Company Fined, Sentenced for Violating OSHA Rule Leading to Worker’s Death

A company with a manufacturing facility in Ohio was sentenced to pay a $500,000 fine after pleading guilty to willfully violating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule.

In addition to the fine, the company will serve two years of organizational probation, and it must comply with a Safety Compliance Plan.

The criminal charge is related to an incident in which an employee was killed when a pneumatic door closed on his head, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Fabcon Precast LLC makes precast concrete panels at its facility in Grove City, Ohio. Batch operators were employees responsible for operating and cleaning a concrete mixer, which discharged concrete through a pneumatic door. The mixer had an exhaust valve that released the pneumatic energy which powered the discharge door to make it inoperable.

The valve’s handle broke off, and was not replaced, prior to June 6, 2020. On that day, batch operator Zachary Ledbetter was injured trying to close the discharge door due to the broken valve. He was eventually freed from the door, but he died at a hospital five days later, according to the DOJ.

Federal law makes it a class B misdemeanor to willfully fail to follow an OSHA safety standard, in which the failure causes the death of an employee.