Waiting On The NTSB: What Really Happened To my Daughter?

Some of you old-timers may recall February 2005 when I wrote about the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the death of Denise Bogucki who was crushed against the nose of a plane in September 2003. The NTSB report essentially blamed Bogucki for her own death, stating that she had chosen to use the incorrect equipment to push back an airplane from a gate, causing the accident that pinned her against a plane.

The union objected, saying she had been using the only equipment available, and that she shouldn't have been working alone. Virginia OSHA cited the company, Northwest Airlines, and Northwest -- essentially admitting that there was a problem -- instituted changes, including requiring two people for pushbacks.

Several weeks after the report was released, the NTSB, citing "new information,"decided to take a second look at the Bogucki's death "due to new information."

Now, a year and a half later, Bogucki's mother, Jeanne Earley, is still waiting for that report.

"It's never going to end for me," said Earley, an executive assistant in the airport's administrative office. "But it would be nice to have this part of it over with and settled once and for all."

It doesn't help that a September issue of a Northwest newsletter referred to two recent accidents that resulted in "potentially life-threatening injuries" while doing the same job Bogucki was doing when she was killed.

Safety board spokesman Keith Holloway said last week that the investigation of Bogucki's death would be complete "before the end of the year, if not sooner." He added that the agency is not investigating the recent accidents.

Earley's heard it all before. About this time last year, the agency said it would finish by the end of 2005.

"I don't know if they're afraid to address it because of big business," she said. "We're just the little guys, and they're dragging her through the mud again."

The union is upset too

"It's like there's no value to human life," said Bob Bennek, safety and health director of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Air Transport District 143, which includes Norfolk.

"You would think a fatality would get some type of resolution sooner than this," Bennek said. "The family deserves to have a resolution."

As for the other accidents where ground crew employees were injured, Airline spokesman Roman Blahoski says they weren't related. And although Northwest made changes after Bogucki's death, they are contesting the OSHA citation.

"Our investigation showed it to be an accident and not the result of a violation of OSHA standards," Blahoski said.

The two recent accidents mentioned in the Northwest newsletter also occurred "during the push-back of an aircraft." The newsletter said two employees "suffered injuries, one of which was serious."

Blahoski said the accidents, which occurred over the past few months, were different from Bogucki's because they injured ground crew members, not the driver of the push-back tug.

He said an internal investigation concluded that proper procedure was not followed in one case and that the other is still under review. (emphasis added)

Of course, experts who investigate the root causes of "accidents" generally will ask "why" procedures weren't followed and usually find that there are understandable reasons. (For example, understaffing, improper equipment, or the job just can't get done by following the rules.) And numerous "accidents," even if they appear "unrelated," generally mean that there's something seriously wrong with the management safety systems in the workplace.

Bennek, the machinists union's health and safety director, would like to see the safety board issue recommendations for making push-backs safer, including specifying push-back tractor designs, tow bar lengths and inspections criteria.

"They could make some findings that could forever change the industry," he said.

Meanwhile, Bogucki's mother waits:

Jeanne Earley checks a federal investigators' Web site daily, hoping for closure three years after her daughter was killed while working at the airport.

Every day, she longs to see that the inquiry has ended and to know, finally, what really happened.

Every day, she is disappointed.

Bush Labor Board Takes Organizing Rights Away From Millions Of Nurses And Other Workers

This afternoon, George W. Bush’s National Labor Relations Board, in a party-line 3-2 decision, took away bargaining rights for millions of American nurses and other workers.

The Board's findings were contained in its long-awaited Kentucky River decision which focused on whether certain nurses, called charge nurses, should be considered “supervisors” who are excluded from having the right to organize unions.

The origin of the supervisory exclusion was the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act which amended the National Labor Relations Act. The original National Labor Relations Act gave all employees the right to form unions and required that employers recognize certified employee unions and bargain in good faith. The Taft-Hartley Act, however, excluded supervisors, defined as

any individual having authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees, or responsibly to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action, if in connection with the foregoing the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment.

However, even the anti-union authors of the Taft-Hartley act made it clear that it did not intend to deny coverage to professional employees, lead workers or others whose jobs do not include major managerial responsibility to hire, fire and discipline other employees. Yet, the Republican-appointed majority today ignored that context, essentially finding favorable definitions for in the dictionary, rather than from clear Congressional intent.

NOTE: If this is all too confusing, just check out Stephen Colbert's hilarious here.

The current problem stems from a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that found that the NLRB’s analysis of the supervisory status of six registered nurses at a Kentucky nursing facility was flawed. The Board is therefore required to come up with a better definition of "supervisor." The problem is that some nurses act as "charge nurses," who are allowed to decide which patients will be seen by his or her colleagues. And despite the fact that charge nurses can’t discipline other employers, hire or fire, they could be considered management by an overly broad interpretation of the law.

And why are nurse unions such a big deal? Check out a few of these headlines from the past few days:

Strike Looms As Nurses Rally At Temple Hospital

PHILADELPHIA -- Nurses rallied at Temple Hospital Monday as the threat of a strike looms. Their contract with the hospital runs out at the end of the month, and workers believe the nurse-to-patient ratio is too high.

The issue is something Temple University Hospital nurses are now threatening to strike over. They said some units are so understaffed that patients’ lives are at risk.

Kaua'i nurse strike enters 12th week

Kaua'i, HI -- Wilcox Hospital nurses entered their 12th week on strike yesterday with new negotiations, and with demonstrations on O'ahu and Kaua'i.

Both sides say the key issue in the strike is the nurses' insistence on a system that would call in more nursing help when the needs of patients increase. Wilcox Hospital and its parent, Hawai'i Pacific Health, insist staffing is and should be a management function.

Union asks nurses at UMass to OK strike

Boston, MA -- The union representing about 850 registered nurses at UMass Memorial Medical Center's University Campus in Worcester has asked its members to authorize a strike, a sign that a nine -month contract dispute is worsening.

The union said its members are angry over the hospital's demands for concessions on pensions, health benefits, wages, paid days off, and layoff language. Negotiations began in January and little progress has been made, though the contract expired in April.

The decision makes an interesting read, particularly the section written by the two Board members who dissented, Wilma Liebman and Dennis Walsh. The decision focused on the words highlighted in the definition of a "supervisor" above. Liebman and Walsh point out that the legislative history of the act distinguished between real supervisors "vested with such genuine management prerogatives as the right to hire or fire, discipline, or make effective recommendations with respect to such action " and "straw bosses, leadmen, set-up men, and other minor supervisory employees."

They pointed out that the the Republican-appointed Board majority focused on the individual dictionary definition of the words, rather than the context within which they were intended. In other words, "assign" was not intended by Congress to mean asking a nursing assistant to cover patients A, B and C, but it must be seen in the entire context of the terms used in the law, meaning "authority to determine the basic terms and conditions of an employee's job, i.e., position, work site, or work hours."

They point out that back when the term "straw boss" was in use, it was

A term applied to a worker who takes a lead in a team or gang, usually small in number, including himself, performing all the duties of the other workers in the gang. His supervisory functions are incidental to the production duties he performs.

In fact, most nurses and other professionals who work with assistants or as team leaders reoutinely play a role in assigning parts of a day's work.

Similarly, the term "responsibility to direct"

refers to the general supervisory authority delegated to foremen overseeing an operational department and the accountability that goes with it, in contrast to the kind of one-on-one task direction

such as asking an assistant to empty a bed pan or take a temperature. In other words, when the original law was passed, Congress sought to make a distinction between "indiviuals with 'essential managerial duties' and those with only 'minor supervisory ' duties."

Walsh and Liebman note that unlike real supervisors, charge nurses do not have the ability to hire, fire or discipline, nor do they have any formal role in the employee grievance process. In addition, they spend the vast majority of their time in line work "a fact that strongly tends to estbalish their status as s minor supervisory employees."

But those are just legal issues. As we have learned over and over again, simple legalities are not the issue for this administration; crushing labor unions is.

Liebman and Walsh provide describe the chilling implications of the decision:

Today’s decision threatens to create a new class of workers under Federal labor law: workers who have neither the genuine prerogatives of management, nor the statutory rights of ordinary employees. Into that category may fall most professionals (among many other workers), who by 2012 could number almost 34 million, accounting for 23.3 percent of the work force.

