2015 MIOSHA Fatality Information

Use the information in this table to build hazard awareness and prevent risk for similar occurrences in your workplace. This table shares preliminary details about many of the fatalities reported to the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These descriptions reflect information provided to MIOSHA at the initial report of the incident and are not the result of the official MIOSHA investigation.

When available, MIFACE Summaries of MIOSHA Inspections will be included at the end of the description.

FATALITY NUMBER	DATE	OCCUPATION	AGE	TYPE OF INJURY	DESCRIPTION	INCIDENT LOCATION (CITY)
1.	01/15/15	Sheet Metal Worker	37	Inhalation	A 37-year-old sheet metal worker was in the process of torch cutting and welding when it is believed he had ignited the flame-retardant insulation between the hopper and building structure. The fire traveled up the 65-foot tall structure trapping the sheet metal worker inside the hopper. Fire-Fighters were able to extricate him, but he had sustained burns to his head and severe burns to his hand and wrist in addition to smoke inhalation. The sheet metal worker, one other employee, four sub-contractor employees, and two fire-fighters were transported to area hospitals. All but the sheet metal worker and one other employee were observed and released. The sheet metal worker succumbed to his injuries as a result of the fire on January 15, 2015. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Farmington Hills
2.	03/20/15	Crane Operator Trainee	61	Struck by	A 61-year-old was fatally injured after being struck in the head by a 9,400 pound bundle of steel round stock he was moving with an overhead crane. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Warren
3.	04/15/15	Laborer	49	Caught in or between	A 49-year-old laborer was aloft in the base of a tree trunk where the two sections meet up (tree crotch) removing a trunk section. The trunk section kicked back after being cut, striking the employee resulting in fatal injuries. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Oakland Township
4.	04/18/15	Shipping Coordinator	41	Struck by	A 41-year-old shipping coordinator was directing trucks into the loading bay where trucks drive into and out of to be loaded with steel. After directing one truck into the bay to be loaded, the employee was waving another up into position when the truck that just entered backed up striking the employee and crushing her. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Ecorse
5.	04/24/15	Painter	28	Fall (from elevation)	A 28-year-old painter was painting a guardrail on the third story of a house and climbed over the guardrail to paint. While holding onto a baluster and painting with the other hand, the guardrail gave way. The employee fell thirty feet to the ground. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Ann Arbor
6.	05/01/15	Part Time Truck Driver	48	Struck by	A 48-year-old part time truck driver and another employee were working on a truck to free a stuck wheel brake when the truck rolled, crushing the part time truck driver and injuring the other employee. MIFACE Inspection Summary MIFACE Investigation Report	Houghton
7.	05/05/15	Energy Center Operator	53	Caught in or between	A 53-year-old energy center operator was cleaning sludge from the filter press machine when the press cycled, crushing the employee between plates in the filter press. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Detroit
8.	05/11/15	Carpenter Foreman	38	Caught in or between	A 38-year-old carpenter foreman was removing supports in the basement of the structure when the first floor above collapsed and crushed him. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Ypsilanti
9.	05/28/15	Laborer	50	Caught in or between	An approximately 90,000 pound concrete I-Beam that had been sitting on dunnage, tipped over and fell on a 50-year-old laborer, crushing him. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Saginaw
10.	05/29/15	Production Associate	52	Caught in or between	A 52-year-old production associate was allegedly crushed by the operation of a CNC machine. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Owosso
11.	06/16/15	Electrician Foreman	40	Shock	A 40-year-old electrician foreman was preparing to wire a fire pump to the electrical supply when the employee received an electrical shock. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Holland
12.	06/27/15	Laborer	30	Other	A 30-year-old laborer was power washing a silo from a boom lift raised approximately 60 feet in the air when it contacted overhead power lines. The laborer made it from the basket of the lift onto the roof of the silo where he fell to the ground below. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Lowell
13.	07/07/15	Journeyman Maintenance Technician	57	Struck by	A 57-year-old journeyman maintenance technician entered a robotic weld cell. The robot arm activated pinning/crushing the employee's head between a hitch plate and a metal fixture. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Ionia
14.	07/08/15	Maintenance Technician	53	Fall (from elevation)	A 53-year-old maintenance technician fell approximately 20-feet from a platform to the ground below. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Grand Rapids
15.	07/13/15	Laborer	40	Caught in or between	A 40-year-old laborer was working in an excavation installing a drainage system for a parking lot. While a tractor operator was emptying a load of material into the excavation, the tractor fell in, landing on the laborer, fatally injuring him. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Saginaw
16.	07/14/15	Feed Operations Manager	30	Fall (from elevation)	A 30-year-old feed operations manager fell to a lower level while in an area under construction at the facility. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Vicksburg
17.	07/18/15	Owner	63	Caught in or between	A 63-year-old owner was apparently attempting to open the motorized gate at the shop entrance in order to leave the facility. The control box to open the gate is on the outside of the gate. She was on the inside. It is speculated that she reached around the gate through an opening to insert the key. She was found crushed between the gate, stationary fence, and the disconnect box. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Commerce Township
