A new-hire employee at a construction company suffered a fatal fall from a three-story apartment complex building on his second day at work. Last week, the owner of the company was sentenced to three years in prison for lacking proper safety equipment and adequate worker's compensation coverage.
- In a plea agreement, he plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and worker's compensation fraud
- Both charges are felonies
- He has also been ordered to pay $303,152 in restitution to the Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation
- Initial charges included reckless homicide and a prison sentence of up to 4.5 years
- A history of 2 other employees falling off or through roofs was taken into consideration by the judge before sentencing
Fall. Safety. Matters!
Any construction contractor that hires roofers needs to have adequate protection for them - and for their families in case everything should go horribly wrong. Whether staffed full with seasoned veterans or hiring new people to get the job done, accidents happen. No matter how you look at it, saving a few thousand dollars is not worth several years in prison.
Check out our complete line of safety harnesses, lanyards, anchors and accessories for fall protection gear, or call (248)221-8076 to discuss your fall safety needs.
Source Links:
- Construction company owner gets prison for worker’s death | Associated Press
- [Ohio] construction company owner sentenced to 3 years in prison for employee’s death in a fall | Ohio.com
- Image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay