California Injury Blog

Three workers for the Department of Water and Power were injured in a Los Angeles car accident after they were hit by a suspected drunk driver while working in Los Feliz. According to a report on KTLA News, the DWP employees were working in the 5800 block of Franklin Avenue early morning on December 1, 2009 when the driver crashed through the work zone and injured the workers. Los Angeles police officials said the car also struck a DWP vehicle. The female driver was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. Two passengers in her car were uninjured. The three workers were transported to a local hospital with injuries, but they have been listed in stable condition.

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A worker suffered serious injury in california after his arm was crushed in a Cerritos on-the-job accident, leaving him trapped for more than 50 minutes as firefighters tried to free him. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Daily News, the accident occurred the night of October 21, 2009 at Apperson Print Resources. Firefighters had to use hydraulic tools to free the man's arm. He was described as a "critical trauma patient" and transported to a local hospital for treatment of his injuries.

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Cal/OSHA officials have opened an investigation into a fatal Torrance industrial job injury involving an ExxonMobil worker, Nelson Tan, 50, who died April 26, 2009 after he suffered severe burn injuries in the company's Torrance refinery. According to an article in the Daily Breeze, Tan was scalded by steam April 11, 2009 while working at the ExxonMobil refinery.

My heart goes out to the family of Nelson Tan for their tragic loss. Apparently, he was a long-time employee at that ExxonMobil refinery. I offer my deepest condolences to Tan's family, friends and co-workers. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to the California Department of Industrial Relations' 2005 industrial accident statistics, 14 people died on the job in California from burns.

Officials from the California Department of Industrial Relations say they are looking into exactly what occurred. They will be examining and analyzing the area the industrial accident to make sure that everything was operating properly and that the company and its workers were following proper guidelines. The last death at this refinery occurred April 2003 when a worker was electrocuted while working on an air conditioner.

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Daniel Varela Jr., 59, of Santa Ana died in a Dana Point construction accident as he fell from the fourth floor of a Marriott hotel where he was working, The Orange County Register reports. The fatal construction accident occurred the morning of April 18, 2009 as Varela was working on the new wing of the hotel at 25135 Park Lantern in Dana Point, Orange County Sheriff's Department officials said. Varela fell down four stories. He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of Daniel Varela Jr. I offer them my deepest sympathies for their sudden and tragic loss. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) statistics, there were 84 construction accident related fatalities in California in 2005. A total of 59 people died in California in 2005 in construction and industrial accidents involving falls from a higher elevation.

This newspaper report does not give too many details about how or why this tragic on-the-job accident occurred. Were there scaffolds, guardrails or other safety features installed at this hotel construction site? These safety features are required both by Cal-OSHA and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. I hope someone's negligence did not cost this man his life.

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Humberto Diaz-Guzman, 34, died in a Fontana on-the-job injury accident, according to news reports and the San Bernardino County Coroner's Office. Diaz-Guzman died the night of April 13, 2009 of injuries he suffered in an April 6, 2009 workplace accident. He was apparently struck in the head with a piece of metal that flew off a tire balancing machine. The Fontana Sheriff's Department and the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (CAL-OSHA) are investigating this incident.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family of Humberto Diaz-Guzman for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to Cal-OSHA's 2005 on-the-job fatality accident statistics, 48 workers in California died that year after being struck by a flying object. Totally, 453 California workers died on the job in the year 2005, Cal-OSHA reports.

In this particular case, it is not quite clear what caused the piece of metal to fly off the machinery. As always in such cases, there are many questions. Was Diaz-Guzman properly trained by his employer to handle this machine? Was the machine in some way defective, which caused the metal to come off it? Did someone else's negligence (contractor used for maintaining the machinery or another worker/contractor) cause the accident? The answers to these questions will help determine what exactly happened and who should be held responsible for it.

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Delivery Truck Gas Tank Explosion in Pasadena Injures Three

Three people suffered major on-the-job injuries in a Pasadena explosion the afternoon of March 16, 2009. According to an article in the Pasadena Star News, the explosion apparently ripped apart a delivery truck that was fueled by compressed natural gas. The accident occurred while employees of California Linen Services on 40 E. California Blvd. were refueling a delivery truck that operates on compressed natural gas. Officials believe a gas tank exploded, destroying the truck.

The gas tank reportedly flew up about 1,000 feet in the air and landed 200 feet away. One person suffered critical injuries and two others are said to be in serious condition. The California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (CAL/OSHA) is looking into what caused this accident.

I'm relieved that no one was fatally injured in this horrific workplace accident. My heart goes out to the three workers who have been seriously injured. I wish them the very best for a quick and complete recovery.

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Leonard Harders, a 56-year-old postal service mechanic in San Diego, was killed on-the-job after he was run over by a mail truck he was trying to fix. According to the 10 News report for San Diego, Harders was working on the Isuzu delivery vehicle in the 13500 block of Evening Creek Drive North on March 4, 2009 when the truck began to roll way. Harders tried to jump inside the truck to stop it, but slipped and fell. He ended up underneath the vehicle, which ran over him, San Diego Police Department officials said. Harders was pronounced dead at the scene.

