A Glenburn general contractor faces a $161,325 federal penalty for a worker's death in June, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Thursday.
Patriot Paving Group LLC ignored an onsite expert's warnings and the company's site-specific safety plan that led to the fatal incident in June, the federal agency said.
Two workers were installing storm drainage pipes in a trench of between 3 and 4 feet, OSHA said. Clifford Lane, the company's owner, used an excavator near the retaining wall's base that destabilized it and caused a 40-to-60-foot-long section of the wall to tip over. One worker escaped but the other worker died as a result of injuries. A Department of Labor spokesman said OSHA does not identify workers killed on the job.
"The warnings were clear, yet Clifford Lane chose to ignore them, putting progress before safety and putting employees directly in harm's way," said OSHA Area Director Samuel Kondrup. "There is no excuse for so callously endangering workers' lives."
OSHA investigators determined Lane knew the wall was unstable, but did not use necessary protective systems or evacuate employees. The continuing excavation created "clear and imminent dangers," the agency said.
Lane and Patriot Paving Group did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking a response to OSHA's statement and the proposed penalty.
OSHA cited the company for "willful violations" and proposed penalties of $161,325 for failing to brace the retaining wall, exposing employees to hazards, not removing employees from the trench after it was determined to be hazardous and not training or instructing three employees in the hazards associated with trench activities.
Patriot Paving Group has 15 business days to pay the penalty or contest OSHA's findings.
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