Dive Brief:
- Alaska contractor Hartman Construction is challenging a $560,000 fine levied against it for allegedly causing the June 2015 death of an employee while trying to rescue him from a collapsed trench, according to the Alaska Dispatch News.
- The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development maintains that company co-owner David Hartman and his employees "fatally injured" 23-year-old Samuel Morgan, who was waist-deep in a 7-foot trench collapse, when they tried to free him with two excavators. An autopsy found that Morgan died as a result of "being struck by construction equipment."
- Hartman will present its side before the Alaska Occupational Safety and Health Review Board on Oct. 5, delaying its case from moving forward until after the hearing. State officials said Hartman is contesting the entire fine and associated citation.
Dive Insight:
State officials said companies found in violation of construction safety regulations usually settle for an abatement and adjustment in fine amounts rather than contest the entire matter. Hartman's board review will be the first such hearing in two years. When the state assessed the fine late last year for Hartman's "willful failure to adhere to safety standards," Heidi Drygas, commissioner of the state DOL, said the high fine was intended to send a message to other contractors and to prevent future construction safety violations. Hartman reportedly has no previous incidents with the state or with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
OSHA focuses resources on enforcing fall protection standards but has recently picked up the level of enforcement on excavation and trench violations as part of its National Emphasis Program for Trenching and Excavations. Last week, OSHA cited two Texas contractors for a variety of willful and serious trench safety violations and fined the companies a total of $121,343. The citations included failing to secure power lines and lack of trench guardrails or walkways. In another Texas incident earlier this month, OSHA also cited Renda Contracting for failure to maintain safe excavations and issued the company 11 serious violations, among others. OSHA said it had investigated Renda six other times in the last decade for similar violations.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office recently chose to take excavation safety to a new level when it prosecuted New York City contractor Harco Construction for the death of 22-year-old Carlos Moncayo, who died in an excavation collapse on a Harco job site. The company was found guilty of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide due to insufficient trench protections and faces a fine of $35,000, as well as an order from the court to pay for a public safety television ad. Harco said it will not comply with the court's order and that it plans to appeal the verdict.