What a tragic accident! I offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Leonard Harders. Here was a man who was just trying to do his job. Please keep the Harders family in your prayers.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Web site, there were 754,958 employees who worked for the U.S. Postal Service in 2007. During that year USPS reported 50,271 on-the-job injuries out of which nine were fatalities. About 16,800 cases involved injuries where workers had to take time off work.

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A group of family members and friends held a vigil for Pablo Antonio Garcia, a Long Beach worker and truck driver who was crushed to death January 28, 2009 when a forklift hit his truck in the Port of Long Beach. According to this news report in the Daily Breeze, they held the vigil to demand better working conditions for harbor area drivers. The group urged lawmakers to adopt comprehensive reforms, saying drivers are routinely exposed to life-threatening hazards such as collapsing cranes, wayward forklifts, substandard trucks and heavy pollution.

Investigators say Garcia was killed when he was standing outside his truck and waiting for the delivery of a steel container from another area inside the terminal. Garcia was apparently pinned between two truck chassis when a forklift driver struck his rig. He suffered severe internal injuries and died shortly after the tragic incident. The California Department of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating this Long Beach on-the-job accident. Long Beach police expect to file charges in connection with this case. Several days before Garcia’s death, another driver, Felipe Curiel, was nearly killed when a container fell on the cab of his truck. He had to be extricated from his crushed rig with the Jaws of Life. Garcia leaves behind a wife and three children.

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Alvin Gerk, 30, suffered fatal injuries in a Costa Mesa industrial accident on December 24, 2008, the Huntington Beach Independent reports. Gerk was found dead underneath a pickup outside of his place of business, AG Mobile, a service company for industrial trucks. According to officials from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), Gerk was underneath a truck trying to put the transmission in gear when it rolled on top of him.

Cal/OSHA officials are saying that this on-the-job injury may have been prevented if Gerk had applied the parking brake. Both Cal/OSHA and the Orange County Coroner are apparently investigating this fatal Costa Mesa on-the-job accident.

My heart goes out to the family of Alvin Gerk for their tragic loss. Please keep them in your prayers.

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A recycling worker killed on the job in Rancho Cucamonga on December 10, 2008 was identified as 41-year-old Efre Aceituno-DeLeon. According to this news report in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Aceituno-DeLeon was fatally injured as he was working on a trash-collecting truck at CR& R Waste and Recycling. He was pinned under the truck tag axle. The California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) is investigating this incident.

My heart goes out to the family of Efre Aceituno-DeLeon, who was tragically killed when he was simply trying to do his job. I offer my deepest condolences to everyone who knew and loved this man.

A huge challenge for families of deceased or seriously injured workers is to deal with the financial hardship that follows. Medical or funeral expenses, hospital bills and loss of wages cripple these families economically. The DeLeon family will certainly be entitled to receive workers’ compensation through Aceituno-DeLeon’s employer. However, workers compensation benefits in California are woefully inadequate to compensate a family for loss of income from a primary breadwinner, let alone the loss of a loved one.

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Erik Sanchez, 30, was killed in an Anaheim industrial accident on November 17, 2008 when an 18-wheeler pinned him against a loading dock at a refrigerating storage facility, The Orange County Register reports. The fatal 11/17/08 on-the-job accident occurred at VersaCold Logistics in Anaheim.

Sanchez did not work for VersaCold but was a pest control worker doing his job around the exterior of the facility. Anaheim police officials say Sanchez was walking below a loading dock as the 18-wheeler was backing up into the dock to pick up a load of food. Sanchez did not see the truck backing up and was crushed against the dock. Sanchez died from massive head trauma. The California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) is investigating this incident.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Eric Sanchez. It is indeed a horrible tragedy. Here was a man trying to do his job and earn a living and a moment of inattention on someone’s part cost him his life. It’s heartbreaking!

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Jose Ayala, 47, of Simi Valley died in an on-the-job accident on October 16, 2008 after he fell into an industrial die-casting machine. Ayala worked at Vista Lighting Co., a Simi Valley firm that manufactures outdoor lights. Our source for this blog is this news report in the Ventura County Star.

Ayala suffered severe head injuries and was in full cardiac arrest when he was removed from the machine. Firefighters attempted to revive him but were unsuccessful. Ayala was pronounced dead at the scene. The fatal Simi Valley on-the-job accident is being investigated by the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (CAL-OSHA).

My heart goes out to the members of Jose Ayala’s family, who have suffered a tragic loss. In many of these cases, the deceased person is also often the family’s breadwinner.

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James Allen Deshon II, 30, of Hesperia, died on Sept. 23 after he was crushed by a truck’s hopper in Apple Valley. According to this news report, Deshon was attempting to repair a street sweeper at Wood Brothers Trucking on Pala Lane when the accident happened. He had climbed into the sweeper to carry out the repairs when the raised tilt hopper fell on top of him, crushing and suffocating him to death.

