TMCnet News
Fatal fall from bridge draws OSHA fine: Agency blames worker death on safety violations(Paducah Sun, The (KY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 23--American Bridge, the contractor for the U.S. 62/641 bridge over the Tennessee River below Grand Rivers, has been cited for six safety violations, including a fine of $70,000 in connection with an employee's death last June. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the fine and citations. James R. Jones, 54, of Arlington was working on a girder on the north edge of the bridge on June 13 when he fell, landing near the river's shore, said James Lamb, deputy coroner in Livingston County. Jones apparently died instantly. Jones died after falling approximately 70 feet from a girder. He was wearing a harness and lanyard but was not secured to an anchorage point, according to reports at the time. "This company has a fall protection plan, but management's failure to enforce their own safety and health policy resulted in this totally avoidable fatality," said William Cochran, OSHA's area director in Nashville. OSHA cited the company with one willful violation for failing to eliminate employee exposure to fall hazards and failing to ensure that employees properly used personal protective equipment while working above heights of 6 feet. The agency defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. The $70,000 fine is the maximum allowed by OSHA statute for a willful violation. Also, the agency said Monday that it is issuing four serious citations to the company for using pulleys that were not guarded on the winch gear, not barricading the swing radius on the cranes, not securing material against accidental displacement, and not using conforming fall protection systems. Each violation carries a $5,000 fine. The company received one other-than-serious citation, with no monetary penalty, for a recordkeeping violation. OSHA proposes a total of $90,000 in fines for the combined violations. The Pittsburgh-based company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to contest them and the proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. To see more of The Paducah Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.paducahsun.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Paducah Sun, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |