OSHA has proposed to fine Cargill Meat Solutions, Nebraska City, Neb., $9,500 for alleged safety violations after scissor lift tipped over and killed a worker who fell from the platform. The 49-year-old worker suffered internal injuries when the lift toppled over and later died. OSHA said it found two alleged serious violations, which stem from loading the lift to excess and failing to train workers on how to operate powered industrial trucks.

Cargill notes that it has initiated training changes and is cooperating with OSHA. It was scheduled to meet with the agency in May. Before the fatal accident, the plant had an exemplary record, two years without an accident, a Cargill representative said.

An aerial lift working inside a high school fell over and injured a worker. The machine was being moved near a swimming pool being built inside the school, and it tipped over, pinning the worker beneath it, a police superintendent said. He suffered non-life threatening injuries to his face and possible head trauma; he was airlifted to a university medical center. The cause of the tipover was unknown at press time.

A 49-year-old man was killed after the aerial lift he was operating at a meat processing plant toppled over. The lift was elevated about 20 feet, and the man was replacing some shelving units at the facility, making the aerial lift top heavy and caused it to tipover, the county attorney said. OSHA officials were notified of the accident.

One man was killed and another was severely injured when a truck-mounted aerial lift’s boom collapsed. Two utility workers were in the platfrom putting up an electrical line at the time of the accident. The man who was killed was thrown from the platform and struck the truck. He died at the scene, a fire rescue spokesperson said. The other man also received traumatic injuries but was expected to survive.

According to news reports, both men were tethered to the platform. It is unclear whether the accident was caused by mechanical failure or human error. OSHA is investigating.

One worker was killed and another was injured when a boom lift tipped over at a performing arts center under construction, police said. The two workers were in the platform when the 100-foot-tall boom lift fell away from the building and landed across a platform of steel beams. One man was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said, while the other man was listed in serious but stable condition. At the time of the accident, the men were installing steel panels on the building for a steel erection subcontractor.

“We have an onsite safety team down there and are working with investigators, both local and any federal agencies, to determine what caused this accident,” said the president of the site’s general contractor. Workers were sent home for the day while investigators examined the site.

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A construction worker was killed and several other people were injured after a boom lift toppled over. The 40-year-old worker was operating the boom lift and fell 125 feet to the ground when the machine toppled over. He died a short time later. The aerial lift or falling debris also struck a 70-year-old woman in a passing car, breaking her arm. She was listed in stable condition at the hospital. At least two other people coming out of a store were hit by falling debris and received minor injuries.

Police said the boom lift was being operated sidewalk and struck a building as it fell, damaging a florist shop and an apartment building and causing bricks and other debris to rain down onto the street and sidewalk. The boom lift ended up lying on its side across an intersection. The area was closed to traffic during cleanup. Officials from the Department of Licenses and Inspection were on the scene, investigating the cause of the machine tipover.

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A crane operator who was volunteering his time to work on a church became trapped inside the crane cab and punctured by rebar after the crane toppled over. Reports said that as he was operating the crane, the machine slipped on a dirt embankment, fell over, and trapped him inside. A piece of rebar punctured his torso near his kidneys, a police spokesperson said.

A 43-year-old worker at a train derailment site was killed when a crane being used to clear the tracks fell on him. According to the Associated Press, the man was overseeing the clearing of rail cars and containers when the crane became unstable and tipped over on him. The county coroner reported the man died instantly from multi-system trauma. Police said the crane was not being staged or relocated when it tipped over. It took approximately three hours for other equipment to arrive, stabilize the toppled crane, and extricate the man.

Four Tennessee Department of Transportation workers were injured when a crane cable snapped and dropped a concrete slab on top of them. The crew was working on a flood-damaged bridge when the accident occurred. They were transported to area hospitals for treatment, and three have since been released. The fourth man, who is recovering from head injuries, was still in the hospital at press time. TDOT is investigating the accident and interviewing crew members to determine the cause.

Diesel fuel spilled into the Chena River after a crane on a bridge construction project fell into the water. A state Department of Transportation spokesperson said the crane spilled less than 50 gallons of fuel. State environmental regulators were containing the slick with absorbent booms and pads. A protective fabric curtain was in place along the project area, lining the river banks and hanging into the water. No injuries were reported in the accident.

Federal investigators from OSHA will spend the next six month investigating a crane accident that occurred at a $7 billion refinery expansion project. The crane's boom is suspected of snapping, causing it to fall and crush a 41-year-old rigger on-site. The man reportedly died of accidental massive head injuries.

A tree service company using a truck-mounted crane at a home toppled over, landing against the roof of the house. The crane operator suffered a knee injury during the accident. She was taken to a local medical center. The fire department and utility workers secured the scene after power lines were downed. Investigators say the boom may have been extended too far, causing the machine to tip over. They are continuing to investigate the incident.

Three workers were injured after falling about 20 feet from a telescopic handler. The workers were elevated in a platform on the lift, putting up an advertising banner at a stage area of a rock concert when the machine tipped over.

           
All three were taken to the hospital with various injuries, including broken bones, collapsed lungs, and internal injuries. The operator was not injured.

A worker was killed at a dock when his forklift fell into a harbor and trapped him underwater. The 44-year-old man was one of two workers moving a pair of forklifts and welding equipment onto a floating barge ramp when one of the pontoons supporting the ramp gave way. One of the forklifts then fell over the side and trapped the man inside. Four divers and a hovercraft were dispatched to try and rescue the forklift operator, who was under 15 feet of water.

According to the Canadian Coast Guard, it took the divers time to find the forklift because of debris and items in the water. Once they had freed him, the dive team lifted the man to a waiting Vancouver Police Department boat, which brought him to paramedics on the shore. They made attempts to revive them man but were not able to. The coroner later pronounced Lowes dead at the scene.

A 23-year-old construction work was injured after falling from the third story of an adult living community building. According to police, the worker was reaching for a propane tank that was being lifted by a forklift. The tank slid over and caused other tanks to fall, which in turn knocked the worker off balance. He fell 40 feet to the ground. Rescue workers reported the man’s face, left leg, and arm were injured in the fall. He was taken to the hospital to be treated for his injuries.

A forklift accident at a port caused more than five gallons of the highly explosive chemical pentaerythritol tetranitrate, or PETN, prompting officials to close the port and evacuate the surrounding area. Emergency officials were able to contain the spill, which was caused when a forklift operator punctured a container, putting holes in nine 110-pound drums containing PETN, a Coast Guard spokesperson said.

A tractor-trailer carrying a forklift struck an overhead bridge, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The impact caused $250,000 in damage and forced the closure of all traffic crossing over the bridge for several hours. No one was injured.

OSHA has proposed fines totaling $72,500 for alleged health and safety violations for a trailer company after a mechanic was killed. At the time of the accident, the mechanic was riding on a forklift attachment and fell when the lift hit uneven ground. He was crushed under the machine.

Violations cited by OSHA include failure to provide required forklift training or evaluation, failure to provide inspection programs for equipment in regular use, and failure to properly inspect and use appropriate attachments. “If the employer had exercised oversight and enforcement of [its]safety rules, this death could have been avoided,” the director of OSHA’s Mobile area office said.