OSHA has recently fined an Ohio poultry processing facility $861,500 for 55 safety violations. The company allegedly knew about the dangerous conditions, but ignored the problem and continued to expose workers to serious and potentially deadly injuries.
Case Farms Processing Inc. is a repeat OSHA offender and has been described by OSHA’s assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health as “an outrageously dangerous place to work… [with] more than 350 safety and health violations.”
An inspection conducted in February of this year revealed two willful, 30 serious, 20 repeat, and three other-than-serious health and safety violations, including:
- Amputation hazards
- Lack of personal protective equipment
- Absence of eye-wash stations
- Fall hazards due to wet work surfaces, unprotected platforms, and non-functioning fall-arrest systems
- Incorrectly stored oxygen cylinders
- Several violations of electrical safety standards
Despite its commitment to OSHA to eliminate these dangers, Case Farms has continually violated safety standards since 1988 and has received citations from 42 of their 66 inspections. In addition to these new findings, OSHA is also investigating facilities at another location in Canton, Ohio after reports of employee injuries there.
The Winesburg facility has 15 business days from receipt of these new citations to comply, set up a conference with their local OSHA director, or contest the findings. Case Farms has been added to OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program for its failure to eliminate hazards that endanger its employees.
Have you been injured by dangerous conditions in your workplace? The Houston personal injury lawyer from the Law Office of Daniel D. Horowitz, III PC can help you obtain compensation for your medical care, lost income, and more. Even if your employer has workers’ compensation insurance, it may not be enough to cover all of your injury-related expenses. Let us do the hard work while you focus on healing.
For a free case review, contact our firm at (832) 460-5181.