18.	07/21/15	Farm Worker	14	Caught in or between	A 14-year-old farm worker was loading hay bales onto an elevator when her clothing became entangled in the power take-off (PTO) shaft, resulting in her fatal injuries. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Vermontville
19.	05/06/15	Team Leader	41	Fall (same level)	A 41-year-old team leader was working on a vehicle on the assembly (moving conveyor) line. He was struck by a vehicle on the moving conveyor and thrown into a large tool box where he received serious head trauma, then fell to the floor. He died from traumatic brain injury. This fatality was initially reported by the company as a heart attack but recent information indicated it is a MIOSHA program related fatality. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Detroit
20.	08/25/15	Grounds Person	55	Struck by	A 55-year-old grounds person and the crew boss were trimming trees on a golf course from a recent storm. The employees were in the process of removing an 8-12 inch diameter limb from the tree. They attached a chain to the tree limb and to the bucket of a front end loader. The crew boss was operating the loader with the grounds person standing in the bucket. The crew boss backed up the loader and the tree branch broke and came back towards the grounds person in the bucket, pinning him against the bucket. He was transported to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead. MIFACE Inspection Summary	West Branch
21.	04/04/15	Line Leader	56	Struck by	A 56-year-old line leader was operating a powered industrial truck to flip over a fabricated metal automotive rack. While the rack was raised the line leader backed up, the top tray flipped open, striking the line leader in the back. The line leader did not seek medical attention until two days after the incident, when he was then admitted to the hospital. Over the course of the next two weeks his condition deteriorated, and he died on April 4, 2015. MIOSHA was notified on September 1, 2015. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Flint
22.	08/31/15	Truck Driver	23	Caught in or between	A 23-year-old truck driver was driving a dump truck that was being loaded with rocks. Another employee was operating an excavator and loading rocks from a farm field into the dump truck. The vehicle was traveling uphill when it slipped out of gear. It rolled backward and turned to avoid an impact with something. Then the truck turned completely over trapping the truck driver in the cab of the truck under the truck and the load of rocks. The truck driver suffered fatal crushing injuries. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Jonesville
23.	08/28/15	Welder's Helper	30	Other	A 30-year-old welder's helper was replacing a section of a pipeline that contained a petroleum product. When the replacement section was being welded into place, an explosion occurred. The welder's helper received severe burns over 50% of his body. He was transported to the hospital but died of his injuries on August 28, 2015. MIFACE Inspection Summary	River Rouge
24.	09/17/15	Railroad Construction/Labore	22	Caught in or between	A 22-year-old railroad construction/laborer and two other contract workers were replacing railroad ties and stones on a railway. At the same time that these workers were packing the ties and stones in place on the rail bed with a tamper machine, other employees were operating a conveyor and loading grain into a grain storage building. One wall of the grain storage building suddenly collapsed releasing grain which engulfed/crushed the railroad construction/laborer, resulting in fatal injuries.	Webberville
25.	10/11/15	Laborer	44	Struck by	A 44-year-old laborer was struck and killed while in a construction zone by an oncoming motorist. MIFACE Inspection Summary & MIFACE Investigation Report	Detroit
26.	11/07/15	Laborer	47	Other	A 47-year-old laborer was working in an excavation approximately 6.5 feet deep when the sides of the excavation caved in on him. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Macomb Township
27.	11/10/15	Herdsmen	60	Struck by	Employees were trying to load a bull into a trailer when the bull got away from them and ran into a nearby barn. Once in the barn, the bull attacked a 60-year-old herdsmen, slamming into his chest several times resulting in fatal injuries. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Sparta
28.	12/11/15	Co-Owner	61	Fall (from elevation)	A 61-year-old co-owner was working inside a plastic material container that had been placed on top of the front forks of a forklift. The container was not secured to the forks. The forklift then elevated the box, with the co-owner in it, to just below the ceiling of the greenhouse. The co-owner apparently reached for tools outside the box. The box shifted and fell from the forks. The co-owner fell approximately 6 feet 11 inches to the concrete floor below. He died as result of the fall. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Allendale
29.	12/18/15	Farm Hand	17	Other	A 17-year-old high school co-op student was working at a hog farm as a farm hand. Approximately one hour after she arrived for work, she was found unresponsive. There were no witnesses. Atmospheric testing from the day of the incident found elevated levels of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide possibly coming from a steam generator used for high pressure power washing. The steam generator is located in the area where the deceased was discovered. The steam generator was in use at the time of the incident. MIFACE Inspection Summary	Buckley

There were 37 MIOSHA-related deaths in 2014. 2009 saw the lowest number with 24.

If you need help or assistance in ensuring your workplace is safe, MIOSHA is here with resources to help. The Consultation Education and Training (CET) Division provides workplace safety and health training and consultations to employers and employees throughout Michigan free of charge. Contact CET today at 800-866-4674 or submit a request online.

Every life is precious. Our mutual goal must be that every employee goes home at the end of every shift unharmed.

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2015 MIOSHA Fatality Information

FATALITY NUMBER

DATE

OCCUPATION

AGE

TYPE OF INJURY

DESCRIPTION

INCIDENT LOCATION (CITY)