Friday, December 23, 2016

"cited after worker’s leg amputated...."


This is a follow up to an earlier story that was posted:

An aluminium company has been cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for eight serious labor violations after a worker’s leg was amputated in an accident at the plant during the summer of 2016.

The agency has proposed fining one of the aluminium company’s facilities over $65,000.

OSHA investigators determined that a piece of machinery used to fabricate aluminum hit an employee’s left leg and that aluminium company had failed to ensure that the machine’s moving parts were properly guarded.

They also found that aluminium company management had failed to maintain electrical equipment at the plant.

“The aluminium company cannot continue to neglect lockout procedures that put workers at risk of amputation or other serious injuries,” the local OSHA’s area director, said in a news release. “This company must follow OSHA’s safety standards to prevent life changing injuries from happening.”

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog prays that the worker is provided the necessary physical rehab and mental health counseling. We have mentioned over and over the importance of mental health counseling after an incident. This story reminds us of a story a worker told us about a similar leg amputation. That a worker never allowed anyone to see his leg for fear of humiliation and embarrassment. That fear continued for 30 years. This worker’s child told us of the impact that his father’s leg amputation had upon his family. It reinforced to us that workplace incidents may involve a worker(s) but effect the worker’s entire family.

Lastly, we are still at a loss of words (yes we are!) on the tone of the OSHA quote above.


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