Yale At Fault in Student Death: OSHA

August 17, 2011

Federal safety regulators say a piece of machinery that killed a Yale University student lacked required safeguards.

Michele Dufault, a senior, was killed April 12 when her hair was pulled into a fast-spinning lathe as she worked alone in a machine shop.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration wrote in a letter to Yale that the lathe lacked an emergency stop button that could shut off power. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter Tuesday through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The OSHA letter said rules for using the equipment were not posted. It also says Yale should ensure students don’t work alone.

OSHA didn’t fine Yale, saying it lacked jurisdiction.

A message for a Yale spokesman was not immediately returned.

Topics Workers' Compensation

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Latest Comments

  • August 19, 2011 at 1:36 pm
    Gregory says:
    Does anyone jknow if the lathe is safety certified? (UL or equivalent). This certification can help prevent these kinds of incidents through proper gaurding and e-stops, safeg... read more
  • August 19, 2011 at 12:45 pm
    Gregory Smith says:
    Does anyone know if the machinery was certified by an electrical safety testing laboratory? (UL or equivalent). In many cases this certification can help avoid these kinds of ... read more
  • August 18, 2011 at 3:24 pm
    MadDog says:
    Yes, she should have worn a hairnet, but, more importantly, there should have been an emergency cut-off. The manufacturer is liable along with Yale. Was the machine altered ... read more

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