TOSHA fines Rogersville facility $8,000 after fatal January incident | WJHL

Emily Hibbitts and Murry Lee

12 mins ago

ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) has issued two “serious” fines totaling $8,000 to a Rogersville facility following a fatal accident on Jan. 27.

HDK Industries Inc., located at 100 Industrial Park Drive, received the following citations, TOSHA announced:

Quote One – $4,000

• 29 CFR 1910.176(a): Where mechanical handling equipment was used, adequate safety clearances were not maintained between aisles and at locations where curves or passageways were created. Aisles and passageways were not kept clear and in good condition, and there were no obstructions across or in the aisles that could create a hazard. Permanent aisles and passageways were not adequately marked.
• Four employees were exposed to the risk of being hit by abrupt interactions between motorized industrial trucks (PITs) and pedestrians caused by the storage and stacking of large plastic containers (also called core containers) in a confusing corner in building area B of the factory.

Quote Two – $4,000

• 29 CFR 1910.178(n)(4): The driver did not reduce speed or sound the horn at crosswalks or other locations where visibility is obstructed.
• Four employees were exposed to the risk of being hit by abrupt interactions between industrial trucks and pedestrians because a driver had forgotten to sound the horn on a blind curve in building area B of the factory.

The summons come after an incident in January that left a 66-year-old employee hospitalized. She died of her injuries nine days later, TOSHA reports.

According to TOSHA’s report, the employee was hit by a forklift as she was exiting a blind corner into a corridor. After the collision, the victim fell to the concrete floor and hit her head.

Another worker nearby saw the victim and the forklift approaching at the corner and tried to warn her by shouting, but TOSHA reported that it was too late and the woman was hit by the forklift.

The woman was conscious immediately after the incident and had no visible injuries, but others nearby saw her head hit the ground several times and called emergency services. While waiting for medical personnel, other staff noticed the victim’s consciousness fading.

She was taken to a nearby hospital where she died nine days later.

The forklift driver told TOSHA he used the horn about 15 feet away from the intersection where the incident occurred, but the report states he told his employer immediately after the incident that the horn could have been as far as 30 feet away.

TOSHA found that at the corner of the intersection where the fatal accident occurred, large plastic containers, each 1.20 m high and wide, were stacked two on top of each other.

Scott Keeler, vice president of sales and marketing and former CEO of HDK, previously told News Channel 11 that the victim had worked for the company for 30 years.