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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined FWT LLC more than $40,000 for safety violations after two employees were injured in separate incidents at the company’s Hicksville facility.
FWT LLC manufactures telecommunication towers. The company has been cited numerous times in the past for inadequate machine guarding and amputation hazards.
In February, a worker’s hands were crushed by a squaring press, which flattens the knuckles at the end of tower poles. In March, a second employee was pinned between a telecommunication pole and the frame of a squaring press.
Squaring presses are big, fast and powerful by design. Without proper machine guarding, industrial machinery can cause catastrophic and life-changing injuries.
Machine guards can take many forms, so long as they keep workers from reaching or falling into a machine’s moving parts. OSHA offers several versions: barrier guards keep the operator’s hands and arms from reaching into the “danger zone,” while pullbacks/pullouts literally pull the operator’s hands away from the point of operation.
Crushing and amputation injuries can be devastating, and victims may never fully recover. If a worker relies on his or her hands for a living, a serious injury could permanently affect his or her future employment options.
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Do not allow an employer to put your health in danger. If you have questions about your employer’s conduct, contact Larrimer & Larrimer on Facebook or Google Plus. To discuss your workers’ comp claim, schedule your free consultation today.
[Did You Know: From 2000-2007, 3,984 Illinois workers lost limbs in workplace accidents.]
Larrimer & Larrimer, LLC—Columbus Workers Comp Attorneys
Source: https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=26580