In today’s Advisor, we hear about a real-life case in which training made a difference.
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What happens when a long-time employee, who was repeatedly trained on safety rules, is injured on the job and awarded workers’ compensation benefits? Here is such a case, where the Missouri Labor and Industrial Commission reduced the amount of the award, saying the employee’s injury was caused by his failure to follow a workplace safety rule.
What Happened
“Brendan” worked for National Starch and Chemical Company, now known as ICI American Holding Company, for 30 years before he was injured on the job on October 20, 2007.
Brendan, a mechanic, was injured when he and another employee tried to replace three broken drive belts on a “blending blower” in the company’s Kansas City plant. Three fingers on his right hand were injured when they were pinched between a drive belt and a pulley.
The incident occurred after Brendan and a coworker had cut the electrical power to the blower but failed to eliminate the reverse airflow to the blower. Although a pulley continued to rotate, neither Brendan nor the coworker shut off the air valve to the blower or asked a supervisor for help. Instead, they inserted an aluminum broom handle into the machine to stop the pulley from rotating.
Shortly after Brendan started working on the blower, the broom handle broke, the pulley began to move, and his hand was pulled into the blower.
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From 1995 and 2007, Brendan had received training on the company’s “lockout rules” 10 times. The most recent training took place 1 month before the injury, when he successfully completed a multiple-choice test on those safety rules after that session.
National Starch argued that Brendan caused his own injury because he did not follow the company’s lockout/tagout safety rules that require that “[a]ll energy isolating devices that are needed to control the energy to the machine or equipment shall be physically located and operated in such a manner as to isolate the machine or equipment from the energy source(s),” and that “[a]ll potentially hazardous stored or residual energy shall be relieved, disconnected, restrained, and otherwise rendered safe.”
Brendan filed a workers’ compensation claim. After a March 2009 hearing, an administrative law judge (ALJ) awarded Brendan $72,834.39 for temporary total disability, permanent partial disability, and medical costs. However, the ALJ reduced the award by 37.5 percent in accordance with state law, based on his conclusion that Brendan’s injury resulted from his failure to follow the company’s safety rules.
The award was also subject to a $25,364.66 credit for benefits that National Starch had previously paid. As a result, the ALJ determined that Brendan was owed $19,856.84.
Brendan appealed the decision to the Commission, but the Commission said it did not believe Brendan’s contention that he did not knowingly violate a safety rule. Brendan then appealed to the Missouri Court of Appeals.
If the machine is not properly shut down and secured, it could unexpectedly start up, release stored energy, move, or cycle, causing crushing injuries, amputations, or even fatal injuries. A well-designed Lockout/ Tagout (LOTO) program can prevent these injuries. Download this free paper, 10 Tips to Implementing a Lockout/Tagout Program to learn 10 tips for ensuring that your LOTO program is well-designed and effective! Download now!
In tomorrow’s Advisor, we’ll hear what the court said and wrap up the case.