"(worker’s) hard hat .. knocked off and sustained visible head injuries..."

There have been many incidents (mostly fatalities) where the worker performed the necessary safety procedures. Nevertheless, the machinery still unexpectedly moved resulting in the death of a worker. Here is a recent tragedy highlighting the hidden hazard of machinery movement.

A 58-year-old man died Sunday afternoon of injuries sustained in an industrial accident at aluminium casting company

He was pronounced dead on arrival at (local) Hospital (16 km away).

Local County Sheriff's deputies and paramedics from the (local) Fire Department responded to the plant after receiving a 911 call at (just before 2:00 PM).

(the deceased worker), an equipment service technician, was reportedly working on a water passage machine when he apparently became entangled in the machine, according to the Sheriff. The initial investigation indicated (worker’s) hard hat had been knocked off and he reportedly sustained visible head injuries.  

Deputies completed their investigation and contacted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigators, who arrived at the scene at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with (the deceased’s) family and friends at this time," said the assistant vice president at the (aluminium casting company). "He worked here for more than 10 years."

Beginning with the third shift and continuing through today's first shift, company officials gathered employees together to update them on the tragedy. Grief counselors were on hand for co-workers who felt the need to talk with someone. the assistant vice president at the (aluminium casting company) added counselors will be available for follow-up as needed.

The assistant vice president at the (aluminium casting company) declined to answer questions directly related to the accident, saying OSHA representatives from the (nearby city) office are involved in a comprehensive investigation.

The spokeswoman at the (location omitted) office, indicated the first step in the investigation involves gathering facts and analyzing the initial investigation from the sheriff's office. Also included in the process are interviews with managers and the victim's co-workers.

"Our investigators will determine what happened and how to prevent something like this from happening again," she added. "I have no more details at this point because there has not been a briefing as yet."

The incident marks the first loss of life stemming from an accident at the plant, which supplies automotive parts for (auto manufacturing company) Foundry, its parent plant.

We do not know the specifics of this incident. But eventually we will. We are going to make some assumptions. We acknowledge that we could be wrong, but from editing this blog for the past 15 years we have sadly learned from past tragedies. This incident has all of the hallmarks of an incident where a worker thought they were safe and then the machinery moved.

We will update this post once OSHA releases their findings. Please comment.