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R&B Contractors L.L.C., roofing contractor in Ohio, was fined $116,900 last month by the federal safety regulators at the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). OSHA began investigating the company after a 53-year-old roofer fell 40 feet to his death.
According to a statement from OSHA, the death of this worker would not have occurred if the roofer had been provided with proper fall safety equipment. The roofing contractor was issued 11 citations for serious safety violations, one willful safety violation and three other safety violations.
Roofing Contractors or Any Construction Company Must Protect Employees from Fall Hazards
In a statement, OSHA’s Cincinnati area director said four out of 10 workplace deaths that occur within the construction industry were caused by a deadly fall. Falls are one of the leading causes of fatalities for construction workers, yet can easily be prevented if employers do the following:
Provide guardrails
Provide safety nets
Provide personal fall prevention devices
Provide training for workers on fall hazards
Develop a safety program
Designate a safety monitor
Unfortunately, fall hazards do not just exist on rooftops. Open sided floors present fall hazards when workers who are focused on a different task step backwards only to find the floor drops off. Empty stairways and poorly positioned ladders also create fall hazards. Stairways without guardrails are a particular type of fall hazard that often result in serious injuries. Unsecure decking can present a fall hazard, especially when workers are straddling the joists.
Workplace Injuries and Workplace Fatalities Resulting from Fall Hazards are Preventable
Contractors cannot take shortcuts on safety measures to cut costs because, ultimately, the injured workers pay the price. There is equipment and training available to prevent injuries that result from fall hazards and employers must provide these resources to workers. While employers and workers alike may downplay the importance of safety at the worksite, breaking limbs or becoming permanently disabled is not worth the risk.
Our Columbus workers’ compensation lawyer represents victims who have experienced on-the-job injuries in the Columbus, Newark, Zanesville areas of Ohio.