2021 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.	01/13/21	Flagger	56	Struck by	A driver did not stop for the work zone and pinned a 56-year-old flagger between two vehicles.	Bates Township
2.	01/21/21	Drilling Hand	31	Struck by	A firm was onsite to service a sticking well rod. A driver was backing the service truck to the well head to set up the equipment and derrick, that was being guided by two employees, when a 31-year-old drilling hand was struck and pinned between the service truck and the well head.	New Era
3.	04/06/21	Owner	42	Struck by	A 42-year-old lawn care service company's owner was found pinned underneath the wheel of a dump truck.	Ypsilanti
4.	04/21/21	General Help	60	Struck by	The 60-year-old general help employee was inflating a single rim trailer tire. The sidewall of the tire split open and pressure from the air inside the tire knocked him down. The employee hit his head on the concrete and became unconscious. He was taken to the hospital where he passed away on April 21, 2021.	Hamilton
5.	04/21/21	Crane Operator	57	Struck by	The 57-year-old crane operator was staging a die onto the east bolster with a crane. The die was not aligned with the locating pins. While standing between the die and the press, the crane operator maneuvered the die onto the bolster pin. The misalignment of the hoist to the center point of the die caused the die to swing to the home position resulting in the die striking the crane operator.	Sterling Heights
6.	02/15/21	Licensed Practical Nurse	64	Other	On Jan. 4, 2021, a positive test result was given to the 64-year-old licensed practical nurse during the firm's regular COVID testing, required twice a week. Following company policy, the employee was sent home, and the local health department was contacted. The week of approximately Jan. 18, the employee was hospitalized, and later passed away on Feb. 15, 2021.	Alpena
7.	03/15/21	Office Administrator/Medical Assistant	70	Other	A 70-year-old office administrator/medical assistant worked at a physician's office. During the week of Feb 22, two employees were working in the office while sick. The following week they tested positive for COVID-19. The deceased tested positive on March 2 and was hospitalized within a couple days. The deceased passed away on March 15, 2021.	Monroe
8.	04/23/21	Landscaping	69	Struck by	The 69-year-old landscaping employee was mowing lawn on a hill and flipped the lawn mower over a retaining wall. The employee was crushed by the mower.	Brighton
9.	05/17/21	Owner	40	Fall (from elevation)	The 40-year-old owner was on an extension ladder and fell approximately 20 feet to the concrete surface below.	Caro
10.	06/11/21	Truck Driver	33	Struck by	The 33-year-old truck driver was delivering building products to a residential home. At some point, he was struck by a vehicle.	Grand Rapids
11.	01/29/21	Licensed Practical Nurse	70	Other	A 70-year-old licensed practical nurse was exposed to COVID-19 while working in the COVID-19 unit in a nursing home. The employee tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 10, 2020. The employee was hospitalized from Dec. 19, 2020, until Jan. 29, 2021, when she passed away.	Milford
12.	06/29/21	Lineman	61	Shock	The 61-year-old lineman was performing maintenance to electrical service and was found unresponsive by the homeowner.	Detroit
13.	07/09/21	Laborer	64	Struck against	Employees were unloading a crane when it tipped over, pinning and crushing the 64-year-old laborer.	Grand Rapids
14.	07/16/21	Electrician	50	Fall (from elevation)	The 50-year-old electrician accessed a platform adjacent to a crane runway. The platform did not have handrails, it had a horizontal lifeline. The victim was walking along this platform without the use of fall protection when he fell approximately 50 feet below onto piping and other structures.	Dearborn
15.	07/21/21	Maintenance Technician	66	Struck by	On July 21, a 66-year-old maintenance technician was working on a wheelabrator shot blast machine when he was fatality crushed between the tumbler door and machine wheel housing.	Pontiac
16.	08/05/21	Grinder Operator	59	Severe Burn	A 59-year-old grinder operator was operating an industrial tub grinder when a fire developed on the equipment. The employee did not make it out of the cab of the equipment and he was fatally injured by the fire.	Carney
17.	08/16/21	Truck Driver	70	Caught in or between	The 70-year-old truck driver was making a delivery at a customer's location and was caught between his trailer and another trailer.	Three Rivers
18.	08/16/21	Owner	50	Fall (from elevation)	The 50-year-old business owner was trimming tree limbs when the boom of the aerial work platform failed, dropping him and the bucket approximately 40 feet to a concrete pad below.	Douglas
19.	08/14/21	Climber	25	Struck by	The 25-year-old climber was driving a loader and was loading a tree into a truck. The back tire of the loader came off the curb and the driver was not wearing a seatbelt. The driver was crushed under a steel cage.	Ada
