Ashley Furniture faces $1.76M in fines after OSHA finds more than 1,000 worker injuries

In a three-and-a-half year period, 4,500 employees at Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., in Arcadia, Wisconsin experienced more than 1,000 work-related injuries. One worker became another terrible statistic when he lost three fingers in July 2014 while operating a dangerous woodworking machine without required safety mechanisms in place. Of the injuries recorded, more than 100 were caused by similar machinery.

After the incident, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted an inspection of the facility. Investigators identified 12 willful, 12 repeated and 14 serious safety violations at Ashley Furniture's Arcadia location, carrying a total of $1,766,000 in penalties. The company has also been placed in the Severe Violator Enforcement Program for failure to address these safety hazards. OSHA previously cited the Arcadia facility in 2014 after an employee suffered a partial finger amputation.

"Ashley Furniture has created a culture that values production and profit over worker safety, and employees are paying the price," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "Safety and profits are not an ‘either, or' proposition. Successful companies across this nation have both."

Dr. David Michaels, the assistant secretary of labor of occupational safety and health, said, "Ashley Furniture intentionally and willfully disregarded OSHA standards and its own corporate safety manuals to encourage workers to increase productivity and meet deadlines. The company apparently blamed the victims for their own injuries, but there is clear evidence that injuries were caused by the unsafe conditions created by the company. OSHA is committed to making sure that the total disregard Ashley Furniture has shown to safety stops here and now."

Forbes lists Ashley Furniture Industries, a furniture manufacturer with worldwide distribution, as the 117th largest private company in America. With annual revenue of $3.85 billion as of October 2014, the company employs about 20,000 workers at 30 locations nationally. The Arcadia plant is also the largest employer in Wisconsin's rural Trempealeau County, with a population of about 30,000.

The 12 willful and 12 repeated violations were cited after OSHA found that the company did not take the necessary steps to protect its workers from being injured by moving machine parts. It did not prevent machines from unintentionally starting when workers were performing tooling and blade changes on woodworking machinery, and also failed to provide adequate safety mechanisms to prevent contact with those moving parts. These types of violations are among the most frequently cited by OSHA and often result in death or permanent disability.

A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirement, or with plain indifference to employee safety and health. OSHA issues repeated violations if an employer previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years.

OSHA also cited Ashley Furniture Industries for 14 serious violations, including not training workers on safety procedures and hazards present when servicing machinery. The company also lacked adequate drenching facilities for workers exposed to corrosive materials; it committed three electrical safety violations, and it did not equip some of its machines with readily-accessible emergency stop buttons.

An OSHA violation is serious if death or serious physical harm can result from a hazard an employer knew or should have known exists.

Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc., has had 33 federal OSHA inspections and 23 state plan inspections since 1982. In its 33 previous inspections, OSHA issued citations for 96 serious, four repeat and 38 other-than-serious violations. Four inspections were initiated as a result of finger amputations, with Arcadia's 2014 incident being the most recent.

If you or a loved one have experienced any type of injury or death while working for Ashley Furniture or any other employer that has violated OSHA guidelines, contact Chhabra & Gibbs, P.A. by going to our website at http://www.cglawms.com  or calling 601-948-8005.

Xarelto Leads to Bleeding Injury or Death

As a result of the drug makers’ failure to adequately warn about the risks associated with the anticoagulant, financial compensation may be available through a Xarelto lawsuit for individuals who have experienced:

• Internal Bleeding or Gastrointestinal Bleeding
• Brain Hemorrhage
• Hemorrhagic Stroke
• Wrongful Death from Bleeding Problems

To review whether you, a friend or family member may have a Xarelto case against the drug makers, request a free consultation today.

Xarelto Bleeding Problems

Xarelto was introduced in 2011, as a joint product developed by Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals subsidiary and Bayer Health Care.

The anticoagulant has been used by millions of Americans to reduce the risk of stroke, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and other blood clot injuries. It has been prescribed to individuals with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, following knee and hip replacement surgery and to prevent recurrence of clots.

