A New Hampshire construction company has been fined for the death of a worker who fell from scaffolding. The planking the worker was working on snapped and he plunged to his death. The worker, Steven Sawyer was employed by MacMillin Co, Inc.
OSHA cited the contractor for the following willful violations;
- Scaffolding not inspected for defects
- Employees not adequately trained in the erection and inspection of scaffolding
- The employer did not determine the feasibility of or ensure the use of fall protection for employees during the scaffold erection
- The scaffold planks could not support four times their maximum allowable load as required
- all of the scaffold's supporting legs were not set on base plates
- Scaffold planks were covered with paint
- Employees were not adequately supervised during the scaffold erection
In the OSHA Citation and Notification of Penalty the fines amounts are listed by violation.
- Citation 2 Item 1 Willfill-Serious $50,400
- Citation 2 Item 2 Willful-Serious $50,400
- Citation 2 Item 3 Willful-Serious $50,400
- Citation 1 Item 1 Serious $4410
- Citation 1 Item 2 Serious $4410
- Citation 1 Item 3 Serious $3150
- Citation 1 Item 4 Serious $4410
The total amount of assessed fines is $167,580.00. You can view the invoice on page 10 of the citation that follows;
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/TheMacMillinCompanyInc.pdf
No money is enough for the life of Mr Sawyer however the amount will surely make MacMillan Co, Inc think about future projects and the safety of their workers.
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