California residents may have heard about three manufacturing employees who were injured at the Tesla Motors facility located in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to a news report. The accident occurred shortly before noon on Nov. 13 when an aluminum casting press failed and caused a hot metal spill.
Although the exact details of the spill were unknown at the time of the report, the freely-flowing metal burned three workers. One of the employees was seriously hurt. He received chest and upper-body burns and was transported to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose with second-degree burns. Two others are reported to have received less serious injuries. They also were treated at the same hospital. One of the two was released the same afternoon. The condition of the others was not reported. Additional information about the workers, such as their age or gender, was not released due to privacy concerns.
According to a spokesman for the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the agency will be investigating to uncover the exact cause of the spill and to determine if any processes or training might be found to not be in compliance with OSHA regulations.
As with all employers, auto manufacturers are required by law to provide a safe work environment. A workplace accident that results in injury can be life-changing; it has the potential to cause severe financial burden through mounting medical bills and loss of work. Employees, such as the three in this case, may be able to file a workers’ compensation claim and receive financial consideration as compensation. Identifying liability at a manufacturing site can prove to be very challenging. An attorney may be able to fully advise injured workers on how to proceed with a claim.
Source: ABC News, “3 Hurt in Tesla Factory Hot Metal Spill in Calif.”, November 13, 2013