Apr 23, 2012

Worker fatality at OSHA VPP site

Beau Griffing remembers how proud his mom Kristine, 52, was of the work she did at the Eaton Corporation's Kearney, Nebraska facility. He told a local reporter how she loved taking him and his siblings to the plant to show them where she worked.

"She provided so much for us," Beau Griffing said. "She wanted us to be able to be whatever we wanted to be," added his brother, Christopher Griffing, 20.

Not quite five months ago, Kristine Griffing was working on a Bliss 150 ton shear press at the Eaton Corp plant, making valves and gears for the auto companies. Neither the press itself nor the feeder tables were properly guarded. The made the nip points, rotating parts and pinch points a deadly hazard for workers operating them. Ms. Griffing, a 17-year employee of the plant, was working the night shift on December 7 when she was pinned by this equipment. She was gravely wounded and died 16 days later from her injuries.

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