"man lost several fingers on both hands and received severe burns"

The hazards associated with working in a potroom are numerous. Here is a recent story emphasizing the hazards of electrical shocks.

 

Here was the original news article from 2019:

Why (worker’s name omitted_ got an electric shock where nothing of the kind had happened before, and where other anodic workers passed hundreds of times, it is still not completely clear. The accident report states:

 

“At the moment of descent (worker’s name omitted) touched the P2 rack, as a result of the presence of the "ground" potential, received an electric shock, as a result of which it fell to the southern end platform of the electrolyzer. Lying on the end plate of the cathode received burns to the body.

 

At the factory, they tried to persuade me to write that I myself took up the P2 racks when going down the stairs. This could have put the blame for the incident on me. But there is a small ladder - it would be inconvenient for me to go down it in front of my face and grab the racks. And if this happened, then burns would remain on my palms. And they are not, - says (worker’s name omitted), showing his palms - they really are not burnt.”

 

(worker’s name) guilt in what happened at (smelter’s name omitted) was never found. The evidence turned out to be enough for the factory commission to admit that the anode was in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the same act on the accident, among the reasons that led to this case, it is indicated: the electrical insulation system of the electrolyzer itself, where the emergency happened, could not provide adequate protection, and, in addition, the so-called "potential plates" were absent on the electrolyzer, which could provide electrical protection. Moreover, both of these reasons, as indicated in the act, are a gross violation of federal laws and labor protection standards. Among the accompanying reasons, the document indicates an unsatisfactory organization of work (low efficiency of production control).

 

Simply put, because of the unreliable electrical protection system and due to someone's oversight, a healthy and strong young man became a disabled person of the second group.

 

News media article from Mid-September 2020

 

The local Regional Court ruled to increase  the amount of compensation for moral damage to a (region name) who suffered as a result of an industrial accident. Thus, (aluminium company) is obliged to pay 25-year-old (worker’s name omitted) equivalent to €16,000.

 

The injured employee, who worked as an anode operator at an aluminum smelter, was seriously injured in the summer of 2019 after being hit by a strong electric current in one of the shops. In particular, the young man lost several fingers on both hands and received severe burns. The commission set up at the enterprise to investigate the causes of the incident admitted that the young man was not guilty of the incident. According to the injured worker, after the incident, the management of the plant insisted that he write a letter of resignation of his own free will, and, in addition, delayed the allocation of another job, which was obliged to provide by law (later the aluminium company stated that it had found a job, but did not specify which one).

 

The injured worker filed a lawsuit against the company with a claim for compensation for moral damage. The local City Court partially satisfied the young man’s claim against the plant, ruling to pay him €5,000. However, the plaintiff did not agree with this decision and filed an appeal with the (provincial name) Regional Court. Its consideration took place on September 14.

 

Which partially changed the decision of the local City Court. With aluminium company in favor of the plaintiff recovered equivalent to €16,000 in compensation for moral damage, - explained " City "  in the press service of the court.

 

The lawyer representing the interests of the young man in the court, told the that he considers the decision of the regional court fair.

 

Of course, we are pleased with the decision of the higher court, which ruled to pay moral damage more than city court. Of course, this money will not return the lost health to the guy, however, given his condition, he needs more financial resources than ever to arrange his life now. Moreover, the situation with employment at the enterprise, where he received serious injuries, is still unclear, - said lawyer. - On my own, perhaps, I would add that workers should not let the labor safety violations " on the brakes " be released, no matter how much pressure the employer may exert. Such lawsuits are small, but still a contribution to safer production.

We pray that the injured worker will recover as much as one can with the extent of injuries that he incurred.

The court records published in the media company fail to state if the aluminium smelter investigated this incident further. The injured worker stated, and it is unknown if the aluminium company objected when the injured worker stated that  someone from the aluminium smelter wanted him to acknowledge his responsibility of the incident. Which the employee refused. The company apparently continued with this direction that the injured worker was responsible for the incident. In rebuttal the injured worker showed that both of his hands were free of injuries which would not have occurred if the aluminium companies theory was correct. Regardless, all we care about at this blog is that the injured worker recovers as much as possible from his injuries and is provided with a job at the smelter equivalent to his previous wage. That sounds reasonable to us.

On our travels we will talk about the cost of injuries or fatalities to workers. Why? Because we ask the following rhetorical question to workers. “How much do you think you or your family will get if you are injured or killed on the job?” We then list the payout amounts of what workers received and their injuries or deaths involved. That figure varies around the world. Regardless, of the region we tell workers that they will not become rich if they are injured. Nor will their families be rich if they die on the job. We tell our audience the truth to reinforce the importance of their safety and the safety of their coworkers. Please note, in this incident it appears that because another worker did not follow their training, skip steps, or made an assumption resulted in the incident where an innocent worker was electrocuted and lost several fingers and was severely burned. 

What is worse than being injured or killed while on the job? That your actions resulted in the injury or death of worker. That would be worse. Because the workers who actions created the incident will never, ever forget what happened. That is a burden no one wants.

Lastly, we wanted to comment on why we posted the image above of the injured worker. Our intention is not to disrespect or to demean the injured worker. We posted it so the readers will understand what happens when a coworker does not follow their training, or skips a step, or makes an assumption. The worker in the photo nearly died. We pray that his photo will make the reader remember the importance of doing their job correctly. Because if they screw up, someone other them may pay for their mistake. 

Please comment.