Owner of the Company at Fault

SirTreeRat

SirTreeRat

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http://www.2keller.com/news/fatal-indian...ons20091117.cfm

Indiana Accident News
Fatal Indiana Wood Chipper Accident Reveals Serious IOSHA Safety Violations

Posted on Nov 17, 2009
Tree Core, a New Carlisle business with other worker injuries in the past, is now facing large safety violation fines following a fatal wood chipper accident in September 2009. After investigating the deadly worker incident, the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration has found the owner of the company at fault for several safety hazards.

Authorities say that 37-year-old James Vician was working on site in Kosciusko County when he was pulled into the industrial wood chipper. Kosciusko County police say that the man’s coworker, Brian Whitaker, was at the site but did not see the accident. When he returned to the wood chipper to find Vician gone, he discovered that the accident had happened when he looked at the debris in the truck. The Atwood Fire Department and Multi-Township EMS responded to the on-thw-job accident.

The IOSHA has doled out $72,000 in fines to Tree Core. Their investigation revealed that the workers had jammed the wood chipper’s speed adjuster to feed above maximum speed at all times. The workers also held back the wood chipper’s emergency stop arm with a strap. Sean Keefer, Deputy Commissioner for Indiana’s OSHA said that not only did the owner of the company have full knowledge of the safety problems – but that it had been going on for a long time.

Vician’s wife Tricia says that no one will ever know what really caused the worker accident. Tree Core had another deadly accident in 2001.
 
Where is Jomoke NOW!? Poor workers huh?

This report makes me see red after the comments that were made saying it could never be the poor workers fault in a case like this, and the chipper manufacturers were at fault. Nothing could have saved the workers of all safety devices were bypassed.

Blame goes 50/50, owner/workers, IMO.
 
I was looking to see where Mike posted that video, I just noticed that J was spewing his stuff, again like he did here. Right in the middle of an un-related thread!!!!
 
Yeah I wonder if a company who held back the reverse bar with a strap would find a way around his system or that other one he was pushing so hard...
Probably
argroo.gif
 
Did you notice it was their 2nd fatality? Wonder if the first was related to chipper operation as well. You hate to see incidents like this, and you hate to think that honest people are forced to go out of business if accidents like this happen, but it seems like these folks should be WAAY more safety conscious if they've ALREADY had a workplace fatality.

My heart goes out to the bereaved.
 
i was in this position a few summers ago when my vermeer 1250 problems with the the safety bar for the feed wheels malfunctioning. the chipper was still 100% operational, only the reverse feature did not work. the thought of not fixing the problem was completely absurd and was not considered for more than a second. i spent around 500 bucks and most of a work day diagnosing/fixing the problem.
later that summer i was removing a previously topped silver maple so it had funky branch angles at parts and one was overlooked. i fed a branch butt into the machine and felt a perpendicular branch push my legs with authority against the feed table. i grabbed that bar so quick and hard it damn near bruised my palm. the safety system worked as designed, death let me go just as quickly as he grabbed me.
if i would have made the same safety decision as this business owner had, i might have been fragmented.
this is a simple situation. a man chose profit over the safety and well being of his employees and their families
 
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Did you notice it was their 2nd fatality? Wonder if the first was related to chipper operation as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it was mentioned somewhere in the original thread between BB and Jomoco that the first one was chipper related, I could be wrong though.
 
And what was the outcome of the first accident? Obviously not enough. In his wife's shoes, I'd be filing a suit to make sure this guy never operated a business or was in a position of authority again.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Blame goes 50/50, owner/workers, IMO.

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I agree. I'd never put up with some one messing with a safety feature like that.

However, liability rest with the owner.
 
rightly so! The company owner is clearly to be held liable for the safety features being disabled/overridden. He should have stopped this immediately upon seeing it. Like was said before he has 1 other death under his belt already, he should have known better!

BUT

the worker is to blame here as well it seems. they say thery were responsible for adjusting the feed rollers to spin faster, and tieing the feedbar in the forward position.
 
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