Allen Harim accused of improper medical oversight

Allen Harim Foods LLC employees suffering injuries at the company's Harbeson poultry plant may not have proper onsite medical care, according to a recent letter from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Earlier this year, OSHA fined Allen Harim $38,000 after an inspection found some workers were injured because required injury-prevention practices were not in place.

OSHA conducted inspections between December 2014 and June 2015. The federal agency raised concerns about Allen Harim's organization of medical services in a five-page letter sent in August to the company's Safety, Health and Risk Control Manager Paula Gray and General Manager Everett Brown.

OSHA's letter said onsite emergency medical technicians at the plant's first aid station are not supervised by anyone with a medical degree, and no documentation showed the three EMTs working for Allen Harim are licensed in the state of Delaware.

“We are concerned that the organization, structure and staffing of Allen Harim Foods LLC first aid station is deficient,” the letter states. “The EMTs are not adequately supervised from a medical and professional point of view and appear to be working without Delaware EMT licenses. Further, based on the information OSHA has received, the EMTs do not have the experience or training to adequately evaluate and make decisions on musculoskeletal symptoms and injuries related to ergonomic hazards and may be working outside their scope of practice.”

The OSHA letter is not an official citation and does not pose any fines against Allen Harim; the previous citations and $38,000 in penalties have been contested by the company.

“We were disappointed to have received citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and strongly disagree with the claims set forth in those citations,” said Allen Harim spokesman Robbie Raffish.

In response to the hazard alert letter, Raffish said Allen Harim staff are reviewing allegations and the company has no comment at this time.

OSHA has claimed that only 15 percent of the potential musculoskeletal cases reviewed by Allen Harim's first aid center were referred to a doctor, that EMT logs appear to be incomplete and some workers were terminated by the company weeks after suffering a musculoskeletal injury.

OSHA has recommended that Allen Harim contract a board-certified occupational medicine physician to re-evaluate the medical program and provide oversight, ensure that medical personnel are legally licensed and trained, and any workers with musculoskeletal symptoms or injuries immediately be referred to a physician as well as additional procedural and technical recommendations.