Federal safety inspectors investigating hospitalized worker’s fall find co-worker atop building’s roof in potentially fatal danger

CHICAGO ‒ As a 54-year-old worker, who fell more than 11 feet as he installed a roof joist, recovered from his injuries, federal inspectors investigating his fall on March 8, 2016, arrived two days later and found a co-worker about 40 feet off the ground without proper fall protection.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited D.O.M. Construction for putting employees at risk by violating fall safety standards and failing to report the injury to OSHA within 24 hours, as required.

OSHA cited the company with one willful, two serious safety violations and one other-than-serious violation after inspecting the site, a commercial building project on North Paulina Street. The company faces $40,000 in proposed federal fines for these citations. The agency has cited the Mount Prospect-based company in five previous OSHA inspections for fall protection violations.

“One worker’s fall and his potentially life-altering injuries were preventable. D.O.M. Construction must train its workers in fall protection standards and enforce the use of protective equipment on the job,” said Kathy Webb, OSHA’s area director in Calumet City. “This employer’s continued irresponsibility is unacceptable. Preventable falls account for nearly 40 percent of all deaths in the construction industry. As work accelerates this summer, we are committed to protecting construction workers from unnecessary injuries or worse.”

View current citations here.

Federal safety and health officials are determined to reduce the numbers of preventable, fall-related deaths in the construction industry. OSHA offers a Stop Falls online resource with detailed information in English and Spanish on fall protection standards. The page provides fact sheets, posters and videos that illustrate various fall hazards and appropriate preventive measures. OSHA standards require that an effective form of fall protection be in use when workers perform construction activities 6 feet or more above the next lower level.

The ongoing Fall Prevention Campaign was developed in partnership with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and NIOSH’s National Occupational Research Agenda program. Begun in 2012, the campaign provides employers with lifesaving information and educational materials on how to prevent falls, provide the right equipment for workers and train employees to use gear properly.

D.O.M. Construction has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Calumet City office at (708) 891-3800.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.