May 13, 2013 by Fred Hosier
The death of a worker who was accidentally cooked to death in an industrial pressure cooker has resulted in fines for Bumble Bee tuna company.
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Tags: bumble bee, Cal/OSHA, confined space, cooked to death, energy control
May 3, 2013 by Fred Hosier
Firefighters who responded to a Florida resort to recover the body of a worker crushed by an elevator noticed a key safety step may have been missed while the employee was in the elevator shaft.
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Tags: death in elevator shaft, lockout/tagout, TradeWinds Island Resorts, worker's death
February 11, 2013 by Fred Hosier
OSHA can charge up to $70,000 for each repeat violation it finds. While small businesses get a break in the size of these fines, when they’re considered repeat violations, they can still add up.
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Tags: audiogram, machine guarding, noise control, repeat OSHA violations
January 28, 2013 by Fred Hosier
You’ve provided safety training and your workers perform hazard analyses before starting jobs. Then an employee’s action leads to his death. Is it an OSHA violation or unpreventable employee misconduct?
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Tags: General Duty Clause, lockout/tagout, Otis elevator, unpreventable employee misconduct
November 19, 2012 by Fred Hosier
Recently, we wrote that an Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission ruling could make it more difficult for OSHA to get willful citations to stick. Now, a lawyer specializing in OSHA citation appeals has expressed the same opinion, and we have anecdotal evidence that this is already happening.
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Tags: fight OSHA citations, OSHA citations, OSHA reform, willful violation
October 10, 2012 by Fred Hosier
A food manufacturer in Massachusetts has agreed to pay $540,000 in OSHA fines in connection with a fatality. An employee was crushed to death in a machine used to make hummus.
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Tags: crushed to death in machine, lockout/tagout, Severe Violator Enforcement Program, Tribe Mediterranean Foods
October 8, 2012 by Fred Hosier
Distracted driving; bicycle helmets; a stiff fine for lockout/tagout hazards; injuries to nonprofit volunteers and workers’ comp; and we’ve seen NFL replacement refs, how about replacement workers’ comp magistrates? It’s all in this week’s Safety News Summary. Click “more” to read on.
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Tags: bicycle helmets, distracted driving, lockout/tagout, replacement refs
October 4, 2012 by Fred Hosier

An employee was electrocuted while working to restore power to a pumping station. OSHA heard about the fatality and investigated. The agency says workers lacked safety gear.
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Tags: electrocution, energized electrical parts, lockout/tagout, maintenance
July 18, 2012 by Fred Hosier
It’s not necessary for a body part to get stuck in a machine to lead to a death. Loose clothing can be fatal, also.
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Tags: asphyxiation, clothing caught in machine, lockout, machine guarding
June 20, 2012 by Fred Hosier

Saying the employer knew workers had to be trained on lockout/tagout, OSHA has issued $702,300 in fines against a food manufacturer in connection with the death of an employee who was crushed to death in a machine used to make hummus.
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Tags: egregious willful OSHA citations, lockout/tagout, Tribe Mediterranean Foods, worker crushed to death