The AFL-CIO’s Tula Connell points out in Daily Kos what this means for individual workers,

Sandra Falwell, a staff nurse at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., sometimes directs the work of less skilled or less experienced employees. Yet she's not part of hospital management. She does not have the ability to hire or fire employees, evaluate their performance or make other decisions regarding their work.

Under today's ruling, Falwell--and hundreds of thousands of workers like her--now could be classified as supervisors, and so cannot belong to a union. And not only nurses: journalists, building trades workers, port employees and many, many, others may now be considered supervisors under U.S. labor law and so barred from joining unions.

We’ll soon see what effect this ruling has on the ability of health care workers professional workers and others to organize. The Democratic members of the Board are pessimistic:

The result could come as a rude shock to nurses and other workers who for decades have been effectively protected by the National Labor Relations Act, but who now may find themselves treated, for labor-law purposes, as members of management, with no right to pursue collective bargaining or engage in other concerted activity in the workplace.

Indeed, supervisors may be conscripted into an employer’s anti-union campaign, while their pro-union activity is now strictly limited. The majority’s decision thus denies the protection of the Act to yet another group of workers, while strengthening the ability of employers to resist the unionization of other employees.

Nathan Newman notes that the Kentucky River ruling clears the field from more employer mischief and harassment of workers:

And the new expansive definition of "supervisor" means that more workers will be given nominal supervisory responsibilities to undermine their right to unionize-- and lock every union vote in endless delays as companies litigate who is and who is not a supervisor.

Even if the workers "win", the election will probably be delayed long enough to kill the union drive. And here are the dynamics when large numbers of workers are declared to be supervisors-- it means that friends in the workplace immediately are turned into enemies as supervisors are told to spy on their friends or lose their jobs. Instead of a union being about workers challenging the power of top management, it is turned into an internal workplace civil war.

This isn’t good new for anyone who’s ever planning on being a patient in a hospital either. Nurses unions are known to be strong advocates of increasing nurse-patient staff ratios and other measures that improve patient outcomes. Research shows that that increased nurse-staff ratios mean fewer hospital fatalities, fewer heart attacks, shorter time spent in the hospital, and fewer patient-safety errors.

Things are already bad enough in the U.S. A 2002 Government Accounting Office one quarter of the civilian American workforce — 32 million workers — were without collective bargaining rights.

The largest groups without rights were about 8.5 million independent contractors; 5.5 million employees of certain small businesses; 10.2 million supervisory/ managerial employees (including 8.6 million first-line supervisors); 6.9 million federal, state and local government workers; approximately 532,000 domestic workers; and 357,000 agricultural workers.

And as is increasingly common in George Bush’s United States, US laws are out of sync with international human rights. A 2000 report by Human Rights Watch(HRW) found that U.S. labor laws were grossly out-of-compliance with international human rights norms and failed to protect workers’ rights to organize unions and bargain collectively. The effect, according to HRW is that

Big chunks of the labor force are defenseless against employer reprisals if they try to exercise freedom of association. If they protest abusive working conditions, employers can fire them with impunity. If they seek to bargain collectively, employers can ignore them. Protection of the right to organize and bargain collectively, a bedrock requirement of international labor rights norms, is denied these workers.

What Happens Now?

The decision, according to the Washington Post, will undoubtedly end up in the Supreme Court again:

The decision is likely to be challenged all the way to the Supreme Court, which has twice rejected prior Board decisions for failing to give adequate consideration to such issues as a supervisor's use of independent judgment and the assignment or direction of staff. In those cases, the Board found that nurses who direct other employees in their patient care duties are not supervisors. The court sent the issue back to the board for more work.

It should be noted that the NLRB only took away these workers’ right to organize, not their ability to organize. In other words, instead of being protected by the NLRA – the right not to be fired for organizing activities, for example – these workers are being taken back to the law of the jungle that existed before the National Labor Relations Act was passed in 1935. Indeed, the famous Detroit sit down strikes of 1936-37, although they occurred after the Wagner Act was passed, did not use the NLRB’s protections, which most employers were ignoring anyway. In other words, to coin a phrase, “the workers united, will never be defeated” even if current interpretations of the law don't currently favor them.

And unions, like the California Nurses Association are not giving up.

Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro said the decision "provides employers a road map to exclude hundreds of thousands of RNs from their rights. It forces RNs to choose between protecting their patients and keeping their job." DeMoro said there will be "a comprehensive response to this disgraceful decision."

Initially, she said, CNA/NNOC will:

• Put employers on notice in all CNA/NNOC-represented facilities that the RNs will strike if the employer seeks to exploit the ruling. More than 30,000 CNA/NNOC members have already signed strike pledges to do just that.
• Hold protests or other public events with RNs Thursday, October 5 in Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, Louisville, and Bangor, Me. as a beginning wave of actions in response to the decision.
• Work with the AFL-CIO and AARN on legislation in Congress to overturn the decision.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney stated that

Today’s decision is the latest in the Bush-appointed NLRB’s legal maneuvering to deny as many workers as possible their basic right to have a voice on the job and improve their living standards through their union. Over the last several years, the NLRB has chipped away at that right by limiting the eligibility of disabled workers, teaching assistants, temporary workers and others to join unions. Now, at the very time middle class workers need more help, not less, the NLRB is taking a broad swing.

Sweeney promised that

Over the next week, working people will be coming together in the streets in cities across the nation to make sure everyone knows the Bush Administration is slashing workers’ right to have a voice on the job.

And according to Change To Win Chair Anna Burger:

By narrowly defining several broad phrases of the National Labor Relations Act, the Bush appointed majority has created a blueprint for eliminating the right to union representation for most professionals and from millions of leadpersons and employees who are currently represented. Contrary to what the Bush majority says, this decision is not legally required, but is another in a growing string of decisions that further narrow the right to organize.

Those that see reclassifying employees as supervisors as an easy way to deny workers their rights, will find many employees unwilling to trade their rights for a sham title. They will also find that these working women and men do not stand alone.

What effect will this decision have on the upcoming election, amidst revelations that the Bush administration has known all along how bad things are going in Iraq, while the "family values" party is caught with its proverbial pants down defending child molesters?

We'll see, but sometimes I think that many Americans are so tired of politics and politicians and suspicious elections that they don't realize how much politics can affect their daily lives, particularly the one-third or more of their lives while at work. The Kentucky River decision should serve as a reminder to all nurses, professionals and anyone else who might be caught in the Bush ant-worker web that voting counts. It counts for staffing ratios in health care institutions, it counts for the ability to bargain about wages and benefits, it counts for safe workplaces, and most of all, it counts for respect.

Too bad we have to learn these lessons the hard way.

Do You Take This Man...

for Blogger Or Worse?

25 years today and still going strong...


And what could be worse than being married to a blogger?

Ergotainment

You think ergonomics is boring. Well, check this out:
Live, from Kalamazoo Michigan, Ergo Elvis, the troubador of pain, that hunk a hunka hurtin' tendon. Right here.

There are 3 songs in the video, performed in 2001 at a United Auto Workers Black Lake teaching facility:
1) The Work-a-rena
2) Ouch, I'm Tender (my favorite)
3) The Battle Hymn of the Ergonomic, aka, Ergonomics Forever.

Other Stuff By Other Bloggers

First, there's some interesting stuff over at Workers Comp Insider, a blog you should all bookmark and visit now and then.

First, they review an article in the Washington Times reporting

on the high number of injuries experienced by federal air marshals, claiming that 2,100, or nearly half the total work force, had been sidelined due to injuries. Many are quitting the Federal Air Marshal Services (FAMS) due to a variety of illnesses, such as deep vein thrombosis and barotrauma, a decompression sickness that causes ruptured eardrums and sinus conditions. Over about a three-year period, nearly 2,500 workers comp claims were filed. Many workers are also reporting that they are being fired or demoted because of this. The issue is significant enough to come to the attention of Congress.

