An employee of DeKalb Molded Plastics Co. suffered an electrical shock in a July 18 accident at the company's Butler, Ind., facility, and remains hospitalized, the company said in a July 23 statement.
The company said Larry Griffin, a molding supervisor, was working around one of the company's presses, which was not in operation, when he received the shock. The company said the incident has been reported to the Indiana state Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
"Company first-response personnel immediately began life support efforts that were then taken over by local emergency medical personnel upon arrival," DeKalb said. "Griffin remains hospitalized at this time as family, friends and DeKalb teammates remain close."
DeKalb said Griffin has worked at the factory for 10 years.
Local news reports quoted Butler Police Chief James Nichols saying that Griffin was doing electrical maintenance on equipment at the plant, and that Indiana OSHA would investigate. DeKalb is a custom structural foam molder.
DeKalb General Manager Doug Bonecutter said in a statement that "worker safety is our first priority at DeKalb Molded Plastics. We take worker safety very seriously. Efforts are being made to support our injured team member and his family. We appreciate the efforts of the medics and others who provided emergency medical assistance."
According to OSHA records, the company in the last five years had one inspection initiated in August 2017 in response to an unspecified complaint. According to OSHA's online database, the case was closed two months later with no action taken.