OSHA Cites Company $168,000 for Worker Death in Tragic Pennsylvania Construction Trench Collapse
Government regulators have fined a company for safety violations after investigating the collapse of a trench at a Newberry Township construction site that killed one worker and injured another.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Eclipse Builders Inc. of Etters, PA with three willful violations and issued $168,000 in penalties for exposing employees to trenching hazards after investigating the collapse of a trench on December 14, 2010.
According to York Dispatch, Eclipse Builders hired Jory Raber III and Joshua Gimmel to install a water drainage pipe on the construction site of a Walmart store. The wall of a trench 60 feet long and 18-20 feet deep collapsed as the men worked, burying Raber completely and Gimmel up to his waist.
More than one hundred emergency personnel responded to aid the men, transporting Gimmel to the hospital and finally uncovering Raber’s body after fourteen hours of rescue efforts.
Violations included:
- Failure to provide a safe means of egress in trench excavations that were greater than 4 feet in depth and would require employees to travel no more than 25 feet laterally.
- Failure to provide protection by placing and keeping excavated or other materials or equipment at least 2 feet away from the edge of excavations.
- Failure to protect employees entering excavations from cave-ins with an adequate protective system.
- Failure to have a competent person conduct daily inspections of excavations, adjacent areas and protective systems to prevent the possibility of cave-ins, failure of protective systems, hazardous atmospheres or other hazardous conditions.
- Failure to provide training to employees in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions applicable to the work environment.
“This tragic incident did not have to happen,” said Kevin Kilp, director of OSHA’s Harrisburg Area Office. “Excavating is recognized as one of the most hazardous construction operations, so it is vital that the company immediately comply with the OSHA standards designed to protect workers from these kinds of hazards.’
OSHA deems a willful violation as one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law’s requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
Eclipse Builders has fifteen business days to comply or contest OSHA’s findings.
“I don’t know what grounds they have to make us responsible over it,” Edward Shami, owner of Eclipse Builders told York Dispatch. “We’re not responsible for this accident.”
Shami says the workers were independent contractors and not employees.
Brooklyn’s Flatbush Gardens Cited for Worker Hazards, Including Raw Sewage, Lead and Asbestos Exposure
The apartment complex of Flatbush Gardens in Brooklyn, NY exposed its maintenance workers to raw sewage, asbestos, lead paint and electrical hazards, says OSHA.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued 20 citations for violations to the property management company Renaissance Equity Holdings and levied $51,100 in fines after inspecting working conditions in the sprawling 59 building apartment complex on Foster Avenue in Brooklyn.
"Our inspections found maintenance workers exposed to a variety of health and safety hazards while performing their duties, including stripping paint, removing drywall and clearing basements of raw sewage that had backed up during heavy rains," said Kay Gee, OSHA’s Manhattan area director in a release. "The violations uncovered are basic safety and health issues that should have been addressed and were not. We expect thorough, effective and expeditious corrective action."
16 of the violations were serious violations, those with a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. OSHA issued the other four violations because the property management company failed to record all job related injuries and illnesses as required.
According to the OSHA, Renaissance Equity Holdings:
- Failed to keep basements clear of raw sewage
- Failed to protect workers entering basements from exposure to raw sewage by not providing equipment such as waders
- Failed to determine the presence of asbestos insulation on pipes and warn workers of the hazard.
- Failed to provide workers with asbestos awareness training.
- Failed to conduct an exposure assessment for lead.
- Failed to train workers who stripped paint and replaced drywall about the hazards of lead paint.
- Failed to train workers about the hazardous chemicals they must use.
- Failed to guard basement windows to prevent the entry of rodents and vermin.
- Exposed workers to exposed electrical wiring
- Exposed workers to fall hazards from a broken ladder and uncovered holes in the floors.
The New York Daily News reports that maintenance workers at the apartment complex complained to the agency last year about the horrid working conditions and that Flatbush Gardens has since locked 70 workers out, after they later refused to take a 30% pay cut and loss of benefits.
Renaissance Equity Holdings has 15 business days to comply or contest the OSHA findings.
