News Release
Federal investigators find Texas contractor exposed employees to struck-by hazards that led to crane collapse, employee’s death
AUBREY, TX – A federal workplace safety investigation has found that a Farmersville construction contractor could have prevented the loss of a 23-year-old employee by following required safety procedures for operating a mobile crane at an Aubrey work site.
Investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned that the worker and other employees of S&D Erectors Inc. were constructing a metal building when the crane collapsed in March 2023. The agency determined the company exposed its employees to struck-by hazards by overloading the crane beyond its weight limitations.
OSHA cited the company for four willful violations related to:
- Not using temporary alternative measures when the load and radius cell did not work.
- Operating a mobile crane in excess of its rated capacity.
- Requiring the crane operator to operate the crane in a manner that exceeded its rated capacity.
OSHA also cited S&D Erectors for 11 serious violations for its failures to:
- Create and employ an accident prevention program.
- Perform frequent and regular inspections of the work site.
- Meet federal safety standards for crane inspections, wire rope inspections and other hazards.
The agency has proposed $262,977 in penalties.
“S&D Erectors disregarded the safety of their employees, and one worker suffered the deadly consequences of the company’s failures,” said OSHA Area Director Timothy Minor in Fort Worth, Texas. “By willfully ignoring required safety standards for operating a crane, a young worker’s family, friends and co-workers must cope with a void from his loss that can never be filled.”
Based in Farmersville, S&D Erectors Inc. has specialized in commercial structural steel erection and incorporated 2007. The company employs about 67 people.
S&D Erectors Inc. has 15 business days from receipt of citation 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.
