- February 24th, 2010, 3:47 pm
#38012
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35566392/ns/us_news-life/
PhantomCat wrote:Word has it that the whale was very old with no teeth, and probably poor eye sight. The worker had her ponytail in the water and the whale thought it was a toy and took her under.
The federal job safety agency fined SeaWorld Orlando $75,000 on Monday for three violations uncovered while investigating the February death of a trainer who was grabbed by a killer whale and dragged underwater.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration categorized the most serious violation as "willful," or showing indifference or intentional disregard for employee safety. That citation, carrying a $70,000 penalty, was for exposing workers to drowning hazards when interacting with killer whales.
The agency proposes not allowing trainers to have any physical contact with Tilikum, the killer whale responsible for trainer Dawn Brancheau's death in February, unless protected by a physical barrier.
The OSHA report described Tilikum as having "known aggressive tendencies." The six-ton whale was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after the woman lost her balance and fell in the pool at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia. Tilikum also was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld Orlando security was found draped over him.
Sea World trainers were forbidden from getting in the water with Tilikum because of the previous deaths. But the killer whale still managed to grab Brancheau's long hair as she laid on her stomach on a cement clab in three inches of water. The cause of death was drowning and traumatic injuries.
The OSHA report also suggests that trainers not work with other killer whales at the park, either in the water or out of water, unless they are protected by a barrier, deck or oxygen-supply system underwater.
"SeaWorld trainers had an extensive history of unexpected and potentially dangerous incidents involving killer whales at its various facilities, including its location in Orlando," OSHA said in a statement released with the report.
The second citation, deemed serious, was for failing to install a stairway railing system beside the stage in Shamu Stadium. That citation carried a $5,000 penalty.
The third citation was considered "other-than-serious" and was for failing to have weather-protected electrical receptacles at the stadium. That citation didn't have a penalty.
SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs said the park will contest the citation.
"SeaWorld disagrees with the unfounded allegations made by OSHA today," Jacobs said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a former director of health and safety at SeaWorld Orlando went public Monday with allegations that SeaWorld tried to obstruct the investigation by blocking OSHA investigators from coming to the property and refusing to give the agency some documents, charges the theme park denies. Linda Simons, who was fired in April after only two months on the job, has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against SeaWorld with OSHA.
"SeaWorld did not want to cooperate at all," Simons said in a telephone interview. "They really felt that if the information was going to get out to the public, it would hurt their business."
SeaWorld cooperated fully with OSHA, said Jacobs, who accused Simons of threatening the theme park with negative publicity if she didn't get a payment from the company. Simons' attorney, Maurice Arcadier, said his client never tried to extort SeaWorld but was seeking reinstatement and back pay.
Scott Brancheau, the husband of Dawn Brancheau, the SeaWorld whale trainer who was killed last February, has obtained an attorney who specializes in wrongful death lawsuits, WESH 2 News has confirmed.
A representative of the Chicago firm O'Connor and Nakos would not comment on whether Brancheau will be filing a lawsuit against SeaWorld, but the firm said it is representing him.
ccording to its website, the law firm specializes in wrongful death and severe personal injury. One of the founding partners, Dan O'Connor, claims on the website to have won over $100 million in verdicts and settlements during the course of his career.
In a written statement, SeaWorld acknowledged it was aware that Scott had hired an attorney, but did not know of any intent on his part to file a suit. In the weeks after Dawn Brancheau was pulled into a pool and drowned by a whale named Tilikum, SeaWorld and the woman's family appeared closely aligned and even issued some joint statements to the media.
SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs said Wednesday, "We continue to have regular contact with other members of Dawn's family. I would certainly describe our relationship with Dawn's family as congenial. We have done everything in our power to support them during this difficult time."
Word of Brancheau obtaining an attorney comes just two days after the Occupational Safety Health Administration announced it's fining SeaWorld $75,000 for violations related to its investigation of Dawn's death. One of the violations was deemed "willful," meaning SeaWorld demonstrated indifference and intentional disregard for the safety of its whale trainers.
Mark Nation, an Orlando attorney and an expert in wrongful death suits, said it would be a difficult case for the Brancheau family to win.
Nation said there's a narrow exception in the worker's compensation statute that indicates an employee can sue for wrongful death if they can prove their employer knew there was virtual certainty of injury or death to an employee.
That's where an OSHA finding that SeaWorld was aware Tilikum had killed before might come into play.
"The exception here will be based on that OSHA finding that SeaWorld knew or should have known there was virtual certainty of injury or death because of prior similar incidents," Nation said.
But Nation said the statue requires that Scott Brancheau must prove that Dawn was not aware of the risk and the danger was deliberately concealed from her by SeaWorld.
"But it allows SeaWorld to get out of it if they can show that Dawn should have appreciated those dangers or knew about them and proceeded," Nation said.
OSHA has suggested whale trainers should not return to swimming with whales unless some significant safeguards can be put into place.
A New Hampshire couple who witnessed a whale kill a trainer at SeaWorld is suing the Orlando theme park, saying their 10-year-old son suffered emotional distress from what he saw.
Suzanne and Todd Connell's lawsuit filed Tuesday seeks unspecified damages and came a day after the federal job safety agency fined SeaWorld Orlando $75,000 for three violations uncovered during an investigation into Dawn Brancheau's death.
The killer whale named Tilikium in February grabbed Brancheau's long hair as she lay on a cement slab and dragged her into the pool. The cause of death was drowning and traumatic injuries.
SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs said in an e-mail that he couldn't comment on a pending lawsuit.
"We are in the process of a thorough review of our killer whale program right now and will make any changes that we feel will improve the safety of our staff and guests," Jacobs said.
The lawsuit from the Somersworth family describes the scene as workers tried to rescue Brancheau from Tilikum's mouth.
"There seemed to be no plan as to what to do to save Dawn," the lawsuit said. "The SeaWorld employees were acting in an unorganized and chaotic manner."
. Funny thing is that I could see them winning it. Seriously, they couldn't cover up their childs eyes, after seeing her being drug under the water, and escorted him out? That's their own faults.
"There seemed to be no plan as to what to do to save Dawn," the lawsuit said. "The SeaWorld employees were acting in an unorganized and chaotic manner."
