Smaller family farms, however, are exempt from most federal labor regulation specific to agriculture, and no safety regulations govern children working for their parents. Primary among these is a federal regulation that forbids opening an auger or other opening at the bottom of a grain storage facility while someone is known to be "walking down the grain" within. Agricultural organizations have worked to protect them and improve rescue techniques, as well as spread awareness among farmers of prevention methods. While the death rate from workplace accidents on American farms has declined in the first decades of the 21st century, grain-entrapment deaths have not, reaching an all-time annual high of 31 deaths in 2010. Engulfment has a very high fatality rate. Entrapment occurs when victims are partially submerged but cannot remove themselves engulfment occurs when they are completely buried within the grain. Usually, unstable grain collapses suddenly, wholly or partially burying workers who may be within it. It most frequently occurs in grain bins and other storage facilities such as silos or grain elevators, or in grain transportation vehicles, but has also been known to occur around any large quantity of grain, even freestanding piles outdoors. Grain entrapment, or grain engulfment, occurs when a person becomes submerged in grain and cannot get out without assistance. Occupational Safety and Health Administration illustration of grain entrapment In the United States, 80 workers, 14 of them in their teens, have lost their lives in silo accidents.Being submerged in grain, with possibly fatal consequences U.S. Our Texas wrongful death attorneys note that the heavy equipment involved in these jobs as well as potential dangers from filled silos, stock pools, and storage tanks continue to pose grave risks to Texas workers. That category includes farmers, ranchers, and also fishermen and fisheries workers. Bureau of Labor statistics for 2011 show that the agriculture industry was the most hazardous to Texas workers. Īgriculture Jobs in Texas Present the Highest Risk of Fatal Injuries on the Job Reach us at 28 or by filling out our “Get Help Now” online contact form. So there’s no financial risk in contacting us for the information you need. We take our cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you don’t pay attorney’s fees unless we win your case for you. And you have no obligation to hire an attorney. We always offer you FREE initial legal consultations. (Sources: Ildefonso Ortiz, The Monitor, 2/21/13 5 News 2/22/13)Ĭontact the Established Texas Wrongful Death Attorneys at Denena & Points if Your Loved One has Died in a Tragic Silo Accident Still, police were investigating the silo accident as a homicide until they could rule out foul play. Our Texas wrongful death attorneys point out that Oscar Arellano was pulled out of the mass of ground-up corn byproducts by the cable of his safety harness and was apparently wearing appropriate safety gear at the time of his death. Arellano fell into the chute of the silo. OSHA says it could take up to six months to learn why Mr. Arellano’s tragic accident to determine if any safety precautions were violated. Officials from the Corpus Christi OSHA office are investigating Mr. The Edinburg Fire Chief, Shawn Snider, emphasized that in order for workers to be allowed to work inside the silo as Oscar Arellano was doing, Azteca Milling needed a “confined Spaces permit,” which it apparently did not have. But OSHA officials noted that inspected are not required unless a facility has had three on the job injuries or a fatality. According to accounts of the silo accident, authorities have never inspected Azteca Milling. Our Texas wrongful death attorneys mention that the Azteca Milling company processes corn flour for use in Maseca, which is an “instant” corn flour used to make tortillas. Arellano, who had suffocated in the mass of corn refuse. Authorities had to empty the silo in order to reach Mr. The ground-up corn refuse contained in the silo acted similarly to quicksand, trapping Mr. Reportedly 21-year-old Oscar Arellano was trying to unblock the chute of a grain silo at Azteca Milling at Closner and Chapin Roads in Edinburg, Texas when he fell in around 11:30 on Thursday morning.
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