OSHA Blames Construction Company for Police Officer Death
A Franklin, Massachusetts, construction accident offers good lessons for people in the construction field nationwide. According to news reports, a construction company working on a road site is being cited for their role in the death of a traffic-directing police officer. The company behind the construction site is being fined because OSHA says the death was preventable.
The accident happened last summer, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) just recently released their investigation and findings.
On July 26, an officer with the Westfield Police Department was killed when a construction dump truck backed over him. The officer was directing traffic around the roadside worksite when the accident occurred.
The construction company is facing $14,000 in penalties for the accident, an amount OSHA admits does not come close to the value of the lost life.
OSHA found the dump truck driver had an obstructed view. Also, they say that the company didn’t teach their workers enough about avoiding dangerous conditions and eliminating accident risks. In addition to their fine, they will have to increase safety training.
The truck did have a back-up alarm, but reports indicate there were several alarms going off at the time of the accident, possibly leading to confusion and a failure to react on the officer’s part.
As for the construction company, this isn’t their first OSHA violation, according to news reports. The company faced over $100,000 in fines in 2005 for failing to protect workers from cave-ins. They were also cited in 2008 and 2009 for violations, according to news stories.
If you’ve been hurt in a construction accident, contact our New York and New Jersey construction accident lawyers today for a free consultation.
