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The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a litany of citations totaling $77,000 to TimkenSteel Corporation for serious safety violations after employees complained about unsafe conditions.
An inspection of the company’s trio of manufacturing plants located in Canton, Ohio, revealed a dozen hazards – amongst them, unguarded 40 foot drops and machinery with exposed moving parts. In these situations, it would only take a moment’s lapse in attention to invite disaster – a misstep leading to broken limbs or a loose shirtsleeve resulting in the loss of an arm or even death.
TimkenSteel Corporation’s parent company, Timken Co., is no stranger to OSHA’s safety guidelines. In 2012, OSHA found Timken Co. responsible for another dozen violations, some of them repeats of previous safety oversights, and cited the company for over $170,000.
These offenses ranged everywhere from the aforementioned missing guardrails on elevated platforms to the lack of an emergency eyewashing station. At that time, just one of these Canton-based steel plants employed 300 workers – 300 possible victims of unsafe and illegal working conditions.
I Have Been Injured Because of Company Negligence. What Are My Options?
Trade workers such as those employed in the steel industry are amongst those most likely to suffer debilitating injury or death as a result of their hazardous work environment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is fortunate that TimkenSteel workers had the foresight to complain to OSHA before it was too late, but not every case like this has a happy ending.
If you have suffered an injury due to negligence on the part of your employer, then you could be entitled to workers’ compensation. Find out if you qualify by contacting our law firm.
Larrimer & Larrimer, LLC—Columbus Workers Comp Attorneys