Employer Blamed for Ugly Injury: Worker Suffers Burns to Face

The Department of Labor has determined that an employer is to blame for injuries suffered by a worker whose face was burned as he was cleaning a machine.

Doskocil Manufacturing Inc., which operates as Petmate, became the target of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation after an accident at its Texas manufacturing facility.

Petmate is a global manufacturer and distributor of pet products.

According to a release issued by the Department of Labor, the accident happened when three workers at the manufacturing facility were using a pry bar to remove excess plastic from a structural foam machine.

Employer at Fault for Accident

As they were doing so, an injection nozzle dislodged and sprayed molten plastic into the face of one of the workers. That worker suffered second- and third-degree burns.

Following its investigation into the accident, OSHA cited the employer because it did not:

• Isolate energy sources in a way that protected its workers from harm.
• Develop proper safety procedures to safely clean and maintain machinery at the manufacturing facility.
• Make sure facility walkways and working areas were free of hazards that could lead to slips and falls.
• Ensure that workers using structural foam machines have proper eye protection.

In combination, those findings added up to one willful violation in addition to eight serious violations of applicable safety regulations.

OSHA Proposes Penalties Against Employer

The agency proposed $278,851 in penalties. The employer can comply, request an informal conference or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, which is a separate federal agency that addresses challenges to OSHA citations or penalties.

OSHA defines a willful violation as “a violation in which the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement (purposeful disregard) or acted with plain indifference to employee safety.” This is the most serious violation of safety standards.

By contrast, OSHA explains that “a serious violation exists when the workplace hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm, unless the employer did not know or could not have known of the violation.”

Other types of violations include repeated violations and what the agency calls “other-than-serious” violations.

OSHA’s Message to Employers: Don’t Ignore Safety Procedures

“When proper safety processes and procedures are ignored, industrial workplaces can be dangerous and unforgiving for employees,” said OSHA Area Director Timothy Minor in Fort Worth, Texas. “Petmate’s failures to comply with federal safety regulations exposed its employees to serious dangers, resulting in one worker suffering severe injuries.”