Reportedly 21-year-old Oscar Arellano was trying to unblock the chute of a grain silo at Azteca Milling at Closner and Chapin Roads in Edinburg, Texas when he fell in around 11:30 on Thursday morning. The ground-up corn refuse contained in the silo acted similarly to quicksand, trapping Mr. Arellano and pulling him 15 feet under. Authorities had to empty the silo in order to reach Mr. Arellano, who had suffocated in the mass of corn refuse.

Our Texas wrongful death attorneys mention that the Azteca Milling company processes corn flour for use in Maseca, which is an “instant” corn flour used to make tortillas. According to accounts of the silo accident, authorities have never inspected Azteca Milling. But OSHA officials noted that inspected are not required unless a facility has had three on the job injuries or a fatality.

The Edinburg Fire Chief, Shawn Snider, emphasized that in order for workers to be allowed to work inside the silo as Oscar Arellano was doing, Azteca Milling needed a “confined Spaces permit,” which it apparently did not have. Officials from the Corpus Christi OSHA office are investigating Mr. Arellano’s tragic accident to determine if any safety precautions were violated. OSHA says it could take up to six months to learn why Mr. Arellano fell into the chute of the silo.

Our Texas wrongful death attorneys point out that Oscar Arellano was pulled out of the mass of ground-up corn byproducts by the cable of his safety harness and was apparently wearing appropriate safety gear at the time of his death. Still, police were investigating the silo accident as a homicide until they could rule out foul play. (Sources: Ildefonso Ortiz, The Monitor, 2/21/13; KRGV.com 5 News; 2/22/13)

Contact the Established Texas Wrongful Death Attorneys at Denena & Points if Your Loved One has Died in a Tragic Silo Accident

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Agriculture Jobs in Texas Present the Highest Risk of Fatal Injuries on the Job

U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics for 2011 show that the agriculture industry was the most hazardous to Texas workers. That category includes farmers, ranchers, and also fishermen and fisheries workers. Our Texas wrongful death attorneys note that the heavy equipment involved in these jobs as well as potential dangers from filled silos, stock pools, and storage tanks continue to pose grave risks to Texas workers. In the United States, 80 workers, 14 of them in their teens, have lost their lives in silo accidents.

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