Police say Indiana RV plant worker fatally hit by forklift
The Associated Press
MIDDLEBURY, Indiana
Authorities are confirming that a forklift struck and killed a worker at a northern Indiana recreational vehicle factory.
The Middlebury Police Department said Tuesday it had completed an investigation into the death of 54-year-old Ricky Schlaback of Howe.
Town Marshal Kevin Miller says the results will be forwarded to the Elkhart County Prosecutor's Office for review and would not provide details on what led to Schlaback's death Thursday at the Winnebago Towables plant.
The county coroner's office ruled Schlaback died from blunt force injuries.
The company said in a statement it was deeply saddened by the death at the plant about 30 miles east of South Bend and was cooperating with police and state safety investigators.
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MIDDLEBURY, Indiana — The Elkhart County Coroner says a man who died at a Middlebury manufacturing facility on Thursday died from blunt force injuries.
Coroner James Eilliott on Tuesday said an autopsy performed Monday on Ricky Schlaback, 54, at the Homer Stryker School of Medicine in Kalamazoo determined the cause of death as blunt force injuries.
Police said Schlaback was struck by a forklift at Winnebago of Indiana, 201 14th St., Middlebury, on Thursday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The case will be forwarded to the Elkhart County Prosecutor's Office for review.
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MIDDLEBURY, Ind. -
Middlebury police say a worker who died at the Winnebago plant last week, died after being hit by a tow motor.
Police made the announcement about the case of Ricky Schlabach, 54, Tuesday morning.
The Elkhart county coroner said Schlabach died of blunt force injuries.
It happened last Thursday at the Winnebago Towables plant on 14th Avenue.
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Winnebago Employee Dies In Workplace Mishap
April 8, 2017 by RVBusiness
Winnebago Towables employee Rick Schlabach was killed at about 6:30 a.m., Thursday (April 6) in a workplace incident involving a forklift at the Winnebago Industries Inc. division’s facility in Middlebury, Ind., according to a Friday (April 7) report by WNDU, a South Bend, Ind.-based television affiliate.
Winnebago spokesmen, who were unavailable for comment, released the following statement to WNDU: “We are deeply saddened to confirm an incident took place the morning of April 6 on the campus of our Winnebago Towables facility in Middlebury, Indiana. The incident resulted in the death of a Winnebago employee. We express heartfelt condolences to the family and everyone impacted by this unfortunate incident. Our primary focus is to support our team members during this difficult time and we are engaging grief counseling resources for our employees. We are also working with appropriate authorities related to this matter.”
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MIDDLEBURY, Ind. (WNDU) - Family of the man who was killed at Winnebago Towables in Middlebury spoke out Friday night about what happened.
Doug Smith, the son-in-law of the victim Rick Schlabach, said a coworker ran him over with a forklift. Smith said the incident happened around 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning, but he wasn't notified about it until closer to 11 a.m. that day.
"I thought it was some weird joke or something at first because you don't expect that," Smith said. "There was only one witness, or two witnesses, one of them's Rick, unfortunately."
Friday Winnebago released this statement to WNDU:
"We are deeply saddened to confirm an incident took place the morning of April 6 on the campus of our Winnebago Towables facility in Middlebury, Indiana. The incident resulted in the death of a Winnebago employee. We express heartfelt condolences to everyone impacted by this unfortunate incident.
Our primary focus is to support our team members during this difficult time and we are engaging grief counseling resources for our employees. We are also working with appropriate authorities related to this matter."
"Everyone's a mess," Smith said. "That stuff just doesn't happen. He was my dad and my father-in-law at the same time."
For now the family is left with the memories and confusion on how this could have happened.
"Rick was a family man in all aspects, he loved all of his grand kids, he loved his daughters to death," Smith said. "We're good people we work for our money we don't need any handouts, we just want to figure out what happened to Rick."
The family is disappointed they are not getting more information on what happened and hope to find out more soon. Smith says Rick didn't work there very long before the tragedy occurred.
Middlebury Police continue to investigate the incident. We expect to hear more on Monday.
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UPDATE
MIDDLEBURY, INDIANA
— The Elkhart County Coroner says a man who died at a Middlebury manufacturing facility on Thursday died from blunt force injuries.
Coroner James Elliott on Tuesday said an autopsy performed Monday on Ricky Schlaback, 54, at the Homer Stryker School of Medicine in Kalamazoo determined the cause of death as blunt force injuries.
Police said Schlaback was struck by a forklift at Winnebago of Indiana, 201 14th St., Middlebury, on Thursday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The case will be forwarded to the Elkhart County Prosecutor's Office for review.
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April 10, 2017 10:19 PM
A Fraser Shipyards worker has died two months after suffering injuries on the job, an incident that has led to new citations from federal regulators.
Fifty-three-year-old Joseph Burch was injured at the shipyard in February while working on the Roger Blough. Family members tell Eyewitness News Burch never recovered and lost his life due to the severe burns he sustained that day.
Fraser Shipyards is potentially facing $12,548 in fines after an investigation into the incident by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Fraser Shipyards is facing potential new fines after an incident that led to a worker's death.
