On September 30, 2016, a 30-year-old Navy Veteran and father from Valparaiso, Indiana, was killed while working at the Gary Works steel mill. The man was fatally injured while working in the hot strip area of the mill, although the cause and manner of his death are still under investigation. Prior to his death, the Valparaiso man was responsible for repairing and welding overhead cranes used within the mill and worked between 70 and 90 hours each week. Due to the long hours and risks associated with his work, before the workplace incident, the man discussed with his wife seeking new employment due to claiming that work in the steel mill had “started getting dangerous”. Following the incident, Labor officials and union representatives alluded to concerns with layoffs, shuffling employees to new jobs with little training, and other cost-cutting measures which questioned the workplace safety of the steel mill. As such concerns have been ongoing prior to this incident, protests against U.S. Steel have accused the company of making mills less because of layoffs and demotions of numerous maintenance workers responsible for ensuring that machines within each steel mill ran effectively and safely.
Cost-cutting measures taken by industrial and manufacturing companies often place considerable risks onto employees, especially when such measures include job-shifting without proper safety training for new positions. As such, workplace injuries are often more likely to occur in industrial or manufacturing environments and will likely continue until such concerns are properly addressed. If you or a loved one are injured while on the job or due to the negligence of another, please contact the experienced legal professionals at Schiller Law at 888-578-3100 or visit us on the web at IndyInjured.com for a free consultation and case evaluation.
Sources:
http://fox59.com/2016/10/01/navy-veteran-dies-after-steel-mill-accident-in-northern-indiana/