Tennessee has seen dramatic increase this year in worker fatalities

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) – The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that the state is on a bad run of worker injuries this year.

22 Tennessee workers have died on the job since January, including two in our area.

A worker died at the M&M Mars Plant in June and a construction worker was killed at the Maclellan Building in January.

TOSAH’s director urges companies to stop the trend now.

“If this trend in workplace deaths continues, Tennessee will see an increase of 36 percent in fatal accidents investigated by TOSHA in comparison to 2014,” Steve Hawkins says. “Employers need to carefully review their injury and illness prevention programs and their work place safety and health procedures with their employees.”

Almost half of the 22 fatalities this year were in construction.

Only 8% were the year before.

In July, we told you the story of another construction worker who fell two stories when the roof he was jackhammering collapsed underneath him.

Junior Strickland was nearly killed.

Find his story here.

And in May, a ones Brothers worker suffered a serious leg injury during a road widening project on East Brainerd.

Hawkins adds “In the month of July alone, 10 Tennessee workers lost their lives in workplace accidents, devastating families, friends, co-workers and businesses. Most all of these could have been prevented,” said Hawkins.

Here is what TOSHA wants companies and workers to do for safer work places.

• Conducting a safety and health “stand down” meeting and encourage discussion on recognizing and correcting hazards in the workplace.
• Pledging to work together with front line employees as a team to make the workplace a safer, healthier and happier place to work.
• Establishing and implementing a safety and health program for the work site with full employee involvement.
• Encouraging accident prevention and the reporting of hazards and injuries in the workplace. Many times minor injuries go unreported and more severe injuries result later on as a result of an uncorrected hazard in the workplace.
• Increasing attention toward the safety of vulnerable workers such as temporary workers or those who are not fluent in English.
• TOSHA offers free On-Site Consultation Services to help small businesses better understand and voluntarily comply with TOSHA standards. Priority is given to high hazard workplaces with 250 or fewer employees. Additional information can be obtained by contacting the TOSHA office closest to you or by contacting the Consultative Services at (800) 325-9901.