The federal workplace safety watchdog has fined the city of Los Angeles $563,250 after finding that a fatal injury to an animal shelter worker was caused by “significant lapses in safety and training” that put workers “at risk.”
The city failed to protect and train workers at its San Pedro animal shelter and failed to “assess and correct overcrowding at its animal shelter, which resulted in animal attacks and worker bites,” the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health said. Cal/OSHA, said in a statement Tuesday.
In the May 31 attack, the worker's leg was “severely lacerated, requiring hospitalization,” Cal/OSHA said.
Leslie Corea, a kennel manager at the Harbor Animal Shelter in San Pedro, told The Times earlier this year that she was taking the dog out of its kennel to show it to a rescue group when it “became pale” and attacked her leg. She has had multiple surgeries and told NBC that she lost half of her thigh.
At the time of the attack, Los Angeles Animal Services said in a statement that it was housing 1,500 dogs in six city shelters but had the capacity to “safely and humanely care for” about 800 dogs at a time.
Overcrowding and understaffing have been a problem for years at the city's animal shelters, which are often underfunded. Dogs are often doubled or tripled upstairs in houses or kept in crates in the hallway due to lack of space.
Euthanasias have exploded in shelters this year. From January to September, 1,224 dogs were killed – 72% more than the same period last year, the Times analysis found. Some dogs are euthanized not because they are seriously ill or have severe behavioral problems but because shelters cannot meet their basic needs.
The six California Labor Code violations Cal/OSHA cited in the fines were related to the Port's animal handling, violence prevention, training and personal protection and emergency response.
“Employees and their supervisors were not trained in effective animal handling and safety procedures,” Cal/OSHA wrote in its citation.
City workers and supervisors did not receive adequate personal protective equipment or training, and there was a “lack of an effective communication system” that slowed emergency response, the Cal/OSHA document said.
Cal/OSHA Chief Debra Lee said in a statement that May's brutal assault on workers “underscores the dire consequences that occur when employers fail to take appropriate steps to protect their workers from avoidable accidents.”
“Although we cannot repair the damage caused, we can make the tenants accountable,” said Lee. “Every worker deserves a workplace that puts their health and safety first.”
Representatives for Mayor Karen Bass and Animal Services did not immediately comment on the fine.
Dog bites associated with animal shelters have become a major crime in the city.
In June, the City Council agreed to pay $7.5 million to a Van Nuys woman whose arm was amputated after being attacked by a dog adopted from a city shelter.
Shelter staff failed to provide written notification of the dog's bite history prior to adoption, as required by state law, according to the woman's lawsuit.
Last year, a jury awarded $6.8 million to a volunteer at a Lincoln Heights shelter after her arm was nearly dislocated in a dog attack. The jury found the city guilty of gross negligence.
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