Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorney Blog

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued 46 citations, with fines totaling $465,500, to Gavilon Grain LLC in Morral, Ohio for failing to provide safe working conditions to its workers.

Our Chicago work injury attorneys wrote about the tragic death of two teenagers in a grain silo in a prior post to our Chicago Workers' Compensation Attorney Blog.

The investigations came after the death of a 20-year-old worker, at the Morral facility, who was killed when caught in a discharge auger while cleaning a grain bin.

"This tragic death could have been prevented had the grain bin owner and operators followed occupational safety standards and learned from the tragedies that have occurred at other grain bins," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels. "Grain elevator owners and operators must implement well-known safety practices to prevent workers from being hurt or killed in a grain bin."

According to research from Purdue University, at least 25 U.S. workers perished as a result of grain entrapments last year. The university has been keeping statistics since 1978 and the number of deaths continue to climb -- in fact 2010 recorded the highest number of deaths since 1978.

The Morral facility was fined $175,000 for the following:

-Failing to have lock out measures for the discharge and sweep auger.

-Lacking grain bin entry permit to perform work.

-Lack of training for workers regarding safety precautions and bin entry procedures.

-Not having a lookout during bin entry.

-Failing to provide rescue equipment.

-Failing to test air quality.

-Not providing deflagration controls for combustible dust.

-Not displaying signs warning of combustible dust.

The West Jefferson facility was fined $171,000 for the following:

-Permitting workers to walk working surfaces without proper guarding in place.

-Failing to safeguard employees from electrical and machine guarding hazards.

-Not having safe grain handling and electrical procedures.

-Not having signage and hazard communication procedures.

The Harpster facility was fined $119,500 for the following:
-Not evaluating work spaces to know if confined space entry permits are required.

-Not having a confined space program.

-Lacking a non-entry retrieval system.

-Failing to provide personal protective equipment for employees.

-Failing to provide electrical training.

-Not having combustible dust controls.

-Not training employees in the hazard of combustible grain dust.

-Not displaying signs warning of combustible dust.

Grain operators in Illinois, Colorado, South Dakota and Wisconsin have been fined by OSHA following comparable preventable fatalities. As summer season begins, agricultural workers and employers are reminded to review the proper procedures for the safe operation of grain bins, conveyors, augers and silos.