Preliminary Report - Fatality #27 - June 14, 2014

On June 14, 2014, Kevin Lee Ames, a 35-year-old laborer, was using a propane torch to shrink-wrap pelletized gypsum when he received serious burns on 35% of his body. He was subsequently discovered by a co-worker and transported to a hospital. He died on July 28, 2014. The death certificate indicated that the cause of death was mucormycosis (fungal infection) due to burns, and that the manner of death was an accident. An autopsy was not performed. Based on the findings of the death certificate and the MSHA investigation, the Fatality Review Committee determined that the death should be charged to the mining industry.