Prior to an accident that occurred when a maintenance technician (Jeff Holman) climbed a ladder to repair and then later inspect a motor, proper lockout-tagout procedures were followed. However, during the final inspection phase of the repair process, conducted after reenergizing the machine in question, Mr. Holman unexpectedly moved his hand forward and suffered the amputation of the tip of his left thumb. In this lawsuit review from Doug Ehlke, from Ehlke Law Offices, we learn that “the LOTO standard has certain exemptions and requirements. One is that if you are required to place any body into the point of operation, the machine needs to be locked out. At the time of the injury, Mr. Holeman was not anticipating doing that, so his actions were proper. It was a very unfortunate accident, but he was just going up there for visual observation. He was not anticipating reaching out into the point of operation. The fact of an accident does not establish the occurrence of an OSHA violation.”
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