And then there's this piece about the hazards faced by night workers

Diane Pfadenhauer of Strategic HR Lawyer features a post discussing the perils of the graveyard shift. According to a cited article, night workers are 20 percent more likely to have a work-related injury than day workers, and are also prone to higher

And while you're surfing the internets, check out Cervantes over at Staying Alive who points out that while "homeland security" is the talk of the day, our emergency rooms (which would probably be important in the event of a terrorist attack) are falling apart:

In 1986, Congress passed legislation affirming that everyone had a right to critical care in hospital emergency departments, putting an end, in theory (only), to the wallet biopsy which used to determine whether you got your compound fracture pinned. Unfortunately, it didn't occur to anybody to provide money for this purpose, so many hospitals responded by simply closing their EDs.

The US Congress: "Doing Businesses' Bidding" On Chemical Plant Security

Well, five years after 9/11, the House of Representatives has finally passed legislation covering chemical plant security by sticking it onto a must-pass homeland security budget bill.

In a largely party-line vote last Friday, the House of Reprentatives voted 221 to 186 not to strip some of the most harmful provisions from the bill. Earlier in the year, House and Senate committees passed much stronger bills (H.R. 5695) and Senate (S. 2145).

But as the Philadelphia Inquirer editorializes:

It's an underhanded tactic to accomplish industry's bidding, but representatives folded with rationalizations such as: "It's better than nothing," and "It's time to quit talking and get something done." The American public deserves better than this illusion of security.

The two-page rider reads like a custom order from chemical manufacturers, who only recently dropped rigorous opposition to any mandatory security regulation.

The bill will establish some kind of standards for 34,000 facilities where chemicals are made or used, and the Homeland Security Department will have the authority to inspect plants and even shut them down.

But there's little assurance that the standards will have any teeth. The rider says, "The secretary may approve alternative security programs established by private sector entities" - in other words, the very voluntary measures the industry has been pushing all along. Secretary Michael Chertoff should be proactive in creating stronger requirements.

Gone is a provision in the House bill requiring high-risk facilities to consider and, when economically and technologically feasible, to use safer chemicals or processes to protect surrounding communities. The appropriations rider also exempts water- and wastewater-treatment plants, which use and store highly toxic chlorine, from oversight.

The Senate bill specifically protected states' rights to impose stronger security requirements, as New Jersey has done. The rider leaves it to judges to sort out state and federal jurisdiction.

The American Chemistry Council, which represents 133 chemical manufacturers who encompass approximately 85% of chemical production capacity in the United States, couldn't have been more pleased.

“ACC would like to thank Congress for their work in accomplishing our shared objective of passing meaningful chemical security legislation this year. This measure represents significant progress in the effort to secure America’s chemical industry, an essential part of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

“While this bill is not a home run, Congress came through in the last inning to deliver essential chemical security legislation.

According to Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA),

“There are night clubs in New York City that are harder to get into than some of our chemical plants. Yet the Republicans acquiesced to the wishes of the chemical industry behind closed doors to negotiate the weak, inadequate language contained in this conference report.

Markey had four main problems with the bill:

• It exempts all but high-risk facilities from doing any kind of risk assessments and site security plans.
• DHS is prohibited from disapproving a facility’s security plan because of the absence of any specific security measure (i.e. broken fences, cameras, etc.)
• Exempts even high-risk facilities that are regulated under other laws from being regulated for security by DHS, no matter how weak those laws are. For example, water treatment plants are exempted because EPA regulations cover many of their operations. Nearly 100 of them each put 100,000 or more people at risk.
• It doesn't give states the right to pass stronger protections.

In addition, the bill sets no deadlines by which DHS must approve or disapprove plant security plans, doesn't require security exercises or involve plant workers in the development of security plans.

Something Wicked This Way Comes -- And it's late

Saturday was supposed to be Kentucky River Day. That's the day that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) releases its feared "Kentucky River" decision which, if they rule in a way that makes their benefactors happy, will remove collective bargaining rights from millions of American nurses and other workers.

The decision will determine whether nurses can be considered "supervisors." Supervisors, traditionally considered to be employees who could hire, fire and discipline other employees, are not allowed to join unions, according to American labor law. The current problem stems from a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that found that the NLRB’s analysis of the supervisory status of six registered nurses at a Kentucky nursing facility was flawed. The Board is therefore required to come up with a better definition of "supervisor."

The problem is that some nurses act as "charge nurses," who are allowed to decide which patients will be seen by his or her colleagues. And despite the fact that charge nurses can’t discipline other employers, hire or fire, they could be considered management by an overly broad interpretation of the law.

But its not just nurses who are at risk. There are a variety of professional and other occupations where line workers are given some authority to give instructions to other workers. AFL-CIO organizing director Stewart Acuff,

300,000 nurses could be affected by the rulings and up to 1.5 million other workers. "Team leaders and gang leaders in ports, lead men in mines, lead men in docks at manufacturing facilities and warehouses, engineers, people who oversee apprentices in trades—almost every senior worker does this to some extent."

The decision was supposed to be overnighted on Friday to the parties in the case. That would have guaranteed a Saturday announcement -- a perfect day for getting no press, which is what the Bushies usually do when they have bad news to announce.

But apparently someone at the NLRB in a rush to get to Happy Hour Friday afternoon forgot to drop the decision in the mail. Oops. That means it apparently went out today, guaranteeing lots of press tomorrow when it's announced.

Stay tuned...

UPDATE: The California Nurses Association wonder if it was more than just a simple boo boo:

"It's hard to imagine that the Bush administration 'inadvertently' missed a FedEx deadline. It raises a natural question. Did the corporations who have pushed for the decision receive advance notice while the NLRB withholds it from the labor movement, the millions of workers and patients who will be affected, and the general public?" asked Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of CNA/NNOC which represents 70,000 RNs in 44 states.

"If the problem were just 'deadlines,' maybe they should have used a unionized firm, UPS, instead," she added.

Indeed.

Contractor Faces 25 Years In Jail For Using Untrained Homeless Men To Remove Asbestos

This is one of the ironies of the law here in the United States.

Roanoke, VA contractor John Edward Callahan has been accused of hiring homeless men to rip out cancer-causing asbestos without giving them proper training or protective equipment.

This is obviously a very bad thing to do. Neither Callahan, nor his firm, Environmental Construction, had the necessary training or license to do the job. If he's convicted on all five counts of violating the Clean Air Act, Callahan faces up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to one and a quarter million dollars. And he would deserve every day and every dollar of the penalty.

Of course, if Callahan had knowingly killed the workers and been charged under the Occupational Safety and Health Act instead of the Clean Air Act, he would have faced a total of only six months in jail, although statistically, it's highly unlikely that he would ever have had criminal charges brought against him.

Anyone else think something's wrong with this picture?

Lead Even More Dangerous Than Previously Thought

Lead exposures in the general environment and in the workplace (thanks to OSHA) have come down substantially over the past few decades. But not far enough, according to a new study:

Among adults, elevated levels of lead exposure have been found in recent years to raise the risk of high blood pressure and kidney disease. But now comes news that levels long considered safe for adults are linked to higher rates of death from stroke and heart attack. The latest study was published in the Sept. 26 issue of the American Heart Assn.'s journal, Circulation.

The authors speculate that lead exposure may stress the kidneys' ability to filter blood "alter the delicate hormonal chemistry that keeps veins and arteries in good tone."

The problem for workers is that OSHA's lead regulation considers up to 40 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood to be safe for adults (and the Centers for Disease Control says that 10 micrograms is safe for women of childbearing age), but the study found that:

those with 3.6 to 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood were two and half times more likely to die of a heart attack, 89% more likely to die of stroke and 55% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease. The higher the blood lead levels, the greater the risk of death by stroke or heart attack.

So what should OSHA do?

Paul Muntner, an epidemiologist at Tulane University and one of the study's authors, says the findings suggest strongly that the federal government should revisit the limits of lead exposure it considers safe for adults. In total, about 120 occupations — including roofing, shipbuilding, auto manufacturing and printing — can bring workers in contact with high levels of lead.

I guess no one told him that OSHA has pretty much gone out of the regulation business -- unless forced by the courts.

NY Workers Comp: Good For Everyone Except Injured Workers

The idea behind workers compensation is to provide medical and financial support for workers hurt on the job. "Support" usually means enough money to live on -- rent, food, maybe even som clothes -- if you can't work anymore, or can't work as well due to on-the-job injuries and illnesses.

