Maintenance Worker Killed In Accident At Indiana Steel Mill

November 9, 2011

A maintenance worker at the Nucor Steel mill in Crawfordsville, Indiana, died in an accident at the site several weeks ago. WISH-TV 8 News reported that the 47-year-old man was killed on October 25^th, around 11:00 in the morning, when he was struck by a piece of machinery.

Witnesses told investigators that the worker was part of a contractor’s crew from Mississippi at the site to do maintenance work during a scheduled outage. While working, another employee driving a forklift did not see the worker and struck him. Other employees immediately called 911, and the man was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital’s emergency room. He died a short time later.

An autopsy by the Montgomery County Coroner revealed that the worker died of mechanical asphyxiation and his death was ruled accidental.

A spokesperson for the Department of Labor said the Indiana Office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified of the incident and is conducting an extensive investigation. The results of that investigation could take weeks or even months to be released.

The accident comes just months after a similar death at another Nucor Steel facility in Memphis, Tennessee, in May of this year, when a worker was pinned between a forklift and a pallet of steel.

The Indiana Wrongful Death Attorneys with Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin understand the dangers that workers in steel mills face on the job everyday, but they also know that employers have a responsibility to keep workers safe at all times. Contact us by filling out a free online consultation form if you have been hurt while on the job.