Industrial Accident Lawyer Blog

After an OSHA Whistleblower complaint filed by an employee at Houston's Piping Technology and Products Inc. spurred an OHSA investigation, the company now faces over $1,000,000 in penalties resulting from 13 willful and 17 serious violations. The concerned worker approached the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Health and Safety Administration earlier this year with several claims of workplace hazards including unguarded presses and a lack of brakes on overhead cranes. Along with substantiating the worker's claims, investigators found the company to be exposing its workers to the risk of severe work injury as well as amputation from its dangerous machinery.

Piping Technology's willful violations include the failure to lock out all sources of hazardous energy to equipment prior to servicing or maintenance and the failure to guard seven band saws. A willful violation is defined as one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health. Each of the 13 willful violations holds a penalty of $70,000 each. The company, who has been issued citations in years past, has now been placed in OHSA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

Trench collapses are a common source of Georgia workers compensation claims and workplace injury claims. Often, trenches are dug quickly, with little or no structural design required to ensure those digging are actually safe. In January, Michael Wilson, of Chester County, PA, was killed when a trench he was digging collapsed.

Recently, OSHA fined Wilson's employer, J.D. Eckman, Inc., for failing to have trained supervisors on hand to adequately supervise the digging operation. Additionally, the two men working on the trench were not trained on the use of pneumatic jack hammers, and were using the equipment in a way which led to the collapse.

Continue reading "Trench Collapse Leads To Work Injuries, Death" »

Construction accidents keep the best Georgia workers' compensation lawyers busy, with worksite injuries becoming more and more common. Often, work injuries are not isolated incidents---and are often preventable.

One such work accident recently occurred in Knoxville, Tennessee, when Solin Estrada Jiminez was killed when a chunk of concrete fell off a support beam of the Henley Street Bridge. Jiminez was an undocumented worker for Britton Bridge, LLC.

Continue reading "Construction Accident Claims Life of Solin Estrada Jiminez" »

An unidentified electrical lineman was killed in Mifflin, Wisconsin last week after apparently coming into contact with energized power lines. The 39-year old lineman was working for a private utility contractor in the area when he suffered a life-ending work injury.

Electrical lineman are often exposed to dangerous working conditions, and, as a result, should consult the best Georgia workers compensation attorney when they suffer an on the job injury. A good workers compensation lawyer can help the injured lineman with his workers compensation case, and can also identify potential third-parties who may be responsible for the lineman's injuries.
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Jon Martinez and Jason Steele, both of whom worked for United Fire Protection in St. Petersburg, Florida, were recently killed in an industrial accident while working for United Fire Protection at a former Georgia Pacific Plant in Lake Placid, Florida. The workers were fixing a pump inside a concrete block building adjacent to a water tank, when the tank (or the pump) exploded. When the tank exploded, it caused a "rush" of water, which caused the building to collapse. OSHA and local law enforcement are investigating the work accident.

Atlanta workers' compensation lawyers are kept busy by claims filed by employees hurt on the job in a variety of scenarios. Often, the workers comp claim is simple: employee vs. employer in an administrative action pending before the Georgia State Board of Workers Compensation.

However, sometimes, workers with many different employers are working at a facility, many of whom are contractors, at the time of injury. In that situation, a Georgia workers compensation claim can be filed against the injured worker's employer, and a third-party work injury lawsuit or construction accident lawsuit may be filed against other contractors or the premises owner for creating dangerous working conditions. Contractors who come on the property are typically in harms way---they have no training or instruction on what's happening on the jobsite, are provided little or no information about safety issues, and, sometimes, are brought onto a job because the tasks are too dangerous for the premises owner's own workers.

Continue reading "Injured Contractors Find Few Remedies for On The Job Injuries in Texas" »

February 7 marks the three year anniversary of the Imperial Sugar Refinery explosion, which caused 8 deaths and numerous Georgia work injury claims to be filed. The Flynn Law Firm represents 6 workers injured in the blast. The explosion was caused by excess sugar dust in a conveyor running under the silos at the refinery. Secondary explosions were then caused by the huge amount of sugar all over the facility. After the explosion, OSHA implemented standards on combustible dust, and specifically mandate that 1/32" of sugar may be allowed to accumulate on surface areas. Work injury lawyers represented several claimants who were injured in the explosion.

Continue reading "Three Year Anniversary of Imperial Sugar Explosion Marked by Service" »

A massive explosion ripped through the Federal-Mogul plant in Blacksburg, Virginia last week. The Federal Mogul Explosion caused severe burn injuries to four contractors working for a company called LCM performing routine duct work, removing aluminum dust. Jeffrey Hodges, age 45, of Bototeourt County, Virginia, and Tommy Bonds, age 53 (of Narrows, Virginia), are listed in serious condition at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Danny Collins of Pearisburg, Virginia, and John Sprangler of Roanoke, Virginia, were also injured in the Federal-Mogul explosion, and have been released from the local hospital.

