Tragic Industrial Accident or Preventable Industrial Accident?

A contract cleaner was killed when he fell into an operating meat blender at an Interstate Meat Distributors plant in Oregon. Deputy Nate Thompson said that the death was a “tragic industrial accident” and that the police didn’t suspect foul play. It took until the next day to disassemble the machine and remove his remains.

The AP story said:

“An OSHA report on the plant from last fall found machines were not locked during the tear-down process for cleaning. The inspector said an ‘’unexpected start-up of the machine’’ could cause injuries.”

“Melanie Mesaros, Oregon OSHA spokeswoman, cautioned against jumping to conclusions.”

“Mesaros said the agency inspected DCS Sanitation Management’s operations in 2001, 2002 and 2004, finding no violations.”

The OSHA investigation isn’t expected to be completed for months.

What do you think? Tragic accident or preventable accident?