New York workers compensation attorney Robert Grey thinks there's something seriously wrong with the workers comp system in the state. Writing in the New York Times today, Grey summarizes:

The problem with the workers’ compensation system is that too few of the premium dollars paid by employers reach disabled workers and their families. Too much is kept by insurers, which reap huge profits by pocketing the savings on declining claims instead of reducing charges to employers. Perhaps it should be the other way around.

Why doesn't it work? Let us count the ways. First, the maximum benefit in New York has been $400 per week, no matter what you were making before you were injured. Try living off of that.

According to the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, a nonprofit coalition of unions and individual workers, this is the lowest benefit rate in the country as a percentage of the state’s average weekly wage. By contrast, New Jersey’s maximum weekly benefit is $691 and Connecticut’s is $1,005.

What happens if they can't make it on $500 a week?

According to the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, a nonprofit coalition of unions and individual workers, this is the lowest benefit rate in the country as a percentage of the state’s average weekly wage. By contrast, New Jersey’s maximum weekly benefit is $691 and Connecticut’s is $1,005.

What we're dealing with, as Grey explains, is a business war against workers, particularly the least powerful workers -- those who are injured on the job. A decades long campaign to lower workers benefits, lower premiums that employers have to pay have saved money for companies and insurers, but workers have seen no benefit. And in New York, it's all hidden in a fog of secrecy:

Have insurers passed on their savings from the decline in workers’ compensation claims? It doesn’t look like it, but it’s impossible to know if they’re overcharging employers. Why? Because in New York, these insurers are required to report their data to the Compensation Insurance Rating Board and this board is governed by the insurers. With no independent verification of the insurers’ claims about their charges to employers, their payments to workers or their profits, much of their data remains suspect.

Grey is calling for the New York State Legislature to

empower the state Insurance Department to audit these insurers and publish the results, bringing a measure of truth to the question of how much premium is collected and what portion actually reaches injured workers and their families.

Only then can we start making sure that workers start seeing the benefits of the declining claims and increased profits.

Weekly Toll: Death In The American Workplace

A partial list of American workers killed in the workplace over the past few weeks.

Tree gives way, killing trimmer

PINE VALLEY, CA – A tree trimmer was killed Wednesday when a 75-foot pine tree he was attached to broke, hit a power line and dropped him about 55 feet, authorities said.

Abraham Gutierrez, 32, of Vista was among a crew of four from The Oaks Tree Service of Bakersfield that had been hired as part of a San Diego County program, said Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is investigating the death.


FR tree trimmer dies after accident

SWANSEA, MA - Part of a fallen tree cut down during a tree-trimming operation struck a worker's head Wednesday afternoon, where he later died from his injuries. Swansea Police responded to a 911 call at 2:11 p.m. Wednesday to 89 Stoney Hill Road, where they found the victim, identified as Michael Croteau, 41, of 386 Durfee St., Fall River, on the ground and unresponsive.

Dept. Chief Robert Furtado said the accident occurred while Croteau was working for his brother Russell's tree company, Trees R Russ of Fall River. According to the police report, Russell Croteau was in a basket truck, trimming and cutting down part of a tree that was approximately 30 to 40 feet high. "[Russell] was topping the tree, piece by piece, and dropping the logs onto the ground," said Dept. Chief Furtado from the police report. "His brother [Michael] was bending over while the chipper was going. The log struck him in the head."


Trencher ruptured high-pressure pipeline

MOUND VALLEY, KS - Authorities say a pipeline explosion that killed an Oklahoma man happened when a work crew digging a trench hit a high-pressure natural gas line.

Double J Pipeline Construction, Baldwin City, was replacing old pipe in the area of 11000 and Harper Road Friday morning, according to Labette County Emergency Management Director Jim Cook.

A Double J employee died in the blast. His identity has not been released. Labette County Sheriff William Blundell said the 70-year-old man was from Holdenville, Okla., but he would not name the man until his remains have been positively identified.


Fountain Inn textile worker killed while operating machine

GREENVILLE, S.C. - A textile worker has died while operating a large machine, authorities say. The man was killed around 6 p.m. at Delta Woodside Industries' Beattie Plant in Fountain Inn, Greenville County deputy coroner Homer Rose said.

His name was not released because his family hasn't been notified. An autopsy was planned, Rose said. The deputy coroner called the death "an industrial accident" and said investigators were still trying to determine what happened or if there were any witnesses. The man was operating a bale press, which is a machine big enough for an adult to walk into, said Doug Thackston, human relations manager for the plant.


2 found dead after robbery attempt

Cumberland Gap, TN -- Authorities continued their investigation Thursday into a double homicide during an overnight armed robbery attempt at a liquor store near the Tennessee-Kentucky line. Unidentified employees were found dead Wednesday night in the Tunnel Two-Way Package Store in Cumberland Gap off Highway 58.

Claiborne County investigators believe the workers were killed between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents are assisting in the case.


Worker killed in accident at Akron Canton Airport

Akron, OH -- A 60-year-old Medina was killed in a construction accident this morning at Akron Canton Airport. The man was identified as Frank Seibert, an employee of Kenmore Construction, the lead contractor on an ongoing project there.

Airport assistant director Rick McQueen said the accident happened around 10 a.m. today in the airport's aircraft de-icing collecting project. The project involves the construction of a concrete pad where airplanes go to be de-iced. Sources at the scene said the man was caught beneath the right front tire of a masonry truck.


Asphalt worker killed on the job

SNEADS FERRY, NC -- 41-year-old Castle Hayne man was killed in Sneads Ferry on Thursday after a pickup truck filled with asphalt ran over him.

Hard Top Asphalt, a company from Castle Hayne, was pouring an asphalt parking lot at Born Again Baptist Church off N.C. 210 in Sneads Ferry. At about 3:05 p.m., Manuel Antonio Rivera, who worked for the company, inadvertently walked behind a dump truck filled with asphalt and was hit, said Trooper Thomas McKoy of the North Carolina Highway Patrol.


Construction Worker Electrocuted

CLAY COUNTY, FL -- The Clay County Sheriff's Office and the Clay County Public Safety Department are on the scene of an electrocution of a construction worker.

Gerald Andrews, 24, was in a hole working at Oakleaf Village Parkway and Oakside Drive when he was electrocuted. The site is where construction of a new middle school is taking place. Andrews worked for Simoneau Electric.


Tempe officer killed in Loop 101 accident

Officer Kevin L. Weeks, a 28-year-old officer who served in Tempe for seven years in patrol and the traffic bureau, was killed after he struck a railroad tie on Loop 101 at 4:15 a.m. Thursday.

The state Department of Public Safety is looking into how Weeks, called a cop's cop by his friends, was killed and what part, if any, construction played in the accident.


HARDHAT IN PLUNGE TRAGEDY

New York, NY -- A 19-year-old construction worker fell 11 stories to his death yesterday after he tumbled off a ledge and crashed onto a scaffold surrounding the building, cops said.

José Luis Melendez- Gutierrez, of The Bronx, was standing on a 12th-floor setback at 800 Second Ave., home to the Israeli consulate, at about 9 a.m. when he tried to move a hanging scaffold used for masonry work on the façade and lost his balance. The immigrant from El Salvador was wearing a harness, but it was not secured to anything, and he fell 11 stories before hitting a scaffold where others were working.


Maintenance worker killed in fall at church

Aurora, CO -- A maintenance worker fell to his death Wednesday at the church that hosted the funeral Tuesday for slain Aurora Detective Michael Thomas.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office said the 30-year-old man was replacing lights in the sanctuary of the Heritage Christian Center, 9495 E. Florida Ave., shortly before noon when he fell more than 30 feet through a false ceiling to the floor.


Florida police officer killed in shooting

LAKELAND, Florida (Reuters) - A massive manhunt was under way in central Florida on Thursday for a man who killed one police officer and wounded another after a traffic stop. A police dog working with the slain officer was also killed, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told reporters.

Judd said the man was stopped by a deputy for speeding shortly before noon. He fled into a wooded area and was chased by the deputy and another deputy with the police dog before they were shot.


Armored Car Guard Shot, Killed In Oakland Robbery

OAKLAND, CA -- He had turned away from gangs and drugs, but now a U.S. Marine veteran and Brinks armored car guard lies dead, killed Friday morning during a kidnapping and robbery ambush, Oakland police said.

