Union City contractor allowed dangerous hazards that led to worker’s fatal fall while removing siding at Bayonne home

Employer name: Bolivar Enterprises LLC, 902 Central Ave., Union City, New Jersey

Citations issued: On June 3, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations for nine serious violations.

Investigation findings: OSHA opened an inspection on Dec. 11, 2015, when the Bayonne Police Department reported that a worker had fallen while removing siding from three-story residence. The agency also conducted the inspection under its local emphasis program focused on fall hazards in construction. 

Investigators found that the employee – who died from his injuries – was working on an extension ladder that was part of a scaffold, approximately 25 feet high. While removing the existing siding from the front of the house, he pulled a piece of siding, it gave way, and he fell to the ground. OSHA cited Bolivar for allowing the hazard that caused the fall. The agency also issued citations for scaffolding hazards, including:

• Failing to provide adequate fall protection while working on the scaffold.
• Not erecting scaffolding that met OSHA’s standards.
• Using scaffolding improperly.
• Failing to provide scaffolding training to workers.

Proposed penalties: $57,000

Quote: “This tragedy could have been prevented if the company had properly protected workers from fall hazards. Instead, Bolivar Enterprises exposed employees to deadly falls from nearly all aspects of the job,” said Bryan Flynn, acting area director of OSHA’s Parsippany Office. “Falls are the leading cause of injury and death on construction sites. Employers must take worker safety seriously or risk serious consequences.”

View the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/BolivarEnterprisesLLC_1046028.pdf.