Powers, DiCicco & Sahagian – April 10, 2012
Construction sites can be dangerous places owing not only to the machinery present but also to the constant movement that takes place there. Fortunately, when a construction accident occurs, the injured worker is often eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. With this fact in mind, readers may be interested to hear of one Massachusetts company now facing a hefty fine by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Readers in the Boston area should know that, in order to reduce the chance of injury, construction companies must follow state and federal regulations concerning worker safety. A failure to do so not only may subject the company to fines, but also pose serious risks to workers. After failing to follow at least one of these regulations, OSHA fined Shawnlee Construction $50,000.
The fine was in response to a failure by the company to take adequate steps to safeguard against dangerous falls at construction sites. In this case, an inspection of a public safety building that the firm is constructing in Connecticut revealed that the site was in violation of fall protection regulations. As the company has been cited in three different states over the past five years for similar hazards, OSHA decided to impose an especially large fine.
As one of OSHA’s area directors explained, falls are one of the deadliest hazards at construction sites. Often, workers are literally just a step away from a fall that could disable them or even cause a fatal injury. While workers’ compensation benefits fortunately help with financial expenses following a construction accident, companies in Massachusetts and elsewhere still have an obligation to take steps to greatly the limit the chance of worker injury.