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Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials claim Ohio has the second highest number of fatal work accidents in the Midwest. According to OSHA statistics, the organization investigated 52 fatal work accidents in Ohio during the last year.
Ohio companies with fatal work accidents have been accused by OSHA of ignoring safe workplace practices, such as machine guarding and fall protection. Although this is bad news, Ohio is one of 24 states with an increase in fatal work accidents, showing that workplace safety is a problem nationwide.
The Importance of Workplace Safety and Training
In recent weeks, we have written blogs on local companies who are failing to guard workers from dangerous moving parts and falls. For example, OSHA has fined Ohio chicken processer Case Farms $1.4 million for workplace safety violations. The company allegedly failed to use machine guarding, and two employees lost limbs during work accidents. In addition, the company was fined for exposing employees to electrical injuries, falls and other fatal hazards. Although this is an extreme example, there are other causes aside from unsafe work environments.
Earlier this year, OSHA blamed an increase in fatal workplace accidents on a lack of safety training and work experience. If workers are not aware of safety hazards, how can they be expected to avoid serious injury or death?
Future updates will continue to explore the workplace safety crisis in Ohio. For regular updates on our blog, follow Larrimer & Larrimer on Facebook.
Larrimer & Larrimer, LLC – Columbus Workers’ Comp Attorney