"No prior violations have ever been found at Flatbush Gardens and none of the citations issued were classified as willful or repetitive," Robert Wolf, attorney for Renaissance Equity Holdings, told the New York Daily News. "We contest the allegations and fully expect a favorable resolution."
The community interest group Fix Flatbush Gardens reports that there are 4,807 open housing violations for Flatbush Gardens with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Many of the conditions were caught on tape in this YouTube video.
“We worked under those conditions and we complained about it but it hasn’t gotten fixed, so we went to OSHA and the charges are being heard now," one worker told WPIX News.
Worker Dies after Falling into Dough Mixer at Brooklyn Tortilla Factory
New York City police and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) are investigating the death of a young worker at a tortilla factory in Brooklyn who fell into a commercial mixer.
A 911 call about 2:30am this morning reported that an employee of Tortilleria Chinantla at 975 Grand Street in Williamsburg had a heart attack. However, when emergency services rushed to the scene they found that the worker had actually died from falling into a machine mixing tortilla dough, reports The New York Times.
The New York Daily News reports that a video camera caught the incident on tape. The employee, identified as Juan Baten, 22, got one of his arms caught in the revolving mixer blades and it pulled him into the huge mixing bowl, where the mixer crushed him to death. Police told the news source that the video showed that Baten repeatedly stuck his arm into the waist high mixer to press the dough.
Baten, an immigrant from Guatemala, leaves behind his young wife, Rosario Ramirez, and daughter Daisy, 7 months old.
Twelve FDNY Firefighters Injured in Rare Eight-Alarm Blaze
Twelve firefighters suffered injuries fighting a fire last night in an ironworks in Queens, NY where hazardous materials were present.
The fire broke out at JSJ Iron Works located at 9520 150th Street in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, the fire department getting the first call just after 6:00pm Monday night, reports NY1.com.
Fire Department of New York (FDNY) firefighters initially battled the blaze inside the building, but had to pull out due to structural concerns. Seven of the firefighters suffered injuries from the roof collapsing.
It was unclear what materials were stored inside the 60’ x 100’ warehouse, but Firefightingnews.com reported that units on the scene requested a hazardous materials response.
In the end, eight alarms had been rang for the fire, calling in about 60 firefighters per alarm for a total of almost 500 firefighters on the scene throughout the night until the fire was brought under control at nearly 5:00am, said an article by the New York Daily News. A bystander told the news source that flames shot 60 feet in the air and there were numerous explosions. Three firefighters suffered burns, one suffering burns to his head and face. Twelve firefighters required medical treatment at the hospital.
Firefighters worked in extreme conditions as a winter storm complicated firefighting efforts with rain, hail and snow.
OSHA Fines Companies $229,390 after Explosion at PA Oil Well Kills Two Workers
After an investigation into an explosion at a Pennsylvania well site that killed two workers, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued fines totaling $229,390 to two companies involved in the incident.
Huntley & Huntley Inc., of Monroeville, PA, contracted with Northeast Energy Management Inc., of Indiana, PA, to fix a leaking barrel tank at the Murry Heirs #6 well site in Cheswick, PA. As two Northeast Energy Management workers welded the tank on July 23 of 2010, the heat from the welding ignited oil vapors and caused the tank to explode, killing both workers.
The Washington Post reports that the explosion sent the tank flying over 100 foot tall trees, landing more than 200 feet away, and caused a nearby gas well to catch fire and burn for hours before a special crew could be brought from Texas to fight the fire. The newspaper identifies the two welders as 56-year-old Andy Yosurak Jr., of Creekside, and 46-year-old Kevin Henry, of New Florence.
OSHA investigators found that Northeast Energy Management Inc. failed to ensure the safety of its workers by verifying the tank the workers were welding had been thoroughly cleaned and free of flammable materials, which might produce a flammable or toxic vapor when subjected to heat, and to check if flammable/combustible or other hazardous materials were present. The agency issued the company two willful violations for these failures.
OSHA issues a “willful violation” when an employer has demonstrated either an intentional disregard for the requirements of the law or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
Northeast Energy Management Inc. also received serious violations for failing to outfit its welders with flame retardant clothing, failing to ensure that welders get approval from supervisors prior to welding and failing to train employees in safety procedures needed to protect themselves from hazardous chemicals.
