Dive Brief:
- The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has cited two companies for violations related to the falling death of a worker during construction at SoFi Stadium in June, according to the Los Angeles Times.
- The newspaper said Fabritec Structures and ZD Inspections received five citations related to the death of Juan Becerra, who was employed by ZD Inspections and fell approximately 120 feet through a roof opening that wasn’t protected by temporary railings, toeboards or covers. Total proposed penalties amount to more than $54,000.
- In addition, the article said ZD Inspections was cited for additional serious violations, including employees not wearing “personal fall arrest, person restraint or positioning systems.” The L.A. County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s report on Becerra’s death noted that no “cat line” or safety line was attached to the worker’s harness. The companies have a right to appeal the citations.
Dive Insight:
The SoFi project citations follow a lawsuit filed by Becerra’s family in August in L.A. County Superior Court against the two firms, joint venture Turner-AECOM Hunt and Stadco LA, the company that financed the project, according to the paper. The suit claimed the project was rushed due to previous delays from the coronavirus pandemic as it tried to meet the August 2020 completion date for the start of the NFL season.
The project weathered a coronavirus outbreak this summer, with 49 workers testing positive in July. The JV said that it had a “robust mitigation program” as well as contract tracing for both positive and presumed coronavirus cases.
A second worker died on the project in July after showing signs of a health issue, CBS Sports reported, and just yesterday, Cal/OSHA announced it is investigating the death of a worker in the retail district in the 298-acre development that includes the stadium. The man in his 30s, who was not immediately identified, was pronounced dead Wednesday morning, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
A Cal/OSHA spokesman told the Los Angeles Times the worker was “crushed in an accident involving a crane.”
The $5 billion project, home to the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams, is the most expensive stadium ever built. But in a bitter reminder of 2020’s challenges, the building hasn’t hosted fans during the current NFL season due to local coronavirus restrictions, and is likely to finish the year without doing so.
