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- A 23-year-old construction worker died in March when an overloaded crane collapsed.
- OSHA has proposed $262,977 of fines against the construction contractor.
- Its 15 violations included failing to create or employ an accident prevention program.
A Texas-based construction contractor could face $262,977 in fines after one of its workers was killed when a crane collapsed in March, the Department of Labor announced Wednesday.
Investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that S&D Erectors could have prevented the 23-year-old's death if it followed safety procedures.
The workers were constructing a metal building with a mobile crane which collapsed on March 3, the DOL said.
"A load that was in the process of being picked exceeded the crane's rated capacity," according to one of OSHA's citations.
OSHA cited S&D Erectors with a total of 15 violations, including operating a mobile crane in excess of its rated capacity.
The federal agency also said that S&D Erectors did not create and employ an accident prevention program, or perform frequent and regular inspections of the site.
"S&D Erectors disregarded the safety of their employees, and one worker suffered the deadly consequences of the company's failures," said OSHA Area Director Timothy Minor.
"By willfully ignoring required safety standards for operating a crane, a young worker's family, friends and co-workers must cope with a void from his loss that can never be filled," he added.
According to the latest statistics from the DOL, there were 5,190 fatal work injuries in 2021. On average, that means somebody died every 101 minutes due to a work-related injury. A Construction Dive investigation from November found that despite OSHA's efforts to clamp down on the safety of the sector, workers have continued to die at the same rate between 2011 and 2020. The workforce has also grown during this time, it said.
S&D Erectors could not be reached for comment. It has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings.