2019 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 Incident	Description	Incident Location (City)
1.	01/09/19	General Labor	22	Fall (from elevation)	A 22-year-old general laborer working for a Christmas decorating company fell off a ladder removing Christmas decorations at a private home. He was removed from life support and passed on January 9, 2019.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Saline
2.	02/04/19	Maintenance Supervisor	26	Struck by	The 26-year-old maintenance supervisor was using a tire changing hand tool to replace a highway truck and trailer tire when the tire exploded. He sustained severe trauma to his face and head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Clare
3.	02/09/19	Technician	54	Fall (from elevation)	A 54-year-old technician was receiving training while working adjacent to a large chemical tank. The technician fell into the tank. He was removed from the tank with the assistance of a co-worker and transported for treatment. He later died as a result of his injuries.MIFACE Inspection Summary	South Lyon
4.	02/08/19	Truck Operator	34	Struck by	A 34-year-old truck operator was crushed by his vehicle at a landfill. The truck operator's vehicle experienced mechanical problems and was being moved by an operator of heavy equipment. At some point, the truck operator got out of his vehicle to access his mechanical breakdown. The operator of the heavy equipment continued to move the vehicle and the truck operator was subsequently crushed under his vehicle.MIFACE Inspection Summary	New Boston
5.	02/25/19	Car Wash Worker	45	Struck by	Two car wash workers were struck by a customer vehicle pulling off of the car wash line. Both workers were taken to a hospital where the 45-year-old car wash worker was pronounced dead. The other worker’s injuries are considered minor and he is expected to survive.	Troy
6.	03/08/19	Service Technician	30	Struck by	The employer was performing maintenance/inspection at a job site which had two cranes, one small crane and a larger crane above it.A 30-year-old service technician was working on the smaller crane that was locked out. He was struck on the back of the head by the larger crane.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Clarkston
7.	03/21/19	Mechanic	56	Struck by	A 56-year-old mechanic was working on a log trailer in a shop. He was underneath the vehicle when an air bag exploded with force, causing a head injury.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Sagola
8.	05/23/19	General Laborer	19	Electrocution	A 19-year-old general laborer was moving/guiding a metal truss, which came into contact with an energized overhead power line during the building of a hoop barn.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Cassopolis
9.	05/31/19	Journeyman Electrician	53	Shock	Employees were performing construction activities in an existing substation. A 53-year-old journeyman electrician was working in an uninsulated aerial work platform removing insulated grounding jumper cables when he was electrocuted.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Niles
10.	06/18/19	Electrician	19	Shock	A 19-year-old electrician was working with a 277-volt system in a drop ceiling. He was standing on a fiberglass ladder and had both of his hands above a ceiling tile while leaning his chest on the metal ceiling tile trim dividers. Witnesses believe that he touched a live wire while he was leaning on the metal trim dividers of the ceiling grid and was electrocuted.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Port Huron
11.	06/28/19	General Laborer	23	Shock	A 23-year-old general laborer was working on an aerial work platform converting overhead florescent light fixtures into overhead LED fixtures. Attempts were made to contact him but were unsuccessful. The aerial work platform was lowered where the general laborer was found unresponsive and emergency services were called. It appears he was electrocuted.	Grand Rapids
12.	07/02/19	Repair Mechanic	55	Struck by	A 55-year-old repair mechanic was performing maintenance and cleaning on duct work on the roof of the facility. He was in the process of cleaning sand and fine metal particles out of the duct work. While walking underneath a section of the duct work, it collapsed and fell down crushing the repair mechanic.	Kingsford
13.	05/31/19	General Laborer	20	Fall	A 20-year-old general laborer slipped/tripped either on a dock or rowboat, striking his head and fell into the pond, resulting in the victim drowning.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Suttons Bay
14.	05/24/19	Route Driver	48	Struck by	A 48-year-old route driver was in a parking lot adjacent to one of his designated delivery stops. He was struck by an unknown automobile that left the scene.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Troy
15.	08/17/19	Drywaller/Laborer	51	Fall (from elevation)	A 51-year-old drywaller/laborer fell off a balcony while hanging drywall.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Traverse City
16.	08/24/19	Roofer	52	Fall (from elevation)	A 52-year-old roofer fell from a two-story house while performing tear-off activities on the roof.	Detroit
17.	08/30/19	Furnace and Loader Operator	64	Struck by	A 64-year-old furnace and loader operator was walking in close quarters to where a front-end loader was operating. He was struck and dragged by the box on the front-end loader before being ran over. He was pronounced dead at the scene.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Coldwater
18.	07/19/19	Painter	46	Fall (from elevation)	On July 13th, a 46-year-old painter was performing work on a ladder and fell approximately 30 feet to the ground. The painter was transported to a local hospital where he later passed away from his injuries on July 19, 2019.	Cheboygan
19. and 20.	09/09/19	Laborers	53 and 30	Struck by	A 53-year-old laborer and a 30-year-old laborer were attempting to move slabs of granite with an overhead crane. As the granite slabs were lifted off of the A-frame rack, the slabs on the opposite side of the rack fell over creating a domino effect causing multiple granite slabs to fall onto the laborers.	Sterling Heights