20.	08/17/21	Laborer	19	Caught in or between	A 19-year-old laborer was performing landscaping tasks, using a Bobcat equipped with a bucket to remove fence paneling. While removing the panels, one of the panels became entangled in chicken wire. The laborer attempted to untangle the chicken wire from the fence paneling while remaining partially inside the Bobcat.As he raised the bucket, he became pinched in between the mast and cab of the Bobcat. Emergency personnel arrived on scene and transported him to a nearby hospital via helicopter, where he later passed away.	Romulus
21.	08/24/21	Sand and Gravel Pit Manager	46	Struck by	A 46-year-old sand and gravel pit manager was moving material around in a parking lot with a bulldozer. He exited the bulldozer and the machine began to move. As he attempted to stop the machine, he was fatally struck by it.	Shepherd
22.	08/19/21	Millwright	27	Shock	On Aug. 17, two employees were working from an aerial lift when one of them came into contact with a high voltage power line. The 27-year-old millwright was taken to the hospital where he passed away two days later.	Marshall
23.	08/27/21	Laborer	35	Struck by	A 35-year-old laborer was driving an aerial lift across the westbound lanes of I-94 when he was struck by a semi-truck.	Paw Paw
24.	04/02/21	General Laborer	54	Other	A 54-year-old general laborer worked in a repackaging area of a warehouse. 911 was called when the employee collapsed on March 11. The employer was informed by the hospital that the employee had tested positive for COVID-19.The employee passed away on April 2, 2021 due to COVID-19.	Melvindale
25.	08/31/21	Superintendent	49	Struck by	A subcontractor was performing work on a dam using a barge-mounted crane on the river. The crane fell over, striking the 49-year-old superintendent who was on land.	Crystal Falls
26.	09/01/21	Laborer	40	Struck by	A 40-year-old laborer was standing on the right side of a wood chipper near the controls when a loud bang occurred. Three other employees who were onsite responded to the sound, where they found the employee with fatal head injuries.	Lake Ann
27.	09/08/21	Lineman	38	Electrocution	A 38-year-old lineman was hoisting a primary power line up to splice a line while in the bucket of a bucket truck. A coworker could not see the lineman and called out to him. When there was no response, the coworker lowered the bucket and found the lineman unresponsive.	Baldwin
28.	03/18/21	Machine Operator	35	Other	The employee's place of employment had been experiencing a large COVID-19 outbreak since March 5. The 35-year-old machine operator was discovered dead in his home on March 18, 2021, and the cause of death was determined to be respiratory failure due to COVID-19 infection.	Howell
29.	09/27/21	Truck Driver	37	Struck by	A 37-year-old truck driver parked and exited their truck and flatbed trailer that was to be loaded with shipping containers from a crane.During the loading operation, the employee was struck by the crane and sustained fatal injuries.	Detroit
30.	10/17/21	Splicer Specialist Leader	40	Shock	A 40-year-old splicer specialist leader was responding to a customer service call. He entered an excavation site to inspect and troubleshoot a 13,000-volt cable. It is believed that the employee contacted the electrical cable at some point and was electrocuted.	Milford
31.	10/18/21	Ground Laborer	45	Caught in or between	A 45-year-old ground laborer was feeding tree branches into a woodchipper when he was pulled into the rotor blades of the chipper resulting in fatal injuries.	West Bloomfield
32.	11/05/21	Traffic Regulator	47	Struck by	Two cars were stopped at a construction site. A semi-truck crashed into the stopped cars and struck the 47-year-old traffic regulator.	Oscoda
33.	11/10/21	Laborer	37	Struck by	A 37-year-old laborer was struck by a forklift as it was backing up.	Ann Arbor
34.	11/12/21	Owner	58	Fall (from elevation)	A 58-year-old business owner fell 25-30 feet from a roof.	Detroit
35.	11/24/21	Set-up Technician	37	Caught in or between	A 37-year-old set-up technician was making a sensor adjustment on a plastic welding machine. The employee reached through an open access door that was supposedly interlocked to make an adjustment causing the machine to cycle, crushing the employee.	Kentwood
36.	01/09/21	Corrections Officer	45	Other	On Dec. 30, 2020, a 45-year-old corrections officer tested positive for COVID-19 while undergoing routine testing. The employee, who was asymptomatic, immediately began an in-home quarantine and on Jan. 9, 2021, was discovered dead in his residence.An autopsy subsequently determined the cause of death to be acute pneumonia with infection to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) as one of several underlying causes.	Ionia
