October 18, 2012
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently fined Lunda Construction Co. $21,000 for three safety violations that resulted in the death of a worker in April. An article from the Green Bay Press-Gazette said OSHA officials believed the accident could have been prevented if workers had been properly trained.
The incident occurred on April 20 in the construction zone along US 41. The 59-year-old worker, from Black River Falls, was helping to assemble a crane arm when the piece of equipment shifted and became pinned on top of him. He died a short time later.
OSHA found the company failed to properly train and instruct workers through written procedure on safe crane assembly. Also, the company was found to have not provided a competent supervisor during the assembly process and failed to follow manufacturer’s recommendations during assembly.
The company has been cited for safety violations a total of 14 times over the past five years.
Frank Winingham, Director of OSHA in the Appleton, Wisconsin, area stated violations such as this are a major contributing force to workplace injuries and deaths that can often result in the need for employees and loved ones to file Wisconsin Workers’ Compensation or wrongful death claims.
The Appleton personal injury lawyers with Sigman, Janssen, Sewall, Pitz & Burkham want to help if you have a work-related injury claim.