Last week, a maintenance electrician at a chemical plant in Hartwell, Ohio was found unconscious by his co-workers who called for emergency personnel. While waiting for the ambulance and fire crews, a company-led emergency response team treated the electrocution victim. The 49-year-old electrician was transferred to a nearby hospital, where he later died of the injuries he suffered in the fatal accident.

Cincinnati paramedics had been notified by workers at Emery Oleochemicals to respond to the plant's manufacturing area, where they found company workers performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the accident victims. Emery Oleochemicals' officials report they placed an immediate call to the local office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for help in an investigation into the accident's cause.

The chemical company issued a statement claiming that it adheres to strict job safety standards, which include employee seminars and training on accident prevention and what to do in emergency situations. As the plant's management conducts an internal investigation, OSHA will be among the agencies and authorities inspecting the plant for possible workplace safety violations.

Should negligence be determined to be the cause of the fatal accident, it is possible that Emery Oleochemicals could be held liable for the wrongful death of the maintenance worker.

OSHA's job within the next several months is to determine what happened, how it happened and whether something that the company did or did not do contributed to the accident leading to the electrician's death. OSHA is also empowered by federal law to impose fines or other penalties on any employer who fails to provide a safe workplace.

Source: Cincinnati Enquirer, "Worker electrocuted at Hartwell plant," Jennifer Baker, 4/27/2011