Anthony Quintero was shot and killed after his armored truck was robbed of an unknown amount of cash, said Oakland police spokesman Roland Holmgren.


Worker dies after being struck by forklift

Fargo, ND -- An American Crystal Sugar Co. worker in Fargo died from injuries suffered when she was struck by a forklift in Moorhead, Minn., carrying a 1,000-pound load, police say.

Larae Murch, 50, of West Fargo, died late Sunday morning at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo.

Police Lt. Jim Nielsen of Moorhead, said the forklift was carrying a half-ton box crusher that measured 4 feet wide, tall and deep. The driver was about to make a left turn when the forklift struck Murch about 11 p.m. Saturday, Nielsen said.

"We've got no indication that she was in a place she wasn't supposed to be," he said, adding that the forklift was carrying a large load so the driver's view was somewhat limited.


Man killed unloading construction vehicle

Novi, MI -- A man was killed unloading a construction vehicle at the Michigan Cat tractor facility in Novi early Sept. 21. Ronnie Stockton, 59, was thrown straight up in the air and landed back in the construction vehicle when its rear wheels fell in a gap between the transport truck and the ramp around 7 a.m.

Novi police think the truck rolled forward when the construction vehicle tried to get on the ramp, which was slightly higher than the truck. Stockton, of Belleville, worked for Varsity Towing Inc.


OSHA looks into man's death in silo

Warsaw, NC -- Workers at Nash Johnson & Sons Farms were interviewed Tuesday by a N.C. Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigator as officials begin the process of determining how an employee died inside a grain silo on N.C. 117 near Warsaw in Duplin County.

William Luther "Bill" Jones, 73, died Sunday in the silo, which has a capacity of 80,000 bushels of grain. Jones, of Willard in Pender County, worked for Nash Johnson Farms since 1999 and had more than 45 years of experience in the grain industry. His body was recovered Monday.


Police ID man killed at port

ELSINBORO TWP., NJ -- A Salem man has been identified as the dock worker killed when a crane fell at a shipping yard here earlier this week, officials said Tuesday.

Robert D. Jennings, 30, died Monday at the Mid-Atlantic Shipping and Stevedoring Inc. shipping yard when a crane boom collapsed on top of him, state police Public Information Officer Stephen Jones said.

Jennings was working on the Bermuda Islander cargo freighter and giving directions to the crane operator as to where to lower a shipment of cargo. At that point, an apparent mechanical malfunction caused the crane boom and the cargo to fall, with the crane boom landing on Jennings, according to Jones.


Worker dies in three-story fall

Mobile, AL -- A 54-year-old man died Tuesday after he fell three stories off a forklift at the Hampton Inn in Mobile, police said.

Larry Harrison of Mobile was installing plate glass around 10:30 a.m. when the accident occurred, said Mobile Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Steve Huffman.

Harrison was on an extension ladder inside a three-sided wooden box atop the boom-style forklift near the third story of the Interstate 65 service road hotel when something caused the box to fall, Huffman said. Harrison, the box, the ladder and the plate glass all crashed to the ground, and Harrison was trapped underneath the rubble, Huffman said.


Construction Worker Electrocuted In South Jordan

SALT LAKE CITY, UT -- Police are reporting a man is electrocuted in an accident at a construction site in South Jordan Tuesday afternoon. Police tell us a 23-year-old man was electrocuted when a track hoe touched an overhead power line.

The man is an employee of RDJ Construction. Police say he was securing a chain from the track hoe to a 20” water pipe. As the pipe was lowered into the ground the track hoe contacted the power line, sending electricity into the man.


Road Worker Killed near Richardton

Richardton, ND -- A Mandan man working on a road at the Red Trail Energy ethanol plant at Richardton was killed this morning. The Highway Patrol says the packing machine the man was operating went off the dirt road and rolled over on top of him.

The 63 year old`s name hasn`t been released. The Patrol says he was working for a subcontractor that is building the private road into the ethanol plant.


A Police Officer Is Killed In the Line Of Duty

Houston, TX -- Funeral services for a Houston police officer killed in the line of duty are set for 10 Wednesday morning at Grace Community Church at I-45 Gulf Freeway. Officer Rodney Johnson will be laid to rest today at Earthman Resthaven Cemetery on the city`s north side. Johnson was killed by a prisoner in the back of his patrol car after a routine traffic stop, police say. The veteran officer was the 40-year-old father of five. Authorities have charged 32-year-old Juan Leonardo Quintero, an illegal immigrant, with capital murder in connection with Johnson`s killing.


Worker killed on freeway

Phoenix, AZ -- A landscaper died Wednesday morning when a vehicle struck him on the Santan Freeway at Gilbert Road.

Oscar Ruiz, 23, of Mexico, was working near a conveyor belt that sprayed crushed granite onto the sides of the freeway.

An eastbound vehicle reportedly drove into the rear of a trailer that was being pulled by a pickup truck, said Sgt. Harold A. Sanders of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. After hitting the trailer, Sanders said, the vehicle veered to the right and drove onto the shoulder of the road, striking Ruiz. Ruiz was working for Sunbelts Conveyered Aggregate Delivery, a landscaping subcontractor under M. Anderson Construction Corporation, Sanders said.


Backhoe kills worker, 26, from Perry County

Columbus, OH -- A construction worker was killed on the Far East Side early yesterday when a backhoe crushed him. Charles M. Bailey, 26, of Somerset in Perry County, died about 8:20 a.m. at the job site on E. Broad Street east of Waggoner Road, Columbus police said.

"The construction worker was attempting to walk between the backhoe and another piece of equipment when the operator moved the backhoe," Smith said. "He did not realize that worker was walking behind him."

A company statement said that Bailey was out of the operator’s sight when he walked behind the hoe. When the operator rotated the hoe, Bailey was pinned against a gravel box, a large iron container that resembles a trash bin.



Aurora cop killed; guards tackle suspect

Aurora, CO -- Aurora police are investigating the shooting death of a plainclothed detective, who was gunned down this afternoon in the intersection of Montview Boulevard and Peoria Street as passersby frantically called 911. The officer was identified as Michael D. Thomas during a news conference at police headquarters today.

Initial reports indicate that the officer was sitting in his car when at least one shooter approached him and fired. The detective had been with the department for 24 years and at one time worked undercover in the vice unit.


Tree falls, kills man

Tacoma, WA -- A tree fell and killed a man shortly before noon Thursday in rural Pierce County, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department reported. The death was being investigated as an industrial accident, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.


Worker dies filling in for traffic guy

Brooklyn, NY -- A machinist for a Brooklyn scrap metal company who was asked to direct traffic was run over and killed yesterday by a dump truck driven by a co-worker, police and relatives said.

Carlos Salazar, 44, was pronounced dead shortly after the 7:15a.m. accident on an East New York block that teems with industrial trucks throughout the morning.

"He was a machine operator, but the traffic guy didn't come to work today, so the boss told Carlos to do the traffic job," said the victim's brother Julio Salazar, 46, of Queens. "He was stopping traffic to let the truck out."


State employee dies in accident

PINE BLUFFS, MT - A state employee died Wednesday after the grain bin he was standing on tipped over and pinned him against an auger at a fertilizer plant here, police said. The incident happened at about 8:45 a.m. at the Farmers Elevator Cooperative Fertilizer Plant.

Quince R. Olsen, 42, of Carpenter was on top of the bin doing scale measurements when it tipped, pinning him against the auger, police said. He died at the scene.


Worker falls to death in justice complex atrium

TRENTON, N.J. -- A Department of Law and Public Safety employee fell to his death in the atrium of the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex on Wednesday morning, authorities said.

The man was identified as Mark Raughley, 56, an administrative analyst for the state police.

David Wald, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said Raughley fell from the seventh floor at about 11:30 a.m. An investigation is being conducted, Wald said.


Construction Worker Impaled On Rebar

Philadelphia, PA - A construction accident along the Avenue of the Arts in Philadelphia has left one man dead. And the construction company responsible has been cited for a lack of safety prevention in the past.

Action News has learned that Fabi Construction, which does concrete work and is the company for which the victim worked, was cited by OSHA in July for not having adequate fall protection at the site. That citation is just one of several connected to the Egg Harbor Township company.

