Piramal Glass USA Inc. in Park Hills, Missouri was hit with a hefty OSHA earlier this month for its failure to comply with federal safety regulations and prevent a worker from sustaining severe burn injuries.
According to OSHA’s announcement regarding this enforcement action, Piramal Glass had failed to provide the injured worker with fire-retardant protective gear.
As a result, the worker suffered third-degree burns on his hands and legs when a piece of molten glass fell onto a floor covered in oil residue, causing an immediate fire. This accident reportedly occurred in July 2015, sparking an OSHA investigation into the incident. The injured worker has reportedly not been able to return to work since the July fire.
Commenting on this OSHA fine, Bill McDonald, OSHA’s area director in St. Louis, has stated:
A worker suffered excruciating injuries that could affect his health for years because Piramal Glass ignored company policy to require flame-resistant clothing for workers on the hot end of the bottle-making line… It’s not enough for employers to have good policies on the books – they must abide by them. The company needs to develop and comply with a comprehensive policy on personal protective clothing.
A Closer Look at the OSHA Violations
Upon investigating Piramal Glass, OSHA investigators discovered that the company has failed to follow both its own safety rules, as well as federal safety regulations, by:
- Not cleaning up the oil leaked by machines
- Not training workers on personal protective measures and/or on how to use fire extinguishers
- Not having any safety procedures for how workers are to respond to problems on “hot” production lines.
These violations resulted in the company being issues 6 serious safety violations, 1 repeated violation and 1 willful violation from OSHA on October 9th. The total civil penalties for these fines is $122,000.
At this point Piramal, which is top glass manufacturer for perfumeries and pharmaceutical companies in the U.S., has 15 business days within which to respond to the OSHA citations. The company can either comply with the citations and pay the fines assessed, contest OSHA’s findings or request a meeting with the OSHA area director.
Contact a St Louis Workers Compensation Lawyer or Work-Machine Lawyer at Brown & Brown Attorneys at Law
If you have been hurt at work or have developed an occupational illness, contact a St Louis workers compensation lawyer at Brown & Brown Attorneys at Law. We have a long-standing commitment to serving our clients, and we are experienced at aggressively defending our clients’ rights in any legal setting.
To learn more about how we can help you, attend a free, no obligations initial consult with one of our attorneys today. You can schedule this meeting by calling us at 573-333-3333 for our Missouri office or at 618-888-8888 for our Illinois office. You can also email us using the form at the right-hand side of the screen.