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The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated a South Dakota facility after a fatal workplace accident occurred on April 27, according to RapidCityJournal.com. A steel beam fell on 26-year-old Adam Klynsma at a TrueNorth Steel facility. The beam was 12 feet long and weighed 1600 lbs.
Klynsma was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Captain Marty Graves and the Pennington County Coroner’s office.
“I’m still in shock,” said his mother, Linda Klynsma, who previously worked for TrueNorth as well. TrueNorth’s safety director, Rod Schober, was not available for comment.
It is not clear exactly what caused the beam to fall onto Klynsma. The fatality was reported to the regional OSHA office in Bismark. While it is not fair to jump to conclusions about the workplace accident before the investigation is complete, it is possible some sort of safety violation lead to this accident.
While accidents are down in general—46% decline in the last 10 years—employers must be diligent in ensuring all safety regulations are followed and workers remain as safe as possible.
Larrimer & Larrimer, LLC—Columbus workers comp attorneys.