While all blood thinners carry a risk of internal bleeding, Xarelto appears to be associated with a much greater risk than the manufacturers indicated in warnings provided for consumers and the medical community.

In many cases, Xarelto bleeding problems cannot be controlled by physicians, due to the lack of an approved reversal agent.

Johnson & Johnson and Bayer promoted Xarelto as a superior alternative to warfarin, which has been the go-to anticoagulation therapy for decades.

Although the manufacturers have indicated that the newer drug requires less frequent monitoring than warfarin, increasing evidence suggests that blood monitoring on Xarelto may reduce the bleeding risk. In addition, it appears that information was withheld about the lack of an effective Xarelto reversal agent to stop bleeding problems that may develop.

While doctors are able to reverse the effects of warfarin quickly if bleeding occurs, Xarelto bleeding is often uncontrollable, increasing the risk of serious injury or death.

Xarelto warnings fail to properly address the increased risk for these serious and fatal bleeding problems, despite a substantial number of adverse event reports and other findings suggesting that individuals taking Xarelto have more gastrointestinal bleeds and need more transfusions.

In addition to the inadequate warnings, Xarelto does not appear to provide sufficient benefits to justify the additional risks. Therefore, many lawsuits allege that a Xarelto recall should be issued, claiming that the medication is unreasonably dangerous and defective without an effective reversal agent.

Allegations in Lawsuits over Xarelto

Claims raised in the Xarelto litigation are similar to many of the allegations brought against Boehringer Ingelheim over their related anticoagulant, Pradaxa.

Following the filing of thousands of lawsuits over failure to warn about the risk of bleeding problems with Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim agreed to pay more than $650 million in mid-2014 to resolve the litigation. Similar compensation may be available through Xarelto settlements, as it appears that Bayer and Johnson & Johnson also withheld important safety information about their drug.

Among the allegations raised in Xarelto injury lawsuits being pursued by individuals nationwide, plaintiffs claim Johnson & Johnson and Bayer:

• Failed to provide accurate warnings about the risk of Xarelto bleeds;
• Withheld information about the lack of an effective Xarelto reversal agent;
• Engaged in aggressive marketing that encouraged doctors to use the more expensive and more dangerous drug;
• Sold an unreasonably dangerous and defective drug as it was initially formulated;
• Failed to update warnings, issue a “Dear Doctor” letter or issue a Xarelto recall after it became clear that a large number of users were suffering severe and life-threatening injuries from uncontrollable bleeding.

Rather than withdrawing Xarelto from the market or taking steps to ensure accurate information was provided for consumers and the medical community, Johnson & Johnson and Bayer continued to promote the medication as safe and effective, causing millions of additional Americans to be exposed to a risk of serious injury.

The lawyers at Chhabra & Gibbs, P.A. are reviewing individual bleeding injury claims and potential Xarelto class action lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson and Bayer.

The makers of Xarelto appear to have placed their desire for profits before consumer’s safety, by failing to properly research the risk of bleeds on Xarelto or provide adequate information about the serious and potentially life-threatening health problems that may be caused by use of Xarelto.

For families of individuals who died as a result of these bleeding problems, damages may be available through a Xarelto wrongful death lawsuit.

The drug makers stand to generate substantial profits due to their decision to provide inaccurate and incomplete warnings. Xarelto has been estimated to be the 19th best-selling drug in the world by 2018, with sales expected to reach $3.7 billion per year.

Rather than allowing the drug makers to benefit from this behavior, lawsuits over Xarelto bleeding problems seek to hold the pharmaceutical companies responsible for injuries suffered by former users. In addition, pursuing Xarelto litigation may also prevent similar behavior in the drug industry.

If you or a loved one have been affected by the drug Xarelto, contact Chhabra & Gibbs, P.A. today for a free consultation by going to our website at http://www.cglawms.com  or calling 601-948-8005.