Relatives of the victim wept as they left the Symphony House Condo construction site. The general contractor, Driscoll Intech, tells Action News no one saw 25-year-old Jeff Martin fall from the 5th floor. Apparently a co-worker found him impaled on a steel rod on the 2nd floor.

Martin worked for Fabi Construction, a subcontractor on the project. This is not the first time the company has been connected to deadly workplace accidents. In October 2003, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, cited Fabi in connection with the Tropicana Garage collapse that killed 4 workers. In that case, OSHA found several willful and serious violations.


Employee killed in nursing home shooting

CORINTH, MS - A domestic dispute turned violent and public Tuesday afternoon when a Walnut woman died of multiple gunshot wounds while working at Mississippi Care Center in Corinth.

Corinth Police Chief David Lancaster said Irene Simmons was shot and killed by her estranged husband, 39-year-old Andre P. Simmons of 110 CR 277 in Walnut.


OSHA probes oilfield death

MIDLAND COUNTY, TX - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating an oilfield fatality in Midland County. Jose M. Barajas, 26, was pronounced dead Wednesday at Midland Memorial Hospital following an oilfield accident at a Key Energy site.

Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter said he believes the death was accidental.
“He had something off a pulling unit fall on him and hit him in the head,” Painter said.


46-year-old man killed, wife stable after tank truck rolls over

Santa Maria, CA -- An owner of a Santa Maria-based asphalt company was killed Monday morning after the truck he was driving overturned on a private road near Nacimiento Lake, according to the CHP.

Steve Lietz, 46, of Lompoc was pronounced dead after being ejected from his tank truck when it veered off Gage Irving Road and tumbled down an embankment, the CHP reported.


City's longtime plumbing inspector dies at work

Poughkeepsie, NY -- The City of Poughkeepsie's longtime plumbing inspector died on the job Monday morning, the city said.

Harold Cain Jr., 75, began working as a part-time city plumbing inspector in 1976 and was hired full time in 1992. He served as acting building inspector several times.

Cain was pronounced dead at Vassar Brothers Medical Center after being treated for cardiac arrest. He was described as a popular employee renown for his knowledge of the city's plumbing and code issues.


Worker killed in manhole accident

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — The construction worker found dead Monday in a manhole in Suwanee has been identified as 40-year-old Jose Nicholas Cortez.

The Gwinnett County Medical Examiner’s Office was still trying to determine the cause of death on Tuesday. Firefighters speculated Cortez either fell 12 to 16 feet into the manhole or succumbed to lethal levels of methane gas after entering the underground chamber.

Cortez was reportedly in the manhole looking for a piece of laser equipment that was used at the site last week. The Gwinnett County Fire Department’s Technical Rescue Team used an atmospheric probe to monitor gas readings when it responded to the scene Monday. It found a high concentration of methane and a low oxygen concentration inside the manhole, said department spokesman Lt. Thomas Rutledge.


Worker dies from tower fall

Pensecola, FL The man who fell inside a water tower Sunday at the University of West Florida has died, said university spokeswoman Janice Cooper Holmes. Richard Allen Catoe, 17, was from Toccoa, Ga., she said.

Catoe was putting up communication equipment on the tower off Campus Drive near the WUWF radio station. He was contracted with David Telecom, a company based in Perry, Ga., she said.


Man dies at Blue Flint Ethanol plant in Underwood

Laredo, TX -- A man died after falling 120 feet from the top of a silo he was working on, police said. Jesus Guerrero, 67, of Loredo, Texas, died Friday morning of injuries relatied to the fall, McLean County Sheriff Don Charging said.

Guerrero was wearing a safety belt and a helmet, but was not tied off while pouring concrete for a silo at the Blue Flint Ethanol Plant in Underwood, Charging said.


Truck driver killed when crane hits overpass

Phoenix, AZ - The driver of a commercial truck died in an accident on Interstate 17 near Pinnacle Peak Road shortly past noon on Tuesday. Jose Sandoval, 41, of Phoenix was dead at the scene.

He was driving a truck carrying a crane that apparently came unfastened and raised, hitting the overpass at Pinnacle Peak and causing the truck to roll, said Officer William Duff with the Department of Public Safety.


Dump truck driver killed in crash

LEWIS, N.Y. -- A Plattsburgh man was killed today after the dump truck he was driving careened down an embankment then flipped on top of him.

Police say 48-year-old Michael Broe was ejected from the truck when it went off the road, overturning down a wooded area and crashing into several trees. Police say the truck landed on top of Broe.


Construction worker dies at Selma paper mill

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a construction worker who apparently collapsed at International Paper Co.'s Riverdale Mill in Selma.

John Blue, 28, who is believed to have lost consciousness Wednesday while elevated on scaffolding, was pronounced dead by Dallas County Coroner Alan Dailey at Vaughan Regional Medical Center. Blue was employed by Pettyline Construction and worked in the No. 2 Bleach Plant.


Taylor welder killed in explosion

TAYLOR, TX — A Taylor man was killed Tuesday afternoon when a tanker truck that he was welding exploded. Casey Allen Teague, 52, was standing on top of the tank about 5 p.m. when he welded through to the inside of the tank, igniting fumes, said Detective John Foster of the Williamson County sheriff's department.

Foster said he did not know what kind of fumes were inside the tanker but said the tanker was not full. vThe force of the explosion blew Teague off the top of the tanker and killed him instantly, Foster said. "Everything looks like this was just a real tragic accident," he said. Teague, a licensed welder, was performing routine maintenance on the truck at Fuel Blenders Inc., at 15218 FM 1660, southwest of Taylor.


Plant worker dies on the job

Fayetteville, NC -- State safety officials are investigating the Monday death of a worker at Carolina By-Products. Joseph Leo Howard, 51, of Hope Mills, died about 10 p.m., said Heather Crews, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Labor.

A preliminary report indicates Howard may have been electrocuted as he was resetting a circuit breaker, she said. The Department of Labor is investigating. The business has been cited for safety violations, according to records on the U.S. Department of Labor's Web site. The company has paid $3,161 for violations since March 2005, records show. Both violations were listed as serious, which can result in fines up to $7,000, Crews said.


Semi Driver Burned Alive In Toll Plaza Crash

Osceola County, Fla. -- The driver of a tractor-trailer was burned alive early Wednesday when he crashed head-on into a toll plaza in Osceola County, Fla., according to police. Florida Turnpike toll booth workers said they said they saw the big rig barreling out of control and then slamming into the toll plaza just after midnight Wednesday.

"The vehicle immediately became engulfed in a fire," Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. George Delahoz said. "The driver was killed inside the tractor-trailer. He never got out. We don't know if he fell asleep, if there was a medical condition or what caused the driver not to be able to react to the plaza." Police identified the driver as Isaac Leon Lane of Orlando.


MDOT worker killed in Lisbon

LISBON, ME — A Maine Department of Transportation employee died Monday after being struck by a pickup truck while working on Upland Road earlier that morning. Mark Peterson, 50, of Hollis, was working as a member a two-person surveying crew. Town Manager Curtis Lunt said the section of road where the incident occurred is hazardous because it has no shoulders and limited visibility. "It's a short little hill, it's sharp so you can't see over the top of it," he said.

Peterson and another MDOT surveyor had worked on Upland Road since 8 a.m. Monday and both were wearing reflective vests. At the time of the Stevens' vehicle hit Peterson, the two surveyors were standing along the side of the road, talking with each other.


Worker falls to his death from St. Pete construction site

St. Petersburg, Florida - A construction worker fell 10 stories to his death at a St. Petersburg construction site. The 31-year-old man was performing some stucco work with two other men when he fell off the scaffolding. Parmedics treated the man at the scene but he died a short time later at a near-by hospital. Emergency crews say the man worked for Commercial Plaster Incorporated. The company is helping complete the new Mangove Cove Condominiums at 10699 Gandy Boulevard.


Richard F. Anthony

WILLIAMSTOWN, VT – Richard F. Anthony, 64, of Weir Road, Williamstown, died Sept. 21, 2006, as a result of an industrial accident in Newbury.


