Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

Today at 1:14 PM

The 33rd Michigan worker death of 2014 occurred on November 17, 2014. Employers and employees are urged to use
extreme care and safety diligence in all work activities.
Summary of incident: On November 17, 2014, at approximately 6:50 p.m., a 52 year old sugar beet truck driver was
found lying in the field. It appears he was struck-by or caught-between equipment during loading operations.
There were 27 MIOSHA-related deaths in 2013 & 27 MIOSHA-related deaths in 2012. 2009 saw the lowest number with
24.
If you need help or assistance in ensuring your workplace is safe, MIOSHA is here with resources to help. The
Consultation Education & Training (CET) Division provides workplace safety and health training and consultations to
employers and employees throughout Michigan free of charge. Contact CET today at (800) 866-4674 or submit a request
online at www.michigan.gov/cetrca.
Every life is precious. Our mutual goal must be that every employee goes home at the end of their shift every day!

Fatality
Number

Date

Occupation Age

Type of
Injury

1.

01/24/14

Operation
Employee

30 Suffocation

2.

01/24/14

Repair
Technician

51 Fall

3.

01/29/14 Truck Driver

23 Crushed

4.

02/12/14 Roofer

26 Fall

Description
An employee was working at a grain storage
terminal loading a railroad car from atop when he
fell through the hatch and into soybeans being
loaded. The employee died of possible suffocation
in the soybeans.
An employee was using a ladder to access the top of
a building for purposes of repairing a condensing
unit when he apparently fell from the ladder.
An employee entered company yard at 1:36 am to
pick up a trailer. He was found at 4:45 am pinned
between two trailers. It appeared that the employee
was rolling up the dollies on the trailer and the truck
rolled back crushing the employee between the
trailer he was picking up and a trailer setting next to
the one he was picking up.
A company was re-roofing a home and the
employee fell approximately 30 feet to the ground.
He was taken to the hospital and later passed away
from his injuries.

Location
(City)

White Pigeon

Grand
Rapids

Detroit

Farmington
Hills

Blunt
71 Traumatic
Head Injury

5.

02/11/14

Direct Care
Worker

6.

03/04/14

Rider & Floor

43 Crushed
Tech

7.

Material
03/05/14
Handler

Caught
23 Between /
Struck By

8.

03/06/14 Farm Hand

42 Mauled

9.

03/17/14

Tire Repair
Technician

37 Crushed

10.

04/04/14

Crane
Operator

36 Struck By

11.

04/16/14 Laborer

58 Fall

A 71 year old direct care worker in a group home

was slapped in the face by a resident and she fell
back onto a bed. On February 9, 2014 she was
found unconscious and was taken to the
Macomb
hospital. On February 11, 2014 she passed away,
the death certificate lists the cause of death as blunt
traumatic head injury.
A rider and floor tech was in the back of a box truck
providing guidance to the driver who was backing
up to a semi-trailer they were going to transfer
materials to. When the driver stopped and walked Flint
to the back of the box truck he observed the
deceased pinned between the box truck and the
semi-trailer.
The material handler went to the rear of the machine
to adjust a cardboard catch tray as instructed by
operator/supervisor who was located at the front of
the plastic injection mold machine. The material
handler opened the rear door which had the
Shelby
interlock defeated with a shop towel. The material
Township
handler leaned in to access the catch tray. The
operator/supervisor at the front of the machine
closed the operator door which cycled the
machine. The material handler was caught between
and crushed by the closing of the mold.
The farm hand was moving approximately 60 cows
from a pen where they eat and drink during the day
to a barn for milking. A bull that was allowed to
Hastings
routinely mix with the cows, attacked and mauled
the farm hand, resulting in their death.
The tire repair technician responded to an afterhours repair of a semi-truck tire and was crushed
Grand
when the technician released a bottle jack that was Rapids
holding up the cab.
A crane was lifting a section of duct. The crane
began to tip forward and its counterweights
Ecorse
dislodged and struck the 36 year old operator.
The laborer was disassembling and removing
equipment from a grain elevator when he fell 60
feet from a catwalk.
Ruth

12.

05/10/14

Sanitation
Worker

13.

05/04/14

General
Laborer

14.

06/02/14

Warehouse
Employee

15.

06/13/14 Owner

16.

06/16/14

Overhead
Lineman

17.

06/23/14

Barn
Maintenance

18.

06/27/14

Die
Setter/Tech

19.

