The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited an Ohio industrial insulation contractor for a fatal fall from a roof and scaffold at an indoor horse-riding facility in Mars, Pa., and serious injuries to other workers.
Industrial Insulation and Coatings LLC entered into a settlement agreement with OSHA to resolve litigation from a June 2020 investigation, according to a June 22 news release.
“Despite a near miss that occurred shortly before this tragic incident, Industrial Insulation and Coatings ignored their legal obligation to ensure workers used fall protection,” Regional Solicitor Oscar L. Hampton III in Philadelphia said, according to the release. “Now one worker has lost his life, and three others have suffered serious injuries.”
Three employees were installing metal shingles on a steep-pitched roof at the riding facility when one of them lost his balance and fell, the release said. Two others fell as a result and a fourth, employed by another company, fell from a ladder jack scaffold. OSHA inspectors found none of the workers wore required fall protection equipment.
“The U.S. Department of Labor is determined to enforce OSHA’s fall protection standards and, as this case demonstrates, will hold employers who fail in their responsibilities accountable,” Hampton said, according to the release.
He said OSHA hopes this tragedy deters future violations by this employer and others, the release reported. It should send a message that failing to protect workers can cause harm and result in financial and legal consequences.
