Officials with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are investigating a workplace accident in Georgia involving a roofing contractor who fell about 30 feet to his death while working on the roof of a carpet and flooring manufacturing plant. According to investigators, the company that employed the 48-year-old worker has been cited by federal regulators 10 times since 2008, for failing to provide employees with fall protection gear and other fall-related safety violations. If you have been injured in a work-related accident in Georgia, or if you lost a loved one in a fatal roofing accident, consult our reputable attorneys at Rechtman & Spevak for legal help. Our law firm is located in Atlanta, and our lawyers have years of experience protecting the rights of workers injured in job site accidents throughout Georgia.
Worker Deaths on Construction Sites
The fatal work site accident took place at Shaw Industries’ WD plant in Dalton, Georgia on April 12, and involved a roofing contractor employed by Tennessee-based Porter Roofing Contractors. According to the accident report, the worker fell between 30 and 35 feet from the roof of the manufacturing plant and suffered severe head trauma that ultimately caused his death. “They found him conscious but confused and [he] had severe trauma to his head,” said Dalton Fire Department Deputy Chief Gary Baggett. “Our guys [from the fire department] immediately started giving aid to him and started trying to stabilize him prior to EMS arriving.” The worker was transported via ambulance to Hamilton Medical Center but went into cardiac arrest and died before reaching the hospital.
Preventing Roofing Falls, Other Job Site Accidents
The Shaw Industries roofing accident comes just a few weeks before a national safety stand-down, planned for June 2-6, which is geared towards raising awareness about preventing construction site falls and other devastating work accidents. According to workplace accident statistics compiled by OSHA, the leading causes of worker deaths on construction sites throughout the country in 2012 were falls, followed by struck by object, electrocution and caught-in/between. In fact, OSHA officials report that construction site falls accounted for 278 out of 775 total deaths in the construction industry in 2012 alone.
Contact Our Workers’ Comp Lawyers Today
OSHA officials are investigating whether a violation of any safety standards could have caused the tragic GA roofing accident, and regulators are especially concerned about a host of prior safety citations received by Porter Roofing Contractors in previous years. According to reports, the roofing company was fined $1,315 in 2011 and $1,750 in 2012 for failure to meet standards for fall protection, and in 2009, the company was fined $4,500 and later $9,000 for the same safety violation. If you have suffered injuries in a roofing accident in Atlanta, Marietta or elsewhere in Georgia, that you believe was caused by inadequate safety measures on the part of your employer, contact our workers’ compensation lawyers at Rechtman & Spevak today to discuss your legal options.
Source: http://timesfreepress.com/news/2014/apr/15/roofing-company-dalton-death-had-record-unsafe-con/
