Sunday at Vessel Repair in a Port Arthur, Texas shipyard, worker Joe Hamerly entered a barge containing nitrogen gas. Port Arthur police indicated that the man likely suffocated there as he was working due to a lack of oxygen. Mr. Hamerly’s body was discovered on Sunday night, and an investigation into his death was begun. Emergency workers recovered Mr. Hamerly’s body from the barge after the Port Arthur barge accident killed the worker. Nitrogen gas was blamed. The Texas Gulf Coast wrongful death attorneys at Denena Points, PC convey their condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Mr. Joe Hamerly.
Our Gulf Coast wrongful death attorneys note that employers and vessel owners are responsible for ensuring safe working conditions for their employees and those who serve their vessels. Specially where there’s a barge filled with potentially lethal nitrogen, the vessel and its contents should be secured, warnings should be posted, and workers should be carefully trained in safety policies and procedures designed to ensure that they will not be exposed to hazards from the nitrogen.
While news accounts of Joe Hamerly’s tragic death indicated that he probably suffocated, they did not mention what safety procedures failed or simply weren’t in place to expose him to a deadly hazard in the course of his job.
Other workers in Port Arthur have died because of negligent employers. Matthew Lawrence Bowman, former president of Port Arthur Chemical and Environmental Services, LLC (PACES) pleaded guilty in May to OSHA charges and was sentenced to a year in federal prison and a fine of $5,000 after two employees died from exposure to hazardous gases at his PACES facility. Joey Sutter and Charles Sittig, truck drivers, died in 2008 and 2009 from exposure to hydrogen sulfide.
Bowman admitted to not properly protecting workers from the poisonous gas and to telling employees to falsify documents regarding problems at the facility. Our Texas Gulf Coast wrongful death attorneys emphasize that this negligence was no small oversight. The National Institute for OSHA says that hydrogen sulfide, an acutely toxic substance, is the leading cause of sudden death in the U.S. workplace. As such, OSHA requires employers to implement engineering and safety controls to prevent employees from harmful exposure to the gas.
At PACES, Bowman was the person responsible for approving and directing production operations, disposal of hydrogen sulfide wastewater, and implementation of employee safety precautions. He personally handled investigations regarding on-the-job injuries, directed the transportation of the hazardous wastewater, and determined what safety equipment could be maintained or purchased.
In the cases where the two truck drivers died, reportedly hazardous materials were transported illegally, with false documents, and without the required placards. The Gulf Coast wrongful death attorneys at Denena Points, PC note that placarding is essential to warn first responders of the hazardous substance in the event of accidents. In these two cases, the truck drivers themselves were also not properly protected from exposure to the toxic gas and they died as a result. (Source: KBMT 12newsnow.com, 10/28/13) Click the link to learn more about the deadly hazards of toxic gases at plants along the Texas Gulf Coast and OSHA’s role in ensuring worker safety.