ADAMS COUNTY, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from July 29, 2022.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced a fine for a contractor accused of skipping safety measures, leading to the death of an employee last July.
OSHA fined Lawrence R. Martin's company Cumberland Poultry LLC $32,814 for safety violations that led to the death of 53-year-old Jose Rojas-Flores, of Harrisburg, while he was working on a demolition project at Hillandale Farms in Adams County on July 29, 2022.
Seven other employees were removed from the collapse and taken to the hospital.
The four violations were all classified as serious. OSHA accused the contractor of the following:
- Not properly training employees who were driving powered industrial trucks, leaving them susceptible to tip-overs, crushing and struck-by;
- Using front-end loaders and similar pieces of equipment that were not specifically designed to support scaffolding platforms for that purpose;
- Not requiring employees to wear protective helmets while working in areas where there was possible danger of a head injury;
- Not having a "competent person" perform an engineering survey to determine the condition of the framing, floors and walls and the possibility of a structure collapse prior to allowing employees to start demolition.
At this time, OSHA charged only the demolition contractor, Cumberland Poultry LLC, and not the site owner.
The contractor must pay the fines by Feb. 23 or face additional charges. They must also notify OSHA when they have taken proper corrective action and post the citation where all employees can see it.
Cumberland Poultry LLC has 15 days to contest the penalties.