24-year-old worker dies in accident while transporting sheet metal at DPR Manufacturing in Warren, Michigan

Support continues to be provided to the family of machine operator Matthew McCoy, who was killed by falling sheet metal while working at DPR Manufacturing in Warren, Michigan, last Friday afternoon, June 7. McCoy, who lived in the Detroit suburb of Warren, was just 24 years old at the time of his death.

The Warren Fire Department responded to the emergency and determined that McCoy had suffered cardiac arrest and other life-threatening crush injuries. Paramedics administered life support and transported him to Ascension Macomb Oakland Hospital for medical treatment, where he later died.

According to an initial report by the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA), McCoy was “moving sheet metal using a cart. While he was moving the sheet metal, the cart caught on an uneven edge of a walking and work surface and tipped over on him.”

DPR Manufacturing & Services Inc. is, according to its website, “a family-owned and operated custom manufacturing company offering steel, stainless steel and aluminum products.” The company has been in operation for over 100 years.

MIOSHA stated that there was no record of a safety inspection at DPR Manufacturing.

Mike Krafcik, a communications specialist for MIOSHA, said in a statement that MIOSHA “cannot provide information regarding an ongoing investigation,” but noted that “our records indicate there was no prior inspection history at this employer.”

According to press reports, Westleigh Deguvera, president of DPR Manufacturing, did not respond to requests for comment.

According to MIOSHA, McCoy’s will be Michigan’s 13th workplace fatality in 2024. More than 5,000 people die in workplace accidents each year in the United States.

Matthew McCoy’s death follows the recent death of another young worker, Daulton Simmers, a 28-year-old worker and father who died of burns when molten metal fell on him at Caterpillar’s Mapleton, Illinois, foundry on June 6.

McCoy was described by his older sister Jami Reiterman as an extremely generous person. “When people needed money, he always helped them. He was truly the greatest person in the world,” Reiterman said in an interview with Fox 2 News.

Reiterman went on to say that McCoy “loved video games and drawing. He was always drawing pictures. He was still painting. He would come home from work and paint for hours and just watch TV.” Reiterman noted that McCoy made a lot of paintings of the parts of the factory he worked in and that he “loved his job.”

She told the WSWS: “He helped around the house, and if you needed money or anything, he was always the first one there, not just me, but everyone. He was the only one who would walk in the door after work and say, ‘Hey buddy, how was your day?’ Even if he was having a bad day, he only wanted to hear about mine.”

She said the company has contacted her and her other brother, who used to work at DPR, but she is waiting for OSHA’s investigation before speaking further about the circumstances of the death.

Companies must ensure safe workplaces. In Michigan, the maximum penalty for a serious safety violation is only $7,000.

Tara Bachynski, Jami Reiterman’s best friend, started a GoFundMe campaign to help with Matthew’s funeral. At the time of this writing, the family had received well over 100 individual donations and was close to reaching their goal of $10,000.

Forklifts and other vehicles used to transport goods are often the cause of serious accidents involving personal injury. Forklifts are often unstable due to the heavy loads they carry and tip over easily because the wheels are at the rear. Visibility is often limited by the load being transported at the front.

The training includes classroom instruction and practical exercises as well as examinations. Permits must be renewed every three years.

According to OSHA, forklift accidents result in 75-95 deaths and 8,000-9,000 injuries each year. The injuries tend to be more severe and require a longer recovery time. OSHA estimates that there are just under 100,000 forklift accidents each year. Rollover accidents involving forklift-type vehicles account for 24 percent of all forklift accidents and 42 percent of all recorded injuries.

Industry guidelines require appropriate and recurring operator training as well as vehicle inspections and regular maintenance.

In October 2022, a 25-year-old employee at Metalsa, a Tier 1 automotive supplier in nearby Sterling Heights, Michigan, died after the truck she was driving overturned and crushed her.

In response to reports of McCoy’s death, one autoworker posted on Facebook: “We are just a number in the factory world. All they care about are the parts and in my case the trucks/SUVs.”

Another worker wrote, “The new employees are usually not even properly trained on the equipment and accidents are inevitable. I’m not saying that this is the case with this young man, but I’m speaking from my personal experience in my revolving door business.”

Emily, a young mother, wrote that her husband worked in manufacturing. “The state tells them when to come in; they come in and then say nothing was found in their reports. Obviously because they were given time to fix the problems and hide them. These are the kinds of things these workers deal with on a daily basis and that seems to be the case in most of these plants. Then there’s the turnover rate – they hire new people and don’t give the older workers a raise… so the others move on and it’s always new hires running everything.”

We are looking forward to your contact. Fill the form at the end of this report to share your experiences regarding workplace or safety issues at your facility. All comments will be published anonymously.

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