07/01/14 Owner

The sanitation worker was cleaning pieces of

conveying equipment where the conveyor belt had
been removed. The sanitation worker's gloved right
Caught
49
hand was caught in a plastic drive gear causing him Zeeland
Between
to become entangled in the equipment. The
sanitation worker was found approximately 45
minutes later entangled in the equipment.
A 29 year old employee was working on a metal
shaft that was in a lathe, the employee's shirt
became entangled when he walked around the end
Caught
of the lathe close to the shaft being worked on. EMS
29
Clare
Between
was called and the employee was transferred to the
hospital where he died on May 4, 2014 from the
injuries sustained on April 21, 2014. MIOSHA was
informed of this fatality on May 28, 2014.
A 31 year old warehouse employee was loading
steel pipes on to a trailer using an overhead crane.
31 Struck By
Saginaw
During the loading process, the load may have
shifted striking the worker.
A 46 year old employee was killed when a section
of a tree he was cutting fell and struck him in the
46 Struck By
head. The tree being cut had a rotted center and split Whitehall
into several pieces upon hitting other trees during its
fall.
A 54 year old overhead lineman received an electric
shock while replacing a pole top transformer. The
54 Electrocution
Carleton
employee passed away on June 16th due to injuries
sustained from the electric shock on June 14th.
A 44 year old barn maintenance employee was
working on a tine rake tire, trying to seat the tire by
44 Struck By
Deford
using a hammer. The tire exploded causing the rim
and tire to be propelled into the employees chest.
A 34 year old die setter was crushed when an
operator of a horizontal plastic injection mold press
Grand
34 Crushed
started the machine without knowing that the die
Rapids
setter was inside the machine. The machine was set
to automatically cycle when started.
A 73 year old employee/owner of an electrical
contracting company was on a 6 foot ladder
performing electrical work at a nursing home when
73 Electrocution he contacted electrical power lines causing him to Redford
fall and suffer rib and chest trauma in addition to
electrical injuries. The employee/owner passed
away from his injuries at 4:43 a.m. on July 1, 2014.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

A 46 year old employee, the operator of the bull

dozer, was standing on top of the front blade with
another employee standing on the fender. The two
07/21/14 Farm Worker 46 Crushed
were attempting to hang tarps on the side of a barn Alma
when the dozer moved ahead causing the deceased
to lose his balance and fall to the ground where he
was run over.
A 60 year old shot blast operator was operating a
shot blast machine with fabricated metal guards
placed around the front of the machine. The guards
were there because they were running a part in the
Shot Blast
shot blaster that was so large the doors could not be
08/25/14
60 Crushed
Jackson
Operator
closed. These guards weighed approximately 632
pounds each and there were a total of two guards.
The operator had climbed underneath the guards
and bumped them causing the guards to fall onto the
employee crushing him.
A 55 year old employee/owner was in the process of
cleaning a frozen custard machine (the back panel St. Clair
07/19/14 Owner
55 Electrocution
of the machine had been removed) when he was
Shores
electrocuted.
A 51 year old truck driver hit a power line with a
Clinton
09/03/14 Truck Driver 51 Electrocution trailer when his boom went up. It burnt up the trailer
Township
and caused the fatality.
A 24 year old ramper was loading and unloading
baggage from an aircraft when he was struck by a
09/05/14 Ramper
24 Struck By
Detroit
belt loader vehicle that pinned him against the
aircraft.
Assistant
A 42 year old assistant district foreman was
09/08/14 District
42 Crushed
working on a road construction project when he was Caledonia
Foreman
run over by a piece of construction equipment.
A 48 year old bartender went into the basement
after closing the bar where she was allegedly
Carbon
overcome by leaking carbon dioxide. She was found Northville
10/20/14 Bartender
48 Dioxide
unresponsive at 7:00 a.m. EMS was called and she Township
Exposure
was taken to the hospital where she died on October
20th.
A 61 year old employee/owner was in a lift device
between two trees and made contact with a branch
10/07/14 Owner
61 Fall
and got stuck. The branch let loose and shook the
Port Austin
boom throwing him from the bucket approximately
45-50 feet to the ground.
A 33 year old farmer was crushed by a combine
10/23/14 Farmer
33 Crushed
Owosso
while trying to dislodge a stone.

A 47 year old foreman was flagging traffic for a

tree-trimming operation when a vehicle entered the
29.
10/24/14 Foreman
47 Struck By
Wyoming
work zone and struck the foreman. He died of his
injuries on October 24th.
A 59 year old employee/owner was performing
Grosse
30.
10/29/14 Owner
59 Crushed
work in an excavation, approximately 18-feet deep, Pointe
and was crushed when the sides caved in.
Woods
A 54 year old truck driver was standing on the
passenger side of a semi-tractor between the cab
and the rear double set of tires at the back of the
31.
11/01/14 Truck Driver 54 Crushed
Coopersville
tractor. When the other truck driver pulled the
tractor forward, he did not see the deceased and
accidently ran over him.
A prototype fuel tank was being pressure tested. It
failed the pressure test and exploded. A 34 year old
32.
11/04/14 Assembler
34 Struck By
assembler was killed and two other company
Lapeer
employees were injured and hospitalized. A
customer was also injured and hospitalized.
A 52 year old sugar beet truck driver was found
Caught
lying in the field. It appears he was struck-by or
33.
11/17/14 Truck Driver 52 Between /
Deckerville
caught-between equipment during loading
Struck By
operations.
Use the information in this table to build hazard awareness and prevent risk for similar occurrences in your
workplace. This table sharespreliminary details about many of the fatalities reported to the Michigan Occupational
Safety and Health Administration.

"Work Safe... Be Safe!"