Ohio Masonry Company Fined Nearly $141K After Workplace Death

International Masonry Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, has been cited with proposed penalties totaling $140,800 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for alleged serious and willful violations of federal workplace safety standards. OSHA began an investigation of the company after the death of a worker who fell approximately 37 feet in July 2009 after the scaffolding he and two other workers were on collapsed.

International Masonry Inc. has been cited with three willful violations. The proposed penalties of $112,000 are for allegedly modifying the manufacturer’s designed outrigger brackets on scaffolding, not ensuring scaffolding was properly secured to prevent tipping and not ensuring bracing was installed according to manufacturer’s recommendations.

The company also has received citations for seven serious violations, with proposed fines of $28,000. Some of the violations address the company’s failure to ensure that power industrial-truck operators were properly trained; failure to repair or replace damaged scaffolding components; guardrail not properly installed; and ladders not used as required, according to safety standards.

The company also received an other-than-serious violation with a fine of $800 for not maintaining proper record keeping logs.

The family owned company, which employs approximately 100 people, specializes in masonry and stonework construction and has had 59 previous OSHA inspections resulting in 41 violations since 1973, including a fatality inspection in 2002.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Source: OSHA