A roofer without fall protection was almost killed his first day on the job. OSHA found out and issued $152,145 in fines.
OSHA investigated the construction site in Bay Harbor Island, FL, where the 18-year-old employee of Fast Carpentry I Inc. was injured after finding out about the incident from local authorities.
On March 23, 2016, the worker was installing roofing when a wind gust caught plywood he was carrying, causing him to fall 14 feet to the ground. The worker was partially impaled through his upper thigh and buttocks when he landed on a metal fence post.
Fast Carpentry received two violations:
- a willful citation ($124,709, the maximum allowed) for failure to provide fall protection when workers were performing residential construction at heights greater than six feet, and
- a repeat citation ($27,436) for not providing training so that employees can recognize, minimize and prevent exposure to fall hazards (the company was previously cited for a similar violation in Sunrise, FL, in 2013).
“As a result of the company’s reckless actions, a young worker nearly lost his life on his first day on the job,” said Condell Eastmond, OSHA’s area director in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Fast Carpentry has been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program which focuses on employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations. Under the program, OSHA may inspect any of the employer’s facilities if it has reasonable grounds to believe there are similar violations.
Companies have 15 days from receipt of OSHA citations to comply, request a conference with the agency’s area director or contest the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.