OSHA reaches settlement agreement with contractor

• OSHA reached a settlement agreement to resolve litigation following a March 2022 investigation at a work site in Wheeling, West Virginia, that resulted in a dozen citations issued against an Ohio-based contractor with an extensive history of exposing workers to deadly falls.
• The settlement agreement with Charm Builders Ltd. affirms 12 citations issued by OSHA – six egregious-willful, five repeat, and one serious – and the corresponding $730,000 in penalties that the company must pay along with enhanced compliance measures.
• The citations followed an inspection on March 29, 2022, after OSHA received a complaint that alleged Charm Builders did not provide fall protection to workers replacing a roof atop a two-story office building in Wheeling.
• OSHA cited the contractor for failing to ensure the use of fall protection and safety glasses, allowing unsafe use of portable ladders, and failing to provide training to employees on fall hazards.
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Worker killed in trailer collapse

• OSHA is investigating after a worker was killed when a 90,000-pound trailer collapsed and fell onto him in Massachusetts.
• Two workers were working on the 53-foot-long trailer portion of a tractor-trailer. The male victim was underneath and was working on the landing gear when the accident happened.
• Fire officials say the weight of the trailer, including its cargo contents of water bottles, was about 90,000 pounds.
• The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Negligence led to deadly explosion

• A lack of safety precautions led to a deadly 2020 oil well blowout in Burleson County, Texas, that killed three workers, a federal investigation concluded.
• A report by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found a lack of effective well control practices, including well barriers, contributed to the incident, along with the absence of regulations governing onshore oil and gas operations.”
• Three contract workers at the Daniel H. Wendland 1-H well (“Wendland well”) suffered fatal burn injuries from a flash fire that erupted when hydrocarbons from the well ignited. One died at the scene and the others died later.
• To prevent similar tragedies in the future, the agency is issuing recommendations to OSHA, the American Petroleum Institute, and Chesapeake.
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Employee falls to death at convention center

• A worker died after falling from the ceiling of the Gatlinburg Convention Center in Gatlinburg, Tennessee
• The worker, who was identified as 66-year-old Jeffrey Coker, died Tuesday after falling while installing lights in the convention center’s ceiling.
• Coker worked for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Union No. 197, police said, which had been hired to install stage elements for an upcoming event.
• The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death.
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