37.	09/14/21	Sales Branch Manager	61	Other	The 61-year-old sales branch manager tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 28, was admitted to hospital on Sept. 5, and succumbed to complications from COVID-19 on Sept. 14, 2021.	Jackson
38.	10/11/21	Lead Operator	39	Other	A 39-year-old lead operator began to experience COVID symptoms on Sept. 30 and began self-quarantining. He notified the employer regarding his positive COVID test on Oct. 6. He was hospitalized on Oct. 9 and passed away on Oct. 11, 2021, from respiratory failure due to COVID-19 infection.	Marcellus
39.	08/14/21	Owner/Operator	43	Struck by	A 43-year-old owner/operator was found unresponsive with a 4x6’ pallet laying on top of him. Emergency services were called, and first responders were unable to revive him.	Traverse City
40.	04/27/21	Sergeant, Corrections Shift Supervisor	51	Other	On April 5, 2021, a 51-year-old corrections shift supervisor was sent home mid-shift due to feeling unwell. She tested positive for COVID-19 on April 12 and some time later, was admitted to the hospital, where she passed away on April 27, 2021.	Muskegon
41.	03/30/21	Laborer/Welder	61	Struck against	A 61-year-old laborer/welder transporting a steel beam to the outside scrap bin using an electric pallet jack. They were found crushed between the electric pallet jack and an interior cement wall.	Decker
42.	10/12/21	Production Operator	66	Other	On September 19, 2021, a 66-year-old production operator tested positive for COVID-19. He was admitted to the hospital on September 20 and passed away on October 12, 2021.	Battle Creek
43.	11/25/21	Corrections Officer	60	Other	On November 5, 2021, a 60-year-old corrections officer called in sick and never returned to the workplace. On November 10, the employee notified his employer that he had tested positive for COVID-19. He was hospitalized the following day and passed away on November 25, due to respiratory failure resulting from COVID-19 infection.	Ionia
44.	12/04/21	Corrections Officer	36	Other	On November 22, 2021, a 36-year-old corrections officer was identified as having close contact to a COVID-19 positive worker. The employee was sent home and never returned to work. He tested positive on December 2. While in the hospital, the employee passed away on December 4.	Ionia
45.	01/19/21	Direct Support Professional	56	Other	On November 21, 2020, a 56-year-old direct support professional tested positive for COVID-19, was hospitalized the same day, and placed on a ventilator. The employee passed away on January 19, 2021.	Ypsilanti
46.	08/29/21	Radiological Technician	54	Other	On August 15, 2021, a 54-year-old radiological technician tested positive for COVID-19. She was admitted to hospital on August 22 and passed away on August 29, 2021 from a hemorrhagic stroke attributed to COVID-19.	Lansing
47.	07/07/21	Diver	49	Drowning	During an underwater inspection of a hydroelectric dam apron on July 7, 2021, a 49-year-old scuba diver failed to surface. His body was recovered four hours later downstream.	Allegan
48.	09/11/21	Correctional Deputy	52	Other	On August 26, 2021, a 52-year-old correctional deputy showed signs of COVID-19 and tested positive on August 27. He was admitted to the hospital and placed on a ventilator on August 29. He passed away on September 11, 2021.	Corunna
49.	11/3/21	Laborer	20	Poisoning	A 20-year-old laborer was hired to stay onsite to provide security. The home he was staying in used a generator for power. He was discovered on November 3, 2021, apparently a victim of carbon monoxide poisoning.	Detroit
50.	12/5/21	Registered Nurse	62	Other	On November 15, 2021, a 62-year-old registered nurse reported to work for routine COVID-19 testing and tested positive. She was later admitted to a hospital and placed on a ventilator on December 2. She passed away on December 6, 2021.	Fremont
51.	12/11/21	Direct Care Worker	33	Other	On November 14, 2021, a 33-year-old direct care worker tested positive for COVID-19. On December 6, she was was hospitalized and passed away on December 11.	Ypsilanti
52.	11/6/21	Fire Chief	73	Other	On October 12, 2021, a 73-year-old fire chief was exposed to COVID-19 while responding to a medical emergency at a patient's residence. The employee was hospitalized on October 22 and passed away on November 6.	Morley
53.	9/28/21	Correction Transportation Officer	53	Other	On September 28, 2021, a 53-year-old correction transportation officer tested positive for COVID-19. He was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator. He passed away on September 28, 2021.	St Louis
54.	12/9/21	State Police Sergeant	53	Other	On December 9, 2021, a 53-year-old state police sergeant passed away due to COVID-19.	Lapeer

There were 75 MIOSHA-related deaths in 2020. 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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2021 MIOSHA Fatality Information

Fatality Number

Date

Occupation

Age

Type of Incident

Description

Incident Location (City)