The agency has issued two citations for what it called serious violations: allegedly allowing holes and frayed fabric in protective clothing worn while performing hot work, and allegedly allowing employees to work without wearing fire retardant jackets and coveralls while using a hand-held torch.
OSHA says the employees were not adequately protected from molten metal, sparks, fire or flame. The agency says at least one of the violations was corrected during their inspection.
A U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson said the case is not yet closed. As allowed by OSHA rules, Fraser Shipyards has requested an informal conference to review the matter.
A Fraser spokesperson said the company is still reviewing the details with OSHA. Fraser does have the right to contest the citations and/or the fines, but there's no word yet if they will do that.
James Farkas, President and Chief Operating Officer of Fraser Industries, issued a statement saying the company is saddened to learn of Burch's death.
"We wish to extend our condolences and deepest sympathies to his family and friends. Mr. Burch worked for more than 22 years with the Fraser team. All of us at Fraser are thinking about him and those who loved him at this time of loss," Farkas sad.
Burch was a member of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 117 and a longtime boilermaker team member at Fraser.
In a separate case, Fraser agreed earlier this year to pay $700,000 to settle an OSHA investigation into lead exposure at the shipyard.
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Fraser Shipyards Reaches Settlement with OSHA
January 05, 2017 08:14 PM
Fraser Shipyards in Superior says it's reached an agreement with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to improve worker safety and reduce a proposed fine.
Last summer, OSHA proposed a fine of nearly $1.4 million because Fraser employees had been exposed to lead from paint and other sources while refurbishing the Great Lakes freighter Herbert C. Jackson.
Fraser said in a statement Thursday that it does not admit to fault or liability in the case, but will implement a new safety plan at the 126-year-old company and pay a $700,000 fine.
Fraser Shipyards has reached an agreement to reduce a federal fine by implementing a new safety plan.
WDIO-TV file
The plan includes putting in place a new health and safety management program as well as additional worker protections, submit regular OSHA inspections and meeting regularly with OSHA to review improvements and issues over the next 3 years.
In a news release, James Farkas, President of Fraser Industries said "We appreciate the opportunity to work with OSHA and respect their oversight as well as our joint commitment to the health and safety of all workers at Fraser"
He added, "This agreement, reached with input from unions representing workers at Fraser, ensures that we can move forward with a strong commitment to employee protection"
OSHA Area Director, Mark Kysell was not available for an interview Thursday because they had not yet received the order from the judge but did say he looked forward to working with Fraser over the next 3 years.
This winter, Fraser will be doing work on all nine of the boats in the port. Two of the nine will be docked directly at Fraser during their lay-ups.
Fraser officials declined to our requests for interviews since the story broke and declined again Thursday.
Fraser Shipyards is the last major, independent shipyard on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes.
Rachel Anna Rosoff, 17, was electrocuted and drowned in the Heritage Point subdivision pool in North Raleigh, NC
Initial report in drowning points to pump failure at Raleigh pool
Family of Rachel Rosoff, 17, who died September 3 in a pool that became electrified, files civil lawsuit against Raleigh-based Williams Electric Motor Repair and Future Connections Electrical Inc.
By Joel Brown
Updated 54 mins ago
RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Instead of celebrating what would've been Rachel Rosoff's 18th birthday, her family was filing a lawsuit inside Wake County Superior Court blaming Rachel's electrocution and drowning on the alleged shoddy repair work of two Raleigh companies.
It was September 3 when the 17-year-old Enloe High senior was found lifeless inside Heritage Point community pool in northern Wake County where she was filling in to be lifeguard that day.
Her family's attorney, David Kirby, says the electrical shock she suffered in the water wasn't enough to kill her but enough to cause her muscles to contract, leaving the strong swimmer unable to move and with no way to fight.
"This was a horrible death," Kirby said. "She was paralyzed by the electricity, but she consciously drowned."
The Rosoffs filed suit against Raleigh-based Williams Electric Motor Repair and Future Connections Electrical Inc. Kirby says in 2011 repair work at the Heritage Point pool, Williams Electric failed to fully replace faulty wiring and neglected to encase the wires in protective conduit underground.
The suit also accuses Future Connections of installing the wrong size capacitor in the pool pump's motor causing it to fail the day Rachel was electrocuted. Future is also accused of failing to report safety hazards that should have been reported.
"They knew or discovered conditions which were dangerous at this pool and they didn't correct them," Kirby said. "And because of that, Rachel Rosoff died."
In an interview last fall with Rachel's mother, Michelle Rosoff was devastated. The family's lawsuit could end in damages to in the multi-millions of dollars.
"We were super close and (Rachel) always said she wanted to be strong like me. And she was so much stronger than I was at 17," Michelle Rosoff said.
Beyond the lawsuit, the Rosoffs are now actively lobbying the state legislature for a new law mandating annual electrical inspections of North Carolina pools.
"Their whole goal is this won't happen to anyone else," Kirby said.
Last week, the NC Department of Labor issued its report on the incident at Heritage Point.
The report includes a recommendation to the pool management company, Aquatic Management Group, to require electrical inspections at its properties.