Concrete Worker Killed On The Job In Anderson

Redding, CA -- Friday was a tragic day at a business in Anderson where a man was killed on the job. It happened before 2pm Friday afternoon. A worker at American Concrete Pumping apparently got caught in a conveyor belt. The accident happened on Banigan Road just off of Highway 273 in Anderson. The victim is identified as 35-year-old Larry Scott Franck of Redding. Franck was transported to Mercy Medical Center where he was pronounced dead just after 2pm Friday. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.


Inexperienced worker dies when part of tree falls on him

Tacoma, WA -- A section of a tree fell and killed a 20-year-old Tacoma man (Jared Carter) shortly before noon Thursday, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department reported. The man was working for a tree removal company at a home in the 3800 block of West Tapps Highway. It was his second day on the job and he was assisting a more experienced worker using ropes to pull down the top sections of the 80-foot tree, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

“The experienced guy ran the right direction, the new guy ran the wrong direction,” Troyer said. “The tree landed on him and killed him. He died instantly.”


Man dies in tractor accident

York, PA -- A Shrewsbury Township farmer was killed Thursday afternoon when the tractor he was driving rolled over, police said. Eugene Austin Tome, 62, of Keeney Sunset Drive, was taken to York Hospital following the 1:55 p.m. accident, and was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to Deputy Coroner Claude Stabley.

According to state police, Tome was driving his 22-horsepower garden tractor on Keeney Sunset Drive, hauling a trailer filled with a large amount of apparent dirt.


Man killed in roof collapse at Alamodome identified

San Antonio, TX -- Medical examiners have identified a man who was killed Thursday when a roof he was working on collapsed inside the Alamodome.
Andres Duran, 20, died when he was struck by heavy wood and tile. Another man in his early 20s was sent to Brooke Army Medical Center. The men had been tilling the roof of a building featured in the upcoming Builders Showcase Expo at the Alamodome.


Ozona worker dies in accident

Ozona, TX -- A 19-year-old Ozona man died Sunday morning after a compressor he was working on blew up. Felipe Perez, a Texas Energy worker, was working on a compressor in the back of a truck at about 7:40 a.m. on Highway 163 when the compressor blew up, police said.


Semi driver's death likely due to medical condition

CEDARBURG, Wis. -- Ozaukee County sheriff's authorities say the semi driver that crashed into a house in the Town of Cedarburg likely suffered a heart attack. Forty-four-year-old Scott Haag was driving a semi loaded with corn on county Highway 'I' yesterday when the rig drifted off the road and hit a home.


Semi-Truck Driver Killed on Lexington Co. Road

Lexington County, SC - The Highway Patrol is investigating an accident in Lexington County which killed the driver of a semi-truck.

Lexington County Coroner Harry Harmon says 45-year-old Darrel Burnham of Orangeburg was driving down the road in his Sara Lee company semi when he collided with two cows. The truck then left the road, crossed the shoulder and hit two pine trees.


Fiery crash kills trucker

Lebanon, PA -- A 43-year-old Pottsville man died yesterday morning when a dump truck he was driving slammed into a tree and burst into flames along Route 422 in Jackson Township.

John Joseph Howells II of 555 Terry Way was driving a 1996 Freightliner dump truck west on Route 422 around 9 a.m. when, just before reaching Ramona Road, he suddenly braked, causing the truck to slide out of control, state police at Jonestown said. The truck initially slid sideways before running off of the north side of the road and striking an oak tree, police said.


KC truck driver killed in crash identified

Kansas City, MO --The Missouri Highway Patrol has identified the truck driver killed in a crash Wednesday afternoon as William A. Hamlett, 63, of Kansas City. Also killed in the crash was Rebecca L. Breedlove, 48, of Rogersville, Mo., a passenger in a 1995 Dodge Intrepid driven by Kevin Ramsey of Springfield, according to the crash report.


FARMER DIES IN TRACTOR ACCIDENT

TOWN OF PERRY, WI -- An 85-year-old farmer from the town of Perry was killed in a tractor accident Wednesday afternoon, according to the Dane County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies responded to a report of a man found collapsed about 3 p.m. in a field at 1477 Sutter Road, about 30 miles southwest of Madison. The farmer had been mowing hay when it appeared his tractor ran him over, according to the Sheriff's Office. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity isn't being released until his family is told of his death.


Two killed when firefighting plane crashes in Tulare County

SPRINGVILLE Calif. -- A pilot and firefighter were killed Wednesday when their California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection plane crashed as they worked to battle a blaze in remote Tulare County foothills, authorities said.

The victims were identified as George Willett, 52, a Hanford pilot contracted to help battle the fire, and CDF Battalion Chief Robert Paul Stone, 36, of Visalia.


Deputies seek witness in pawnshop owner's death

Greenville, SC - About the time a pawnshop owner was shot to death, a suspect stepped outside the store to tell someone in a white pickup that the shop was closed, a Greenville County sheriff's office spokesman said Sunday.

No arrests have been made in the shooting death of Timothy Dewey Henderson, who was found at his White Horse Road store, Fast Cash Pawn Shop, on Saturday afternoon, Lee said.


Firefighter killed when tanker crashes en route to fire

BRAZIL Ind. -- A southwestern Indiana firefighter died when the tanker truck he was driving crashed while en route to a fire, State Police said. Errett Miller, 43, of Staunton, assistant chief of the Posey Township Volunteer Fire Department, died Monday after he lost control of the tanker truck on a sharp curve on a county road, and the vehicle rolled several times, ejecting him, police said.


Tree-trimmer killed in accident ID'd

Tulsa , OK -- Police released the name Wednesday of the man who died during a tree-trimming accident Tuesday. Truman Alston, 57, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident in the 1600 block of South Gary Avenue, authorities said. Alston operated Alston Tree Services of Tulsa.

The accident happened just after 12:20 p.m. Tuesday while Alston was trimming trees from the bucket of a boom truck, Fire Capt. Larry Bowles said. The bucket became detached from the boom and fell, hitting the tree on the way down. Alston fell about 25 feet.


Deli owner killed in robbery; Two teens suspected in University Heights slaying

Buffalo, NY -- A University Heights deli store owner was gunned down in broad daylight Tuesday afternoon by two teenage robbers, Buffalo homicide detectives reported.

Ziad Kassim Nasser, 36, of West Ferry Street, the proprietor of the M&F University Grocery and Deli at Englewood Avenue and Eley Place, was shot in the abdomen at about 2:30 p.m. He died a short time later in Erie County Medical Center.

Nasser was apparently held up by two teenage males who shot him and then fled west on Englewood, homicide detectives said. There is little information about the holdup because Nasser was alone in the store, said Homicide Sgt. James P. Lonergan.


Man dies running forklift

Idaho Falls, ID -- An Idaho Falls man died Thursday, a day after he was injured while operating a forklift at the Basic American Foods plant on Sunnyside Road. Antonio Castaneda, 43, was rushed to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center after the accident, which was reported to police at 4:25 p.m. Wednesday. OSHA estimates there are about 85 forklift fatalities per year, 34,900 serious injuries and 61,800 nonserious injuries.


OSHA investigating Workers say colleague dies at construction site

Las Vegas, NV -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating a Friday morning accident at a construction site that workers said resulted in the death of a colleague.

The Clark County coroner's office was called to the scene at the construction site at Canyon Run Drive and Rampart Boulevard . Reports were that a worker died after falling off a four-story roof about 7:45 a.m., police said. OSHA declined to provide any other details.


TWO KILLED IN ROOF ACCIDENT

Ghent, KY --Two men were killed yesterday after the roof panel they were standing on gave way at a plant in Northern Kentucky. Rickie D. Dilts Jr., 29, of Vevay, Ind., and Matthew P. Collins, 21, of Williamstown, were tack-welding roof panels in the melt shop at the North American Stainless Plant at the time of the accident, according to Steve Sparrow with the Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health Administration office. Sparrow said the men fell approximately 80 feet. Dilts and Collins were employees with United Group Services Inc., based in Cincinnati, according to Kevin Sell, director of employee development for the company. North American Stainless Plant, which makes stainless steel products, sits on 1,100 acres in Carroll County.


Worker hit by car in construction zone

Pittsburgh, PA - A worker stenciling the word "SLOW" on a road in Findlay Thursday morning was struck by a car turning from a side street.

