanta Injury attorney, there certain mechanisms of worker injury seem to manifest themselves over and over thorough the clients who walk through the door. OSHA has now released a list of its "Top 10" safety violations which seems to match the type of claims were are seeing.

Not surprisingly, scaffolding accidents top the list, with over 9,000 violations issued in 2009 thus far. Work injury most often occurs when planking and support give way, of falling objects. Fall protection was OSHA's second most cited violation. Any time a worker is working at a height of 4 feet or more, fall protection must be provided.

Electrical injuries and electrical wiring violations were also high on OSHA's list, with over 3,000 violations issued this year. Working with electricity is dangerous, and can cause burn injury and wrongful death. Overhead power line workers, linemen, engineers, welders, construction workers, and others who work in general industry or construction must be aware of the significant danger posed by electrocution. The Flynn Law Firm, a Georgia burn injury law firm, has seen far too many workers with severe burn injuries and electrical injuries, most of which are preventable through adequate workplace safety mechanisms.

The failure of a valve at a welding supply company has led to the burn injury of a welder. The industrial accident was sent a welder to the local burn center for treatment of burn injuries.

After the welder removed a valve from a settling tank, the tank malfunctioned and exploded. Smaller, secondary explosions then followed. The injured worker suffered burns to his head, upper body, hands and arms.

This case serves as an example of kind of third-party tort claim injured workers can file when hurt in a workplace accident or industrial accident. While workers compensation attorneys can obtain workers compensation benefits on your behalf, an experienced burn injury attorney can pursue your claims against product manufacturers and other third-parties who are at fault for your injuries. The value of a third-party claim is almost always significantly higher than a workers' compensation claim.

The death of a teenage worker in Colorado has led to a massive $1.6M OSHA fine against Tempel Grain Elevators in Wiley, Colorado. The worker death occurred after 17 year old Cody Rigsby fell into a grain elevator, and was engulfed by grain, ultimately suffocating to death. OSHA ultimately fined Tempel Grain for a host of violations, including employing child labor, unguarded conveyors, fall hazards, and improper electrical wiring.

Jonah Flynn is an Atlanta Workers' Compensation attorney and an attorney representing injured workers in third-party tort lawsuits across the country. Willfull OSHA violations, such as those which occurred at Temple Grain, often lead to worker injury and death.