LAKE COUNTY — A state investigation into the tragic vineyard worker”s death earlier this month is under way. However, no information will be released until the case is closed, which by law Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has six months to complete.
Kate McGuire, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Industrial Relations, the umbrella for Cal/OSHA, said on average investigations take two to three months to complete.
“They first determine factually what happened. Then, they determine whether there were any violations of the health and safety code that contributed or caused the accident. If so, they will issue citations and assess fines,” McGuire said.
According to Guadalupe Sandoval, president of Sandoval Bilingual Safety Solutions, which provides safety training and consultation services to employers, most employers have never been inspected by OSHA. Nor will they see an inspector at the worksite unless a serious accident takes place or “in the unlikely event of a worker complaint.”
“Most employers want to do the right thing, and nobody wants to see a worker injured or killed. No employer wants an OSHA inspector on site, and they certainly don”t want the increase in their workers” compensation insurance premiums,” Sandoval said.
Silvino Eufracio Navarro, 48, of Upper Lake, was killed April 16 while operating an irrigation pump for frost protection at Clover Valley Vineyards in Upper Lake.
According to the Lake County Sheriff Department, which responded to the scene the morning after the late-night incident occurred, evidence revealed Navarro”s clothing was caught in the drive-shaft of the irrigation pump. He was pulled through the machine and dropped into the irrigation pond below. His body was discovered by his wife and a foreman at 7 a.m.
McGuire said investigators would also “analyze the accident information to determine whether any special orders or recommendations need to be made to prevent accidents of the type investigated from happening in the future.”
She said the incident was reported within the eight hour period after the incident occurred, as required by law.
Under state law, employers must have an Injury and Illness Prevention Program that includes “a code of safe practices for their specific operation.”
These codes must be placed in a “conspicuous location at each job site office or be provided to each supervisory employee who must have it readily available in the event of an accident.”
“It is the employer”s responsibility to do whatever it takes to ensure there is a safe and healthy workplace,” McGuire said, including for Spanish-speaking employees.
The vineyard management company based in Napa County that oversees Clover Valley Vineyards has not returned numerous calls placed by the Record-Bee about the incident.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released data Monday revealing that 10 percent of the nation”s workplace deaths occur in California, and nationwide Latinos were 25 percent more likely to be killed on-the-job than any other group. Workplace fatalities had been on steady decline for a decade.
While more workers died in the U.S. in 2006 as compared to the year before, due to an increased number in the overall workforce, the fatality rate remained four percent per 100,000 workers. But for Latino workers, the death rate spiked from 4.7 per 100,000 to five per 100,000 in 2006.
Sandoval said that increase has to do with migration of Latino workers into construction, where “most of these workers are inexperienced and willing to accept hazardous jobs.” The economy is also a factor in the increased workplace fatalities among Latinos, he added.
“In this worsening economy, with the rising cost of food, housing and gas, workers are now more likely than ever to do whatever it takes to obtain and keep a job, even if it could cost them their lives,” Sandoval said.
Contact Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com