The worker, Tom Bayly, was hit sometime between 10 and 11 a.m. when a man driving a Lexus sedan was motioned on by a flagger but then turned right and into the Cliff Mine Road work zone without looking both ways, said John O'Neal, Findlay director of public works.


Truck driver killed crossing East Bay Drive

LARGO, FL – An Ohio truck driver was killed Sept. 11 while crossing East Bay Drive with breakfast in his hands. Largo police Sgt. George Edmiston said Thomas Mercure parked his car-hauler semi in the eastbound curb lane of the six-lane highway, near Keene Road to get breakfast at a fast-food restaurant. He said Mercure, 68, left his son asleep in the truck.

Edmiston said it was shortly after 6 a.m. when Mercure walked across East Bay Drive to the McDonald’s Restaurant where he bought breakfast food. As the victim returned to his truck, he was struck by a car in the center westbound lane, according to Edmiston.


Fall kills former Gainesville man

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - A former Gainesville man, who spent most of his life here, will be buried Friday after falling to his death in Florida last week in a work-related accident. Willie Wesley Pethel, 58, of St. Augustine, worked for the St. John's County school system.

According to the St. Augustine Record, Pethel was pressure washing the roof of a school building when he lost his footing and fell through a skylight onto the floor of the two-story building.


Novice railway switchman is crushed between trains

St Louis, MO -- Family members said Mardie Oden had found his dream job as a switchman with Alton & Southern Railway six months ago, but it ended tragically Sunday. The Federal Railroad Administration along with Alton & Southern and East St. Louis Police are investigating an accident in which Oden was fatally crushed between two trains. Railroad officials said the accident happened at 11:30 p.m. Sunday while Oden was switching locomotives from one track to another.

Switchman is one of the most dangerous railroad jobs, according to Steve W. Klum, director of public affairs for Federal Railroad Administration. Klum said his agency's investigation could take several months. If any federal safety violations are found, the railroad could face civil penalties.


Fall at church kills Laurel man

Laurel, MS -- A Laurel man died Tuesday after falling from a makeshift lift device Monday at the Parkway Heights United Methodist Church, 2420 Hardy St., Forrest County Coroner Butch Benedict reported.

Kenneth Jordan, 56, was taken by ambulance from the scene of the 3:15 p.m. Monday accident to Forrest General Hospital where he died from head trauma at about 6 p.m. Tuesday, Benedict said.


Victims of fatal wreck in Johnston identified

Johnston, NC -- The state Highway Patrol has positively identified the two migrant farm workers who died from injuries they suffered in a car crash Sunday morning.

Eliceo Jimenez Santis, a 16-year-old from the village of Las Margaritas in southern Mexican, died at Pitt Memorial Hospital a day after a fellow farm worker took a curve too fast and flipped a large passenger van into a ditch. Moises Velasco Hernandez, 28, from the same town, died instantly in the accident.

The men and more than a dozen fellow laborers headed out Sunday morning to visit a flea market in Smithfield. The men had driven in the same blue Econoline van from the Mexican border weeks earlier to secure jobs at a farm outside Benson.


EASTON TRUCKER KILLED IN COLLISION WITH TRAIN

Greenwich Township, NJ -- A 33-year-old Easton man was killed Wednesday when the dump truck he was driving on Richline Road in Greenwich Township, Warren County, was struck by a train. Township Police Chief Rich Guzzo said Henry C. Schucker, of 1045 W. Wilkes-Barre St., was pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident occurred at 11:51 a.m. as Schucker traveled south on Richline Road and onto the railroad tracks as a Norfolk-Southern train reached the crossing. Guzzo said there are no lights or gates at the crossing, just two signs. He said Schucker's truck was loaded with topsoil. The truck is owned by Nemeth Trucking in Stewartsville, N.J.


Pa. truck driver killed in Dinwiddie

Richmond, VA -- Virginia State Police yesterday identified a truck driver killed Tuesday in a Dinwiddie County crash as Thomas Garfield Frech, 50, of East Berlin, Pa. Frech was hauling insulation from Mebane, N.C., to Pennsylvania when he drove off Interstate 85 about 3:40 p.m. near the Gatewood Road overpass and hit several trees, police said. Although Frech was wearing a seat belt, the force of the crash threw him from the truck, police said.


Suspect in killing of gas station attendant arrested

MOUNT HOLLY N.J. -- A man sought in the fatal stabbing a 70-year-old gas station attendant during a robbery this week has been captured.

Damian Jaspar, 19, of Burlington City was arrested at 4:20 p.m. Thursday at the Toll Gate Condominiums in Florence Township, Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi said.
Jaspar is charged in the death of Kulbir Singh, a Burlington City resident, who was stabbed multiple times in the chest and abdomen.


Task force investigates murder of Merrillville restaurant owner

MERRILLVILLE Ind. -- A newly formed task force of veteran detectives from 17 police departments is investigating the slaying of a restaurant owner well-known throughout northwest Indiana. Employees found Naseeb Abdul Jabar Mohammed, 60, owner of Aladdin Pita Restaurant and Store, unconscious and bleeding from a gunshot wound Saturday morning at the store, where he later was pronounced dead. An undetermined amount of cash was taken from the restaurant, police said.


Murfreesboro police captain dies after rescuing boy

Murfreesboro, TN -- A Murfreesboro police captain died after saving a boy from drowning in a pool Saturday. Capt. Byron Motley was attending a family reunion in Brentwood when he noticed the boy in trouble and rescued him but lost his life. An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death. Motley, 58, was recently promoted as captain after 28 years of service. He supervised the department's training program. Police Chief Glenn Chrisman said it was fitting Motley gave his life to save a child.


Two guards dead at prison; Shooting at Chillicothe facility leads to lockdown

CHILLICOTHE, Mo. -- Two guards at a women's prison died Sunday in a shooting that authorities are investigating as an apparent murder-suicide. People witnessed the shooting, but no one other than the two guards was hurt, officials said.

The guards involved, identified only as a man and a woman in their 30s, joined the staff of about 120 correctional officers this summer. They were both on duty when the shooting occurred, said Chillicothe Police Chief Rick Knouse.


Tree-trimmer falls, dies in Brandermill

Richmond, VA -- A member of a tree-trimming crew was killed yesterday when he fell from a tree being taken down in Chesterfield County's Brandermill community.

Richard Moran, 48, of Chesterfield fell to his death about 6 p.m. in the 3100 block of Quail Hill Drive, Chesterfield police Capt. Jim Stanley said.

Moran had climbed to the top of the tree, which was leaning, to cut branches, Stanley said. He said Moran fell when the tree's root ball gave way, causing the tree to fall.


Driver in fatal semi crash ID'd

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - The truck driver who died Sunday after losing control of his semi-trailer truck on northbound Interstate 380 near the Cedar River Bridge was identified today as Hal Steven Preacher, 47, of West Des Moines. Cedar Rapids police say Preacher apparently lost control of the truck at around noon Sunday. The truck, which was owned by West Side Transport Co., struck the inside guard rail and jacknifed, coming to rest with the cab pinned between the trailer and the guardrail, and caught fire.


Lodge owner trapped by lawnmower dies of exposure

ANCHORAGE Alaska -- The owner of a remote Alaska river lodge died of exposure after his riding lawnmower overturned and trapped him, Alaska State Troopers said Friday. Andrew Piekarski, 61, owner of King Bear Lodge, was found Thursday near his lodge at Mile 44 of the Yentna River, which dumps into the Susitna River about 30 miles northwest of Anchorage. Investigators determined that Piekarski drove off a small hill and onto the beach in front of his lodge, Wilkinson said. His John Deere riding lawnmower landed on his legs. Investigators said that when Piekarski could not free himself, he unsuccessfully attempted to take the lawnmower apart using a multipurpose tool. "He couldn't get if off his legs and he couldn't get out from under it and he died from exposure, from hypothermia," Wilkinson said.


Worker dies in fall at construction site

SAN MARCOS, CA – A man installing overhead cable fell to his death off a 25-foot lift at a strip mall under construction on South Las Posas Road and Via Vera Cruz yesterday.

Richard Michael Salazar, 24, of La Mirada suffered head injuries after falling from the scissor lift, said a Medical Examiner's Office investigator. It was unclear what caused the fall.