21.	05/24/19	Farmer	43	Inhalation	A 43-year-old farmer entered a 1,500-gallon bulk tank used to hold raw milk to clean it.He was found unresponsive inside the tank about 20 minutes later.	Dundee
22.	06/27/19	Owner	59	Struck by	A 59-year-old owner was dumping construction debris at the landfill when the hydraulics of the trailer failed. He was crushed while trying to fix the hydraulics.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Midland
23.	09/12/19	Laborer	38	Caught in or between	A 38-year-old laborer was caught in an excavation cave-in during sanitary pipe installation.	Imlay City
24.	09/11/19	Temporary Helper	68	Struck by	A 68-year-old temporary helper was shaker boarding for the employer near the side of a busy roadway. He was struck by a swerving motor vehicle.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Detroit
25.	09/18/19	Commissary Production Worker	52	Fall (same level)	On Sept. 11, a 52-year-old commissary production worker was walking in the food production area when he slipped and fell backwards, hitting his head on the cement floor; he was hospitalized. On Sept. 18, he passed away.MIFACE Inspection Summary	Lansing
26.	09/30/19	Operator	54	Struck by	On Sept. 24th, a 54-year-old operator was struck by a vehicle when working at night in a freeway construction zone. The victim passed away from his injuries on Sept. 30th.	Portland
27.	10/18/19	Carpenter	39	Fall (from elevation)	A 39-year-old carpenter was found injured, lying amongst construction debris. It appears he fell from an elevated work surface and passed away later that same day in the hospital.	Southgate
28.	10/23/19	Transportation Maintenance Worker	48	Struck by	A 48-year-old transportation maintenance worker was picking up trash and litter on the outside shoulder of west bound I-94 when he was struck by a rim and tire assembly that had separated from a semi-truck passing by in the adjacent traffic lane.	Berrien County
29.	10/25/19	Operator	57	Caught in or between	A 57-year-old operator was operating a sheepsfoot roller adjacent to an embankment above a lower grade. The rear tire of the roller started to slip over the embankment. The operator began to climb down from the roller, as the roller tipped over on its side. The operator was caught between the rollover protection structures (ROPS) and the ground.	Novi
30.	10/10/19	Foreman/Lineman	60	Struck by	A 60-year-old foreman/lineman was struck by a vehicle when in a freeway construction zone.	Grand Rapids
31.	11/12/19	Laborer/ Subcontractor	40	Caught in or between	A 40-year-old laborer/subcontractor wasusing a bobcat to remove snow when the pedals became frozen on the machine. The bucket on the bobcat was in the raised position and the machine was off. The laborer/subcontractor began to play with the pedals on the machine when the bucket came down suddenly pinning him between the arm of the bucket and the framework of the machine.	Bangor
32.	11/26/19	Farmer/Co-owner	68	Fall (from elevation)	A68-year-old farmer/co-owner accessed the roof of a barn to repair a damaged section. Once he made it to the area of the roof to be repaired, a section of the roof gave way and he fell approximately 20 feet to the ground below.	Blissfield
33.	12/04/19	Rig Supervisor	65	Other	On Nov. 26, a 65-year-old rig supervisor and another employee were performing a mechanical integrity test on the well casing when a flash fire occurred. The two employees suffered burns and were taken to a local hospital for treatment. The rig supervisor passed away as a result of his injuries on Dec. 4.	Roscommon
34.	12/11/19	Farmer	69	Caught in or between	A 69-year-old farmer was found on the ground near the rear tires of his tractor. He was tilling a field near his residence. Preliminary information indicates that the farmer was runover by the tractor.	Saginaw
35.	12/18/19	Cashier/Freight	59	Fall (from elevation)	A 59-year-old cashier was placing a box on a mezzanine while approximately 6-foot high on an 8-foot step ladder. The box started to fall and was going to land on a coworker, so the cashier reached for it and fell backwards off the ladder to the cement floor.	Lansing
36.	12/21/19	Local Delivery Driver	59	Fall (same elevation)	On Dec. 2, a 59-year-old local delivery driver informed his employer that he had fallen in the parking lot. The fall was unwitnessed and the time of the fall was unknown. The employee passed away on Dec. 21, 2019. The death certificate listed the cause of death as Inner Cerebral Hemorrhage (Trauma).	Petoskey
37.	10/04/19	Farm Hand	74	Struck by	A 74-year-old farm hand had gone out to bring more cows into the barn for milking. When he did not return the employee performing the milking went to find him. The farm hand was found outside leaning against a round bale and acting confused. He was taken to the hospital where it was discovered he suffered from multiple skull fractures and brain hemorrhaging from being attacked by a bull and later passed away.	Six Lakes
38.	06/06/19	Equipment Operator	64	Fall (from elevation)	A 64-year-old equipment operator fell off the deck of a crane.	Flint
39.	03/21/19	Herdsman	75	Struck by	According to witnesses, on March 5, 2019, a 75-year-old herdsman was standing when he was bumped by a horse knocking him to the ground. During his fall, he hit his head becoming unresponsive and was transported for treatment. On March 21, 2019, the man was pronounced dead with the cause identified as blunt force head trauma.	Washington Township

There were 38 MIOSHA-related deaths in 2018. 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 at www.michigan.gov/cetrca.

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

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2019 MIOSHA Fatality Information

Fatality Number

Date

Occupation

Age

Type of Incident

Description

Incident Location (City)