Investigators from the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal-OSHA) will hopefully try and determine what caused this fatal on-the-job accident. The family of James Allen Deshon II will no doubt receive workers’ compensation benefits through his employer. However, workers’ compensation benefits in California are woefully inadequate to meaningfully compensate a family for the loss of their loved one.

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Jason, James Mohelski, 32, of Victorville died in an industrial accident in Riverside on Aug. 19 after he was crushed between a tire and the cab of a fire truck he was inspecting, the Riverside Press Enterprise reports. Mohelski was reportedly working on the truck at Johnson Power Systems in Riverside when he got crushed and suffered the fatal injuries.

Cal-OSHA, the state’s occupational safety and health agency, is investigating this on-the-job fatality. My heart goes out to Mohelski’s family. I offer my condolences to them.

According to the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), every employer in California is required under the state’s Labor Code to provide a safe and healthful workplace for all employees. Title 8 (T8), of the California Code of Regulations (CCR), requires every California employer to have an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program in writing that must be in accord with T8 CCR Section 3203 of the General Industry Safety Orders.

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Arturo Gonzalez, 34, died in an Anaheim construction accident after a forklift tipped over and crushed him. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, Gonzalez, working for subcontractor Padilla Construction, was plastering stucco on a new condo complex at the time of the accident.

Another worker who saw a 75-foot tall machine called the “boom” fall on Gonzalez, said he was completely crushed on impact. Officials are interviewing site workers and supervisors to determine what went wrong with the equipment and what caused the accident, according to Maria Sabol, spokeswoman for the Anaheim Fire Department.

I offer my condolences to the Gonzalez family and Arturos friends. The man is at work, earning a living and someone else’s negligence costs him his life. Heartbreaking!

Officials are still investigating what caused the Anaheim fatal construction accident. However, from the news accounts it appears to me that the scoop may have been over loaded and the forklift inadequately secured to the ground.

Clearly, the Gonzalez family is entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits through the employer, Padilla Construction. Workers’ compensation benefits in California are embarrassingly inadequate to compensate a family for the loss of income from a primary breadwinner, much less the loss of spouse and parent. I believe there is a “third party” claim here.

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Mike Willis, a 51-year-old man and a resident of Orange died of severe head injuries in an on-the-job accident at the Budget Inn in Whittier, The Orange County Register reports.

The accident happened at the Budget Inn at 14030 Whittier Blvd as Willis was changing bulbs on a motel sign and the hydraulic ladder he was using collapsed. Apparently, when the ladder was retracting, a cable snapped and the part of the ladder Willis was standing on began to crash down. Officer Jason Zuhlke of the Whittier Police Department said Willis plummeted 40 feet and landed head-first on to a concrete surface, suffering fatal head injuries. Willis, who was on the job for his employer, A & M Signs and Lighting, was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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Randy Ribota, a 49-year-old worker died in an Anaheim workplace accident after he was crushed under a metal bin full of rocks at a CTI Telecom work site. According to an article in The Orange County Register.

Just before the fatal workplace accident Ribota was using a backhoe to load dirt and rubble into a machine that separates big pieces of rock from gravel. He had left the backhoe and was standing near the machine when its load of rock shifted and the bin tipped onto him and crushed him. Ribota died on the scene before the medics could get to him.

Officials from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Heath (CAL-OSHA) are investigating the industrial accident. Specifically, they are looking into what kind of safety training workers receive at CTI Telecom, a communications company which also does excavations for underground utility lines. The company, according to the news report, paid a $1,500 fine in 2004 for failing to have an injury and illness prevention program for its employees, not having a first-aid kit on their work site and not having an excavation permit.

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A 37-year-old Hesperia man died on the job after a trench collapsed around him while he worked on an underground power line in Banning, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported. Martin Samaniego’s crew from Riverside contractor Pouk & Steinle Inc. was reportedly working on an electrical line on a Banning street when the trench collapsed. Samaniego was trapped seven feet under. He suffocated and died on the scene, the newspaper reported.

A spokesman for the company told the newspaper that they have not yet determined what caused the trench to give way. According to the article, Samaniego was the sole breadwinner of his family, supporting his wife, Maria, and 2-year-old daughter. Family members, who were in apparent shock over the tragic accident, are still gathering money for Samaniego’s funeral, the article said. The industrial accident is being investigated by the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (CAL-OSHA), the Banning Police Department and Pouk & Steinle, Samaniego’s employer.

Trench cave-ins are unfortunately common industrial accidents that cause death and injury. Over a five-year period, from 2001 to 2005, 26 Californians have been killed in trench collapse injuries and 207 injured in such incidents, according to CAL-OSHA’s Web site. In almost every instance of trench collapse, the cause was a failure to shore up the trench properly, the agency says.

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