Explosion At Wisconsin Power Plant Injures 6
Six workers were sent to a hospital after a Milwaukee-area power plant erupted in a fiery explosion. According to an article from Wisn.com, the blast occurred on February 3 in a dust collector of the We Energies plant in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
The injured were contractor workers for ThyssenKrupp Safway Inc., a subcontractor of U.S. Fire Protection, who were setting up scaffolding in the dust collector, which is a silo where residual coal dust is collected for eventual burning.
One 22-year-old man was in critical condition with burns on half his body in this on-the-job injury. Five other men had minor smoke inhalation and burns. Three were in fair condition and two were treated and released from an area hospital. According to the article, one of the three men has burns on about half his body and will need skin grafts on his hands.
The blast sparked a fire in the silo that took about an hour to get under control.
The plant, located along Lake Michigan, burns 5,000 to 10,000 tons of coal per day.
There are about 230 employees at the plant, as well as several thousand construction employees who are working on an expansion project.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will investigate the construction accident explosion.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said the government has ignored repeated calls from safety officials for tougher standards to prevent dust explosions.
Any worker who has sustained an injury arising out of and in the course of their employment has a potential workers' compensation claim. The injury can occur while traveling on business, doing a work-related errand, attending a required business-related social function, or even while on a break or using restroom facilities and you are still legally covered by workers compensation. Some types of workers' compensation injures include construction injuries, repetitive stress to a body part, and environmental hazards.
By law, it is required that every company in Pennsylvania carry Worker's Compensation Insurance in the case an employee is injured on the job, becomes ill due to circumstances surrounding their job, or even if death results from their job.
The families of these victims would also be well-advised to consult with an experienced Pennsylvania worker’s compensation attorney, who will tell them if there is a “third party claim” here. A third party claim is a claim made against someone other than the employer, but could be held responsible for the accident, injuries and/or wrongful death.
Whether your injury was a simple slip and fall, or involves serious injuries, Cherry, Fieger & Marciano can help you to get the monetary compensation that is owed to you to help pay for medical bills, physical therapy, loss of work, and more.
