A construction fatality in Texas has spurred criticism of OSHA’s recent inspection increase. But not all of the criticism is the same.
Last week, a worker was killed when he fell more than 20 stories from a high-rise construction site in Dallas.
Jose Aguila, 37, was installing metal louvers on the side of the building. A scaffold collapsed, and the worker’s safety harness failed, according to a report by NBC-5 in Dallas.
In June, OSHA announced an increase in construction-site inspections in Texas due to the high rate of worker fatalities and serious injuries.
Raleigh Roussell, with contractor organization TEXO, complains that some OSHA inspectors arriving at construction sites are transfers from other OSHA areas who don’t have construction experience. “The hazards are much different than those in a plant,” he said.
Personal injury attorney Mark Werbner is also critical of OSHA’s inspections, but for a much different reason.
Werbner says the agency is still far too easy on contractors and the fines for violations aren’t high enough.
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