Minnesota Hospital to Pay $50,000 Fine in Workers’ Death

A Willmar hospital will pay a $50,000 fine because of safety violations discovered after a worker died in motorized shelves.

The fine will be paid to Minnesota’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Rice Memorial Hospital says it will be making its motorized filing system safer for its workers.

Hospital worker Susan Leukam died in November, three days after the accident. Hospital CEO Lorry Massa says an investigation showed Leukam suffocated during the nearly half-hour she was trapped before a co-worker found her.