OSHA investigating two Larimer workplace deaths
Two workers died in last four months, after no accidents in two years
A recent incident at a Wellington steel fabrication facility marked the second job-related death in Larimer County this year, but only the third since 2013, according to federal inspection records.
William J. Williams, 48, was reportedly impaled by a beam at Front Range Steel on Sept. 6, when he left his post at a control panel. The automatic drilling machine cycled to move a beam and pinched him against a conveyor, critically injuring him. There were no witnesses, and the husband and father was pronounced dead at Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland later that day.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has since been called in to investigate.
OSHA, operating under the U.S. Department of Labor, probes all workplace deaths and recently concluded its investigation into a 31-year-old Fort Collins man's death earlier this year.
William E. Soles was doing electrical work on June 6 for Fort Collins-based Hanna Electrical Contracting Inc., a four-employee, family-owned business that works across Northern Colorado.
Soles was working on a flat roof of a commercial building when he fell through a skylight and landed 24 feet below, according to investigation records. The Larimer County Coroner's Office ruled his death accidental due to a traumatic brain injury suffered from the fall.
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OSHA recently fined the business $8,400 and ordered it abate violations it deemed "serious."
The citation was for not ensuring there was a fall protection system near the edge of flat roofs. Additionally, investigators said the employer did not ensure employees were trained to recognize hazards when working at elevation, according to the inspection report.
"Safety and health on the job has always been a top priority for Hanna. We have always maintained a solid safety policy," company President Clint Hanna told the Coloradoan. "Following this accident, we took steps to strengthen our program and safety training even more."
"Hanna fully cooperated with OSHA's investigation," he added. "We are now working with OSHA to mutually resolve our differences."
Workplace fatalities nationally run the gamut from vehicle-related incidents — among the most prominent categories — to slips, falls, exposure-related illnesses and explosions.
Among 4,386 worker fatalities in private industry in 2014, 899 were in construction-related fields. The leading causes of private-sector worker deaths, excluding highway crashes, in the construction industry were falls, followed by electrocution, being struck by an object and being caught between equipment.
Both of this year's incidents in Larimer County fit into two of those categories. The most common OSHA citations are for companies not having proper fall protection systems and not properly training employees for hazard mitigation.
Final work-related fatality data from 2015 won't be released until later this year.
Prior to the fall death in June, the most recent OSHA-investigated fatality involving a Larimer County-based employer happened Sept. 24, 2013. A worker with Forney Industries Inc. was killed by a passing car while crossing a street during a work trip in Oklahoma, according to Coloradoan archives and an online federal database.
Reporter Jason Pohl covers public safety for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.