OSHA Levies Finds Against Company for Death of Mississippi Worker
A Mississippi steel pipe manufacturer employer has come under fire from the United States Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) after one employee was killed and another was seriously injured at a Hancock County plant this year. According to local news reports, Jindal Tubular, a company at the center of much attention earlier this year in the spring, will be forced to pay steep fines in connection with safety violations the Administration says Jindal employees “at risk” for serious workplace accidents.
The terrible workplace accident that led to the OSHA investigation happened in March of this year. It was on that fateful day that 25-year-old Tyde Allen Woody was killed while he was working with another Jindal Tubular employee, Jamie Fredericks Jr. The two men were at the Hancock County Jindal Tubular manufacturing plant when a 2,000-pound pipe became unrestrained and fell on them. Woody was killed in the accident, and Fredericks, fortunately, survived the accident, but he was seriously injured and suffered pelvic and spinal fractures, and was required to have both legs amputated.
In relation to the terrible accident that took Tyde Woody’s life and seriously and permanently injured Jamie Fredericks Jr., OSHA “found Jindal did not safely store and stack the pipes.” OSHA fined Jindal Tubular $442,815 in penalties in connection with serious safety violations. OSHA inspectors investigated Jindal Tubular immediately after Woody and Fredericks’ accident, and found a number of safety issues that the company had failed to address. Among other violations, OSHA found that Jindal Tubular did not install safety guards to protect employees from flying parts and sparks, failed to keep the floor clean of small, slippery pellets, and put Jindal Tubular employees at risk of electric shock. OSHA also found another 26 “serious violations” that put employees at the steel pipe manufacturer at risk. Jindal Tubular must now pay the fines and “start enforcing several new safety rules,” such as hiring a consultant to craft a health and safety program, and provide safety training to its employees.
A Director for OSHA’s Jackson, Mississippi office called the safety violations found at Jindal Tubular to be “truly disturbing”, and noted that Jindal Tubular had failed to protect employees from workplace accidents. She noted, “We hope this settlement signals a new willingness to make employee safety the centerpiece of its operations.” Tyde Woody’s obituary said of the young man who was beloved by many, “He was a wonderful and loving father, son, brother, uncle, nephew, and cousin…who will be sadly missed by his family and friends.”
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Source:
sunherald.com/news/local/counties/hancock-county/article296107789.html
