Minneapolis Personal Injury Lawyer - Workplace Injuries

Man Dies in Oregon Construction Accident

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:10:28 GMT

A construction worker from Stayton was killed on Wednesday in a highway repaving project. The construction accident happened in Alsea on Highway 34. The victim was using an asphalt grinder. The grinder rolled over the man and down an embankment. It appears part of the highway collapsed causing the accident.

The victim

was pronounced deceased at the scene. He was employed by Hatch Company, a subcontractor for Knife River Corporation, and was working on a project repaving a portion of the highway damaged in the early December storm.

The construction accident is being investigated by local authorities and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The Highway is open during repairs and flaggers are being used to alert drivers to the hazardous section of the road.

If you would like to learn more about construction accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Workplace Injuries information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Construction Worker Killed in El Paso Accident

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 08:55:20 GMT

A 26-year-old construction worker was killed in El Paso after being run over by a bulldozer. The construction accident happened at Paragon and Mesa Street. The construction workers were repairing an arroyo.

"Firefighters arrived. They found a 26-year-old male unconscious. He was unresponsive. They initiated CPR and resuscitation measures. They transported him to a hospital," said Lt. Mario Hernandez with the El Paso Fire Department.
It happened just before 2 p.m. Monday afternoon. According to authorities, the accident involved a man working for Tapia Construction, one of the subcontractors doing concrete work at the site. Despite efforts made at the hospital, they were unable to save him.

The man was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The accident will be investigated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials, as well as the local police department.

If you would like to learn more about construction accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Workplace Injuries information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Two Minnesota Workers Killed in Oil Pipeline Fire

Jenny Albano — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:36:04 GMT

Two workers were killed in a fire at a major oil pipeline from Canada on Wednesday, November 28, which then sent oil prices soaring. The workers were trying to fix the underground pipeline when the flames escaped igniting the fire. Residents from the area had to be evacuated from the area because of the thick smoke. The fire burned until the next morning

Apparently the pipe had leaked a few weeks ago and was being repaired. "It appears as though one of those fittings may have failed and caused fumes to leak, and it caught fire," said Kristine Chapin, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. She stated that there was not an explosion, but the fire was very big.

The crude is used to make several kinds of fuel, such as gasoline and home heating oil. An average of 1.5 million barrels of oil passes through the pipeline every day. The U.S. consumes 20.58 million barrels of oil a day.
The pipeline that leaked and three others were shut down. Two of the lines were re-started Thursday morning and another line will be inspected to see if it is safe to come back online, but the line with the leak will likely be out for some time.

Light, sweet crude oil for delivery in January rose from $3.47 to $94.09 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. It jumped up to $4.55 to $95.17 in the electronic session before slipping back.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Workplace Injuries.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Charlotte Construction Workers Hurt in Fall

Shannon Weidemann — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 14:47:33 GMT

Two construction workers were hurt in a fall from a scaffolding in Charlotte on Friday. The men were injured in a 20 foot fall. The construction accident happened at a new home that is being built on Lederer Ave.

"They were working on the outside of the house when for whatever reason the wooden scaffolding gave way."
The workers had non-life threatening injuries and were able to talk to the firefighter who rescued them, said Charlotte Fire Department Capt. Rob Brisley.

The two men were taken to a local hospital to be treated for their injuries. The accident will be investigated by the North Carolina Department of Labor and OSHA.

If you would like to read more about construction accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Worksite Injuries information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Minnesota Workplace Injuries on the Decline

Michael Johnson — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 13:38:24 GMT

A survey released in November show that workplace injuries in Minnesota decreased by 3.6 percent in 2004 - this after an 8.3 percent decrease in 2003. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) examined the records of nearly 5,000 private and public-sector employers for the 2004 data.

According to the DOLI website:

A total of 105,500 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses were reported in Minnesota's private-industry and public-sector workplaces during 2004, resulting in a rate of 5.3 cases per 100 full-time-equivalent (FTE) workers, according to the annual Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. The 2003 injury and illness rate was 5.5 cases per 100 FTE workers.
The number of nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses dropped by 5.5 percent from the 2003 total of 111,600 cases and is 12.4 percent below the 2002 total of 120,500 cases.

Our state continues to move in the right direction when it comes to keeping workers safer and preventing workplace injuries.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Johnson