Investigation of foundry worker’s fatal fall finds Caterpillar failed to install required fall protection
On June 2, 2022, a 39-year-old employee of a Mapleton, Illinois foundry fell and was immediately incinerated in an 11-foot-deep pot of molten iron heated to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. A federal investigation determined that, if required safety guards or fall protection had been installed, the 39-year-old employee’s ninth day on the job might not have been their last.
Caterpillar of Irving, Texas – one of the world’s largest manufacturers of industrial vehicles and equipment – operates the foundry, which produces cast iron engine components.