A Georgia crawl space remediation company may have prevented the death of an employee had it adhered to safety regulations required by law, investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found.
A federal workplace safety inquiry found the employee of Crawlspace Medic of Savannah was electrocuted to death while excavating a shallow drainage trench under a house, according to a news release issued Oct. 12.
“Working in confined spaces presents hazards that can be fatal if they go unrecognized and are not appropriately mitigated,” Jerred Stevens, OSHA acting area director in Savannah, Ga., said, according to the release.
OSHA investigators found the 32-year-old lead repair technician working for East Coast Crawl LLC, doing business as Crawlspace Medic of Savannah, came into contact with an electrical line as workers were installing a drain to remove accumulating water April 18, according to the release.
Stevens said employers are legally responsible for providing their employees with a safe workplace. East Coast Crawl failed to follow federal safety requirements, leaving their employee’s family, friends and coworkers to grieve, the release reported.
The company was cited for not de-energizing the electrical lines before having workers dig and work in the area, the release reported. Additionally, OSHA found the company failed to properly train the employees in how to recognize and avoid dangerous conditions and did not provide personal protective equipment for working in such a confined space.
OSHA has proposed $31,284 in penalties, according to the release.