Continue reading "Federal Mogul Explosion in Blacksburg, VA Causes Severe Work Injury" »

Recently, three workers were severely burned while using cutting torches in a grain silo. Due to combustible grain dust in the air, an explosion occurred, sending the three men working at the Simmons Feed Mill in Fairland, Oklahoma to the Hillcrest Burn Center in Tulsa. The men were contractors on the property who were working below ground level cutting silos. These work injuries and burn injuries should not occur if proper safety mechanisms are in place.

Agricultural dust, such as sugar dust and grain dust, is highly explosive, and industry has known for over 100 years that grain dust in the air can cause a significant explosion. The massive explosion at the Imperial Sugar Refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia was caused by combustible sugar dust. OSHA has drafted tight regulations on combustible dust, and special standards for the grain handling industry have existed for years. With adequate housekeeping and employee training, combustible dust explosions can be kept to a minimum.

Continue reading "Another Work Injury Caused by Grain Explosion" »

A contractor working on construction of the Forsyth County, Georgia water treatment facility was killed in a Georgia workplace accident last week. The worker was trapped under a piece of machinery which had rolled over onto him. According to published reports, the worker was trapped under a forklift type device and was "completely under" the machine when he was found.

The safety of contractors and sub-contractors on a construction project or in an industrial setting is often overlooked. Contractors should be included in the daily tailgate safety meetings, weekly safety meetings, and should be given a contractor safety manual when they begin work. They should always wear clothing that signifies their contractor status on the property, and, ideally, should enter and exit through a separate "contractor gate." Unfortunately, contractors are usually just allowed on the property and instructed on their specific scope of work----and nothing else. They are generally not brief in special safety issues, and not provided any site specific training. This is a serious problem in work place safety which leads to workers' compensation claims and construction construction injuries.

For the second year in a row, scaffolding accidents have topped OSHA's list of citations issued. There were over 8,000 violations issued last year related to scaffolding. Fall protection came in second, with just over 7500 violations. Whenever a worker is at a height of 4 feet (general industry) or 6 feet (construction), fall protection must be provided. Fall protection is a simple thing to do---it usually consists of just wearing a harness.

The good news is OSHA is enforcing its regulations, leading to a reduction in Georgia work injuries and lost productivity caused by on the job injuries and workers compensation claims.

While performing demolition work in Channahon, Illinois, Timothy Shields was killed in a construction accident by a one inch piece of rebar. Shields and another man were breaking down sections of a weigh scale when a 10 foot section of rebar broke loose, striking Mr. Shields in the forehead underneath the hardhat. Mr. Shields was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Wearing PPE, as Mr. Shields was doing, is always one of the best way to maintain a safe work environment and avoid a work injury, but wearing PPE alone does not provide a 100% guarantee that you will not be the victim of an on the job injury. Construction demolition work, particularly at old industrial sites, can be especially treachorous, because there are no plans or specs to be reviewed, and the work can be somewhat chaotic. Georgia workers' compensation lawyers are frequently called upon to represent those hurt during the demo phase of a construction project.

Electrocution work injuries are some of the most common, deadly types of on the job injuries , and often lead to workers' compensation claims and disabling conditions. Recently, Roger Thompson (from Brooksville, Florida), was electrocuted and killed while working as an electrician at the South Carolina State Fair. South Carolina OSHA is investigating the circumstances surrounding this worker death.

In 2008, another fair worker was killed when he was crushed by a counterweight. In that incident, the decedent's employer was cited for failure to furnish a safe workplace. It appears that while the rides may be safe for those attending the fair, the workers assembling the rides or working at the fair are in a dangerous workplace.

Every week, injured workers from Georgia and across the country call the Flynn Law Firm looking for an Atlanta Workers Compensation Attorney. Often, these workers are surprised to learn that Georgia Workers Compensation is not the only available remedy----that they may have a third party case to file against those other than the employer.

Under the Georgia Workers Compensation system, workers hurt on the job are entitled to have their medical bills paid and a certain portion of their wages paid, and that's it. In a third-party work injury case, an injured worker can recover the full value of their past and future medical bills, plus damages for pain, suffering, and emotional distress. In the wrongful death context, the family of someone killed on the job can recover for the full value of the life of the decedent-----a substantial sum. Workers comp. provides far less to the family of a deceased worker.

Most Atlanta Workers Compensation attorneys only practice workers comp (and administrative area of law), and don't go to court, don't know anything about OSHA regulations, and simply do not understand the complexities of a third-party work injury lawsuit. If you have been hurt on the job or in a Georgia construction accident, you can always call the Flynn Law Firm to obtain a free consultation and determine what rights you have against other companies besides your employer.

Storage of flammable liquids can lead to Georgia work injury and Atlanta workers comp claims. Sometimes, workers are exposed to health hazards because there is inadequate respiratory protection or a failure of industrial hygiene practices at the job site. An appropriate respiratory program is required to prevent Georgia workerman's compensation claims and Georgia work injury claims, and should be insituted by any employer or multi-employer worksite where toxic chemicals could be found.