But, that is simply a recommendation, not a law.
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Initial report in drowning points to pump failure at Raleigh pool
A pool motor failure and a broken conductor led to the death of a teen lifeguard in Raleigh, a report states.
By Andrea Blanford and Angelica Alvarez
Monday, September 12, 2016
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- An initial report from the Wake County Inspections Administrator says a pool motor failure and a broken conductor led to the death of a teen lifeguard in Raleigh.
Rachel Rosoff, a senior at Enloe High School, was on duty and alone when a fellow employee showed up for work and found her floating face down in the water on Sept. 3.
The report outlines everything investigators uncovered at Heritage Point Pool.
Read the full report here (.pdf)
The pool was installed and permitted in 1979. Since then, no other construction permits have been filed.
The inspector cited a number of actions that, while unpermitted or not up to code, did not lead to the water being electrified.
Among them, he found an unknown contractor repaired the electrical feeder to the pump in 2011 without the required permit.
Also, a motor bonding wire had been cut and loosely wrapped around the equipment bonding wires, which does not comply with National Electrical Code.
In his conclusion, the inspector found the pool pump motor failed and when it faulted to ground, the grounded conductor was broken, causing the current to travel into the water and pool equipment.
"Since this conductor was open (broken) it could not conduct the necessary current to cause the overcurrent device (breaker) to open (trip)," Gregory Vance, Inspections Administrator, wrote. "The fault current then followed the only path available to it, the pool water, creating a voltage gradient across the pool and pool equipment."
The investigation was conducted at the request of the Wake County Sheriff's Office.
The NC Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Division is also carrying an investigation to find whether safety or health standards were violated at Heritage Point Pool.
Hoverboards are keeping ERs in N.J. busy; fractures may be bigger worry than fires
CHRIS PEDOTA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A Paterson teen riding his hoverboard near Grand and New streets in the city this week.
It turns out that falls — not fires — may have been the biggest reason to fear the hoverboard this holiday season.
Over the last week, social media feeds have been filled with hoverboard photos and videos of crashes into Christmas trees, people, furniture and the ground, prompting one laughing emoji after another in response. The injuries related to the two-wheeled balance boards aren’t funny at all, however. Many have required trips to the emergency room.
MARKO GEORGIEV/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Hoverboards for sale at Marcia's Attic for Kids in Englewood.
On Christmas Day alone, The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood saw 14 patients in the ER with hoverboard-related injuries. Since then, there have been “a handful” more, according to a representative.
Safety tips
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued some warnings for hoverboard owners:
- Wear the same safety gear you would use when riding a skateboard — a helmet, knee and elbow pads, and wrist guards.
- Do not ride near vehicular traffic.
- Do not charge a hoverboard overnight or when you are not able to observe the board.
- Charge and store in an open dry area away from items that can catch fire.
- Do not charge directly after riding. Let the device cool for an hour before charging.
- Look for the mark of a certified national testing laboratory. While this does not rule out counterfeits, the absence of such a mark means your safety is likely not a priority for that manufacturer.
The commission urges consumers to report incidents to them at saferproducts.gov.
“There have been numerous wrist injuries occurring from falls,” emergency room doctor Bruce Felsenstein wrote in an email. “In fact our on-call orthopedist at Valley Hospital was kept quite busy attending to wrist injuries from accidents incurred from hoverboards received as Christmas presents, some of which had to be surgically repaired.”
Felsenstein saw his first hoverboard injury a couple of months ago when a child riding in his house ran into the carpet and was thrown forward, hitting his head on a wall. He said since then, there have been injuries to children and adults from falling and striking objects. Anyone riding a hoverboard should wear a helmet, wrist guards, and elbow and knee pads, according to Felsenstein.
Nationally, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC, had dozens of ER visits reported because of hoverboard accidents. The injuries included concussions, fractures, bruises and scrapes.
Children aren’t the only ones trying the hot holiday gift that costs anywhere from $200 to more than $1,500 depending on the manufacturer. Adults are deciding to take the hot gift for a spin, often to disastrous — and when escaping injury, hilarious — results (Google “Mike Tyson” and “hoverboard”).
The hands-free Segways, as they are sometimes called, require riders to lean slightly forward to go forward, backward to go backward and put a little pressure on the foot in the direction the rider wants to turn.
Earlier in December, the CPSC began investigating the items because of fires apparently caused by the device’s lithium-ion batteries, especially when charging. With fear of the battery igniting, most major airlines banned them from planes and some retailers, including Amazon, stopped selling them.
This week, the Bergenfield Fire Department responded to a report of a smoking hoverboard. They were able to dismantle it before a fire started and found at least one broken wire. After the incident, the town’s fire chief cautioned residents to make sure their hoverboards are turned off and to keep an eye on them. In Lacey Township, a Smart Balance hoverboard burst into flames and caught fire inside a home. There were no injuries in either incident.
The airline rule has prompted multiple complaints, including some angry tweets from actor Russell Crowe, who apparently missed the memo — and many major news stories — on the ban and tried to take his kids’ new boards onto a Virgin Australia flight.
