Alabama Contractor Cited for Safety Failures After Worker’s Fatal Electrocution
A worker’s fatal electrocution during storm recovery work resulted in OSHA citations and penalties for an Alabama contractor’s safety lapses.
- By Robert Yaniz Jr.
- Dec 27, 2024
OSHA has cited Dexter Fortson Associates Inc. for seven serious safety violations and one other-than-serious violation following the electrocution of a 44-year-old foreman during storm recovery work in Coaling, Alabama. The company provides power system design, installation, and maintenance services to utility, manufacturing, and coal mining.
According to a recent release, the company faces $84,789 in proposed penalties for failing to protect workers from electrical hazards. The incident occurred while the foreman—part of a three-person crew—attempted to replace a broken switch at a natural gas pump site. OSHA investigators determined the switch was energized, and the foreman came into contact with voltage from overhead power lines.
OSHA determined that Dexter Fortson Associates allowed the use of expired electrical protective equipment and failed to ensure workers recognized and mitigated electrical hazards before starting work. Inspectors also found that the company neglected to supervise employees, provide adequate safety briefings, and conduct required inspections of tools and equipment.
Among the violations, OSHA noted that live-line tools used for work on energized power lines had not been removed from service for required testing every two years. Additionally, the employer failed to ensure the de-energization of equipment and allowed workers to operate within nine inches of an energized cutout switch.
“Electrical work is inherently dangerous, and industry employers must ensure basic safety standards are met to prevent a needless tragedy like this,” OSHA Area Director Joel Batiz in Birmingham, Alabama, said in a statement. “Now family, friends and co-workers are left to grieve this terrible loss.”
Bessemer, Alabama-based Dexter Fortson Associates has 15 business days to comply with OSHA’s citations, request an informal conference, or contest the agency’s findings.
About the Author
Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.