Francisco Moreno Garcia died as the result of an incident at the ADM facility in Decatur, IL, when a waste compression system malfunctioned. He was insulating pipes 15 feet in the air when he was sprayed with steam and hot caustic chemicals.

He struggled to free himself from his harness and tumbled to the ground. Third degree burns covered 90% of his body.

He lived in excruciating pain for a day and a half before doctors decided there was nothing more they could do to save him.

Workers’ comp awarded $60,000 to Garcia’s family in Mexico. Most of that will be returned to an insurance company after the family receives payment from the jury trial.

In many workplace deaths, the family can’t sue because workers’ comp prohibits it – it’s the “exclusive remedy.”

But in this case, Garcia was working for a contractor, so the family could sue ADM. The jury award was one of the largest such judgments in Illinois history for a single man with no spouse or children.

Accident lawyer David Perecman put out a press release this week, Attorneys in New York Baffled at how Construction Related Deaths Continue to Occur. The statement is in response to the news that a 42-year-old working on a luxury apartment building fell to his death after a scaffold suddenly gave way.

The press release starts, “New York construction accident lawyers were left scratching their heads as they heard the news of a construction worker who died after falling four stories in Brooklyn, NY.”

The statement goes on to say, “New York construction accident lawyers like David Perecman continue to fight for more safety regulations on construction sites … there is a lack of proper safety precautions being taken on the job site.

“Until we ensure all bases are covered, like the proper equipment is available and people are trained appropriately, accidents like this won’t stop.”

What do you think about his point of view? Let us know in the Comments Box below.

Dan Kavanaugh, vice president and general manager with Turner Construction Co. in Oregon, told the Daily Journal of Commerce, “Money is not the motivator. A fine doesn’t mean anything to us.”

Dan Johnson, vice president of operations for Sakanska USA, agrees. “If they raised fines, would that become a motivation? I’m thinking ‘no.’”

However, Johnson says higher fines could be big financial hits for small and mid-sized construction companies.

Oregon OSHA administrator Michael Wood realizes that the fines he’s proposing still wouldn’t have a significant impact on the largest companies.

Wood is considering setting the cap for the most severe violations at $7,000. Now, it’s $5,000.

When a state OSHA inspects a company after a fatality, even the $5,000 fines can add up.

Recently, Oregon OSHA announced penalties totaling $90,000 against ConAgra Foods and a company performing repairs at a ConAgra plant in connection with an incident in which a welder was killed.

Wood acknowledges that ConAgra’s portion of the fine, $65,000, won’t be a big hit for such a large company. Besides raising fines, he’s considering a sliding scale based on company size.

Do you think OSHA fines are real motivation for companies to improve their safety? Is it different for larger vs. smaller companies? Should fines be higher for larger companies? Let me know in the Comments Box below.

Last week, a worker was killed when he fell more than 20 stories from a high-rise construction site in Dallas.

Jose Aguila, 37, was installing metal louvers on the side of the building. A scaffold collapsed, and the worker’s safety harness failed, according to a report by NBC-5 in Dallas.

In June, OSHA announced an increase in construction-site inspections in Texas due to the high rate of worker fatalities and serious injuries.

Raleigh Roussell, with contractor organization TEXO, complains that some OSHA inspectors arriving at construction sites are transfers from other OSHA areas who don’t have construction experience. “The hazards are much different than those in a plant,” he said.

Personal injury attorney Mark Werbner is also critical of OSHA’s inspections, but for a much different reason.

Werbner says the agency is still far too easy on contractors and the fines for violations aren’t high enough.

What do you think? Let us know in the Comments Box below.

Jason Moyer, 39, was repairing an elevator in the Century Village retirement community at the time of the incident, according to the Palm Beach Post.

The elevator fell on Moyer while he was in the shaft. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Moyer was employed by Xpert Elevator Services. OSHA records show no previous action or investigations of the company.

The elevator in the retirement community failed a private inspection in February 2008. During a follow-up, the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation cited the owner of the elevator for not having a current license and told the owners they must show proof of a current inspection.

The widow of a worker killed in an explosion will receive $6 million as part of a settlement with the owner of a refinery.

Gary Szabla was one of two workers killed in the explosion at the Clark Oil Blue Island refinery in 1995.

The families of the two workers filed wrongful death lawsuits.

Clark argued that it was shielded from the lawsuit under the state’s workers’ comp statute.

However, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that wasn’t the case because Clark didn’t directly employ the two men.

The lawsuit brought by the other worker’s family is also close to a settlement, according to The Southtown Star.

Clark was also fined $1.2 million by OSHA which cited dozens of violations of workplace safety rules.

Turbine mechanic John Summers was injured in a 2001 accident while repairing a leak on a hydrogen generator at an Entergy Gulf States plant. (Summers has since died from unrelated causes.)

Entergy’s workers’ comp policy covered Summers’ injuries.

In effect, the Texas Supreme Court has expanded the immunity against lawsuits that direct employers have to also cover contractors.

State legislators say that was not their intent when they passed the most recent workers’ comp law.

The Texas Association of Manufacturers has applauded the decision, saying this ruling helps keep the cost of doing business down.

On the other hand, the Texas AFL-CIO criticized the ruling, calling it judicial activism.

A bill currently under consideration in the Texas legislature would clarify that contractors aren’t included in the immunity from lawsuits because of the availability of workers’ comp insurance.