On September 30th, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a citation and notification of penalty to Pirul Trim Service and Blazer Building Inc. Both companies were cited in relation to a tragic accident that occurred in the spring of 2015 when a construction worker was killed in a thirty-six foot fall. If your family has suffered through the immense heartbreak of losing a loved one in a preventable workplace accident, please contact an experienced San Antonio wrongful death attorney today.
The Subcontractor was Cited for A Willful Violation and Five Serious Violations
OSHA determined that Pirul Trim Service, the subcontractor, violated numerous safety regulations and that those violations put its employees at significant risk. A willful violation is the highest level of violation that OSHA assigns. A willful violation is reserved for when companies intentionally put their employees at a safety risk or are grossly indifferent to their employee’s safety. In this case, the scaffolding on the job site was not set up by a qualified professional, and further, none of the employees working on the site were trained in relation to working on scaffolding by a qualified professional. Proper training in the erection and use of scaffolding is extremely important. Scaffolding is inherently dangerous and accidents involving scaffolding can result in very serious injuries to both construction workers and bystanders. Your employer has a legal obligation to ensure that scaffolding is safe for everyone involved. This case, much like most modern construction cases, highlights the complicated intersection between the contractor and the subcontractor. The subcontractor may be directly set up and working with the scaffolding, but the general contractor also has a legal obligation to make sure the construction site is safe.
The General Contractor is also Responsible
Blazer Building Inc, was the general contractor on the construction site, and they were cited with four serious violations in relation to the accident. While they might not bear the same responsibility as the subcontractor and therefore were not hit with a willful violation, they did have a legal duty to provide reasonably safe working conditions. In the penalties to Blazer Building, OSHA specifically noted that Blazer had failed to conduct frequent and regular safety inspections of their job site. As a general contractor, hiring multiple subcontractors, it was their legal duty to ensure their entire job site was safe for workers. It is common for many different parties to be working on one job site, if you’ve been injured on one of these job sites it can be difficult to sort out liability. An experienced San Antonio workplace injury attorney will make sure that every negligent party is held liable.
Contact A San Antonio Wrongful Death Attorney
Employers owe their hard-working employees safe and secure working conditions, when they fail to deliver they must be held accountable. Losing a loved one in a preventable accident is one of the most devastating events imaginable. At the Law Office of Ronald A. Ramos, we have immense experience in Texas wrongful death cases and will work tirelessly to get justice for your family. Contact an experienced San Antonio wrongful death attorney today to learn more about your legal options.
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