There were ELEVEN work-related fatalities in MAY 2016 identified through surveillance of public media sources, law enforcement bulletins, and news reports. Ages of the workers ranged from 14 to 73 years. Four incidents were transportation events; two were assaults and violent acts cases; two were contact with objects/equipment events.
The Bureau of Occupational Health and Injury Prevention (BOHIP) at the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) provides a list of possible work-related fatalities each month to keep this message of Workers’ Memorial Day alive throughout the year. We hope that it will continue to assist in injury prevention efforts that will result in safer and healthier workplaces for all workers.
Following are some links to FACE injury prevention materials that are relevant to these deaths and may be useful in your work. If you have any comments/questions, please continue to contact me.
Thank you for your interest.
Anne Marie
List of Fatalities of May 2016 Region II Area
Date: 5/2/2016
County of Incident: Suffolk
Nature of Event: Unknown
A volunteer firefighter responded to the fire department for an emergency call of an 11-month-old who was injured in a fall down stairs. After returning from the response, he attended a meeting and then collapsed in his driveway several hours later and died. It is considered a line-of-duty death. He was 73 years old.
Date: 5/3/2016
County of Incident: Nassau
Nature of Event: Transportation event: plane crash TWO DEATHS
A certificated airline transport pilot/ owner of a sewer cleaning truck sales company and his employee were killed when their plane was destroyed during an in-flight break-up and collision with the ground. The plane experienced a failure of the vacuum system and associated instruments. The pilot was 66 years old and his employee was 32 years old.
Date: 5/4/2016
County of Incident: Albany
Nature of Event: Contact with equipment: caught-in machinery
A temporary employee was working for a tree care company removing large trees from the front yard of a residence. It was his first day on the job and he had not been trained on the use of a wood chipper. His clothing became entangled and he was pulled into the tree-grinding machine. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 23 years old.
Date: 5/5/2016
County of Incident: Chenango
Nature of Event: Transportation event: vehicle and pedestrian collision
A farm hand was killed on a livestock farm, where he took care of his own beef cow. The ATV he was riding struck a piece of farm equipment, causing the ATV to go over an embankment. The farm boy was thrown from the ATV and pinned under it, face down. He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead from his injuries. He was 14 years old.
Date: 5/13/2016
County of Incident: Suffolk
Nature of Event: Assault and Violent Act
The commanding officer of a police department was being investigated as part of an extensive federal probe. On the day following the seizure of two years of his files, he was reported distraught about possible criminal charges and his career. He was later found dead inside of his department-issued vehicle of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 44 years old.
Date: 5/11/2016
County of Incident: Albany
Nature of Event: unknown
A doctor was found dead inside a medical center in a room where doctors sleep while they are on long shifts. No further public information is available at this time.
Date: 5/20/2016
County of Incident: Erie
Nature of Event: Assault and Violent Act
A line chef was in the kitchen of the restaurant where he worked. As he walked down the hallway from a storage area, a masked assailant entered the kitchen from the back door and shot the employee at close range in a "targeted" shooting. The victim collapsed as he exited the restaurant's front door. A second employee was struck by ricocheting bullets. Both of the workers were transported to the hospital where the line chef was pronounced dead. He was 32 years old.
Date: 5/25/2016
County of Incident: Onondaga
Nature of Event: Contact with equipment: steel waste container
A worker at a rubbish collection and trash service was working in the vicinity of a lift truck assisting a worker in the truck with the removal of a two-yard steel waste container from the bed of the lift truck. The container was rectangular with four casters and weighed 300-400 pounds. As the worker on the bed of the truck was moving the container towards the lift gate, the container rolled off the lift gate and struck the worker on the ground, crushing him. He was transported to the hospital where he died a short time later from the head injuries he sustained. He was 58 years old.
Date: 5/26/2016
County of Incident: Albany
Nature of Event: Transportation event: multiple vehicle collision
A finance/insurance specialist was driving from a business conference (in a work-related capacity) when he was struck by a car in the eastbound lane of a local road as he neared the interstate on-ramp. He was killed on impact. He was 44 years old.
Date: 5/31/2016
County of Incident: Suffolk
Nature of Event: Fall from height
A worker was on the second floor of a new concrete block residential building under construction. As he was leaning forward to straighten a piece of rear bar, he lost his balance and fell from the second floor head first, landing on the concrete floor below. He was transported to the hospital, but pronounced dead as a result of his injuries. He was 55 years old.
For more information on the fatalities:
FALL FROM HEIGHT
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/wv/97wv055.html
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/mi/07MI172.html
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/ma/02ma030.html
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/in/95in075.html
CONTACT WITH EQUIPMENT (wood chipper)
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/ca/08CA005.html
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/ny/05ny034.html
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/ca/00ca010.html
CONTACT WITH EQUIPMENT (unloading vehicle)
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/pdfs/13mi043.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/mi/09MI075.html
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/mi/05mi123.html