Twinsburg Township, Ohio — A 35-year-old Cleveland man lost his life in a hazardous materials incident Friday morning at an industrial facility in Twinsburg Township. The incident occurred at Emerald Transformer, located on Highland Road.
Twinsburg Township firefighters responded to reports of a worker who had fallen into a tank on a railroad tanker car parked behind the facility. Upon arrival, first responders found the individual unresponsive at the bottom of the tank.
The deceased man, identified as Dalion Ambler, was conducting an air quality test inside the tank when he became unresponsive due to insufficient breathable oxygen levels. Two co-workers outside the tank attempted to assist but could not revive him.
Ambler was a Clean Harbors Environmental contractor hired by Emerald Transformer to clean and inspect rail tanker cars.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is conducting a separate review of the incident.
Why did the company allow this to happen?
Accident reports often conclude that a worker who dies in an industrial accident failed to follow proper safety protocols. However, my experience has shown that these cases deserve deeper investigation, as workplace safety is a shared responsibility.
Federal regulations strictly govern how companies must protect workers in hazardous environments. These rules exist because industrial equipment and confined spaces pose extreme dangers to workers. When companies fail to implement or maintain proper safety protocols, they bear responsibility for creating hazardous working conditions.
We are representing families affected by a tragic tank explosion. A team was assigned to clean out an old oil tank so it could be repurposed. Their job required them to cut off the top lock to access the tank’s interior. What they didn’t know — but those responsible for safety should have known — was that the tank had accumulated dangerous gases during its period of inactivity. When the team began cutting, the tank exploded, killing one worker and severely injuring another.
The company responsible for ensuring workplace safety attempted to shift blame to the workers. However, our investigation revealed that proper safety protocols would have identified these explosive gases before any cutting began. The workers were experts at cleaning tanks – that was their job. Someone else’s job was to ensure they could perform that work safely by testing for hazardous conditions and implementing appropriate safety measures before work began.
These cases remind us that workplace safety isn’t just about individual worker actions. When companies fail to maintain proper safety protocols and equipment, they put workers’ lives at risk. They cannot deflect responsibility to the workers when their own failure to maintain a safe workplace created the dangerous situation in the first place.
*******
The Ammons Law Firm represents clients nationwide in personal injury and wrongful death litigation.
Disclaimer: This post is not legal advice. Information contained in this blog was compiled from third-party sources or is the opinion of the author. Please inform us immediately if false or misleading information is contained in this post.
