Lost Hills Mining, LLC: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on May 8, 2020: Mining employee contracts pneumonia and valley fever

In March and April 2020, an employee was working as an office manager at a gypsum surface mine. He was in charge of scale house operations. Although he regularly worked indoors in an air conditioned setting, he did work outdoors a couple of times. In early March, he cleared out weeds with a string trimmer. The employer offered him a dust mask and other required PPE. He spent less than half a day outdoors. On April 28, he and a supervisor and five coworkers dismantled a trailer tipper unit in an orchard. After a pre-job discussion, the crew drove to the site, dismantled the unit, and brought it back to the shop. On April 29, the unit was assembled in the shop. The supervisor left after lunch. The employee called the supervisor to say that he was not feeling well and was experiencing chest cramps. In accordance with the employer's emergency medical plan, he was taken to a nearby fire station, where an evaluation suggested he had a tender muscle in his chest. At about 1:30 a.m. on April 30, he went to an emergency room with a fever. He was discharged with general medication. On May 1, he was tested for COVID-19. He sought medical care several times over the next week, but his condition did not improve. At 8:30 a.m. on May 8, he was admitted to a different hospital, where he was diagnosed with double pneumonia. On May 12, he was again admitted to the second hospital. This time, he was diagnosed with Valley fever. He was released on May 15. On that day, he notified his employer of his diagnosis. He believed he contracted Valley fever while working outdoors on April 28. At 2:15 p.m. on May 15, the employer notified the Division, complying with reporting requirements. On June 2, the Division opened an inspection. Because Valley fever was endemic in the region and because the employee worked mostly indoors, Cal-OSHA could not determine if he contracted his illness at work. No citations were issued. COVID-19 did not play a role in the employee's pneumonia or Valley fever. pneumonia or Valley fever.