OSHA issues a “serious citation” when there is substantial probability, that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Huntley & Huntley Inc., owner of the well site and developer of more than 350 gas wells in western Pennsylvania, also received a willful violation by OSHA after they determined that the company failed to ensure that Northeast Energy Management Inc. trained welders and supervisors properly in regards to welding equipment and safety.
"These companies did not ensure that proper welding procedures were followed, resulting in this tragic loss of life," director of OSHA’s Pittsburgh, PA office Robert Szymanski said in an OSHA release. "OSHA remains committed to holding employers legally responsible when they fail to adhere to federal law and compromise the safety of workers."
OSHA assessed penalties to Northeast Energy Management Inc. of $159,390 and Huntley & Huntley Inc. of $70,000. The companies have 15 days to comply or request a hearing.
1 Worker Killed and 3 Injured as Wall Collapses at NY Construction Site
The collapse of a cinder block wall on a Queens, NY construction site has left one construction worker dead and three more seriously injured.
A 20-foot tall by 64-foot wide cement block wall collapsed at about 9:30am this morning on a construction site at 84-16 Queens Blvd. in the Elmhurst area of Queens as workers were filling the insides of the wall with concrete, reported the NY Daily News.
According to an article by the New York Times, two workers were on top of the wall and two other workers were on the ground next to the wall when it collapsed. The two workers on top of the wall rode the tumbling blocks as they fell, the two men on the ground crushed and trapped under the onslaught of blocks.
The New York City Fire Department responded to the scene and conducted rescue operations. Ambulances transported all four workers to Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens. One worker died on the way to the hospital and the three others were in serious condition suffering trauma and fractures.
Killed in the incident was Huberto Sanchez, 26, of Queens, a married man who has two children and another on the way.
The NYC Department of Buildings has issued a stop work order while the agency investigates the incident.
"We are investigating whether the work was being done properly," agency representative Ryan Fitzgibbon told the NY Daily News.
According to a NYC Department of Building, more than 200 construction related injuries and three deaths occur each year. Nearly 18% of construction injury events are due to material falling and 45% due to workers falling.
OSHA Fines Newark, NJ Company $212,400 for Workplace Safety and Health Hazards
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Solid Waste Transfer & Recycling Inc., of Newark, NJ, for alleged safety and health violations and proposed penalties totaling $212,400.
On June 3, 2009, OSHA inspected Solid Waste Transfer & Recycling Inc. facilities as part of a proactive program targeting companies in industries with high injury and illness rates.
OSHA issued Solid Waste Transfer & Recycling Inc. citations for four willful violations with a penalty of $198,000 after the inspection found the company failed to have an adequate lockout procedures and a lack of machine guards. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to, or intentional disregard for, employee safety and health.
OSHA also found blocked exits, inadequate energy control procedures, lack of training, failure to properly mark compressed gas cylinders and effectively close electrical box openings, the agency issued citations for six serious violations with a penalty of $14,400. A serious citation is issued when there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard.
“Lockout procedures are designed to safeguard workers from the unexpected startup of machinery and equipment, or the release of hazardous energy during service or maintenance activities,” said Phil Peist, area director of OSHA’s office in Parsippany, N.J. “It is imperative that the company correct the identified hazards to protect the safety and health of its workers.”
Solid Waste Transfer & Recycling Inc. must comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission within 15 business days from receipt of the citations.
“One means of helping ensure worker safety is for employers is to establish an effective safety and health management system through which they and their employees work together to proactively evaluate, identify and eliminate hazards before they result in injury or illness,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA’s regional administrator in New York.
Many factors must be taken into consideration when determining if a worker’s injury or death was the result of negligence, equipment failure or dangerous working conditions. If you have been injured while on the job, you may be entitled to compensation such as medical expenses and lost wages or the funeral expenses, lost prospect of receiving an inheritance and the loss of financial support for the personal injury or wrongful death of a loved one while on the job. At Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP we are experienced in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. We know that dealing with the death of a loved one is difficult. Contact us to discuss what you can do to recover for the loss call 888-529-4669 or visit www.NBRLawFirm.com today.
