Tulsa Workers' Compensation Law Blog

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the pressure and demands on workers in turkey processing plants in Oklahoma and other states might ease slightly. However, the worldwide market for these birds is snowballing, and economic researchers estimate global production in 2019 to be about 30 million pounds. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says poultry processing shows a rate of workplace injuries and illnesses that is 60 percent higher than in other industries.

Safety authorities say the pressure placed on workers to speed up processing and increase production while conditions are rough and hazardous give rise to the majority of injuries in turkey processing plants. They say amputations are the most significant risks during manual slaughtering and cutting up of birds that weigh around 16 pounds each in cold and wet environments. If employers fail to provide adequate safety training and workspaces that comply with safety regulations, poultry plant workers will continue to lose limbs in amputation accidents.

Oklahoma workers in all industries face work-related hazards, some of which involve confined spaces. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration prescribes strict regulations that could prevent workplace injuries to workers who have to work in these dangerous areas. A confined space is an area with limited exit and entry means -- often a single way in or out, and workers must spend limited periods inside. When specific hazards exist, it becomes a permit-required area that is clearly signposted with warnings and entry requirements.

Safety and health threats that define a confined space as a permit-required area include atmospheres that are oxygen deficient, flammable or toxic. Furthermore, permits are required for spaces in which physical or mechanical hazards exist, or where loose flowing materials such as grain could cause engulfment or suffocation. Special care is necessary for areas where oxygen might be sufficient until a worker does welding or other tasks that use oxygen.

Heavy equipment, such as bulldozers, dump trucks, front loaders, excavators and cranes, are present on almost all construction sites in Oklahoma. Safety authorities say a significant number of workplace injuries and fatalities involve mobile equipment. They say that construction workers who work on and around these big machines every day often become complacent, and that is when they are most vulnerable.

While heavy equipment poses an endless list of hazards, the two most common ones are struck-by and caught-in or caught-between accidents. An example of a struck-by accident is a swinging excavator bucket that strikes a worker on the ground or a dump truck that knocks down a pedestrian worker. A caught-in or between accident could be one in which a piece of heavy equipment pushes a worker and crushes him or her against another stationary, solid object.

Construction workers in Oklahoma and elsewhere earn their livings in some of the most hazardous work environments in the country. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, falls remain the cause of a significant portion of workplace injuries in this industry. They report that most of the fall victims wore inadequate or no fall protection

OSHA says all fatal falls were determined to have been preventable, and employers are advised to reduce fall accidents by establishing safety protocols and training workers in proper safety techniques. Safety starts at the beginning stages of any project when safety plans for the particular project must be incorporated. The necessary safety equipment such as personal protective equipment, scaffolds, ladders, guard rails and more must be specified in the plans.