Paper mill in Alabama told authorities a worker died from a heart attack. He actually died after ...

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A paper mill in Alabama told authorities a worker died from a heart attack. He actually died after being electrocuted by machinery, the labor department says.

Grace Dean Apr 14, 2023, 7:31 AM

• A paper mill in Alabama told OSHA that a worker who was electrocuted actually died from a heart attack.
• The company's lawyer also asked the coroner's office to change the cause of death to heart attack, OSHA said.
• OSHA said the company didn't use energy control procedures and proposed $227,040 in penalties.

A paper mill in Alabama told federal authorities that the cause of death of a worker who died after being electrocuted was actually a heart attack, the Department of Labor says.

The worker died from electrocution at the Maplesville facility on September 28 2022 when another worker tried to replace the motor belt on a machine without de-energizing it, the DOL said. The department said that the company – South Coast Paper LLC – had "willfully" violated safety standards, including failing to implement procedures to protect employees performing maintenance on machinery.

According to a report by the DOL's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the company reported the incident as a heart attack and asked the local coroner's office to not list electrocution as the cause of death.

"The employer reported this incident to OSHA as a heart attack, the coroner's office called OSHA to report that it was an electrocution," OSHA wrote in its report. "The company's lawyer contacted the coroner's office asking them to change the cause of death from electrocution to heart attack."

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Here's more:

FEDERAL SAFETY INVESTIGATORS FIND ALABAMA PAPER MILL WILLFULLY BYPASSED SAFETY REGULATIONS, LEADING TO FATAL ELECTROCUTION OF 36-YEAR-OLD WORKER

OSHA cited South Coast Paper LLC for failure to de-energize machinery during maintenance

MAPLESVILLE, AL – Federal workplace safety inspectors examining how a 36-year-old worker suffered fatal electrocution in a Maplesville paper mill found his employer willfully violating safety standards, including disregarding hazardous energy control procedures that protect employees performing maintenance on machinery.

An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration into the Sept. 28, 2022, incident found a three-person team of employees of South Coast Paper LLC was working on a line of a sheeter machine – a system of six machines connected by metal conveyors that transforms paper rolls into copier paper – when they noticed one of the conveyor belts had stopped. During actions to replace the belt’s motor – without de-energizing the machines in use – a hot wire made contact with the ground and energized the machine. The 36-year-old worker suffered electrocution when he grabbed a metal rail connected to the conveyor system.

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AL Paper Mill Worker Electrocuted

by Colin Fluxman | Published April 17, 2023 - Updated April 17, 2023

MAPLESVILLE, AL – OSHA inspectors examining how a 36-year-old worker suffered fatal electrocution in a Maplesville paper mill found his employer willfully violating safety standards, including disregarding hazardous energy control procedures that protect employees performing maintenance on machinery.

An investigation into the Sept. 28, 2022, incident found a three-person team of employees of South Coast Paper LLC was working on a line of a sheeter machine – a system of six machines connected by metal conveyors that transform paper rolls into copier paper – when they noticed one of the conveyor belts had stopped.

During actions to replace the belt’s motor – without de-energizing the machines in use – a hot wire made contact with the ground and energized the machine. The 36-year-old worker suffered electrocution when he grabbed a metal rail connected to the conveyor system.

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[exboyfil]

1. Criminal charges?

At a minimum fraud.

[Chainfire]

3. Of course not. You can't file criminal charges against company that kills its employees.

They will pay a fine, get a few extra inspections and return to their unsafe practices until the next person dies in an industrial incident. (incident, not accident) The goal is to keep the production going regardless of the risks.

[flying_wahini]

2. I would hold the plant manager responsible and throw his ass in jail.

I’ll bet the workers will be happy to speak up.

[Chainfire]

4. Workers will not speak up. They need their jobs.

The company will blame the victim for not following safe practices. I have seen the same thing in my employment history. "No, you can't shut down the power, just work on it hot." And, you know what? I did...

[Dustlawyer]

5. Lie cheat and steal to avoid paying the family for their negligence and greed.