Indianapolis to Pay $80,000 in Fines After Trash Collector Dies

The city's public works department faces 10 violations after a trash collector died on the job.

  • Sep 20, 2013

After a 45-year-old trash collector named Thomas Welch died when a garbage truck that was backing up struck him, a workplace safety inspection found that the Indianapolis Public Works Department was guilty of 10 violations, according to an article from the Daily Journal. The violations add up to $80,000.

Welch was killed when his partner in a two-man crew began driving in reverse and did not see him. The driver stated that he checked his side-view mirrors before driving in reverse and didn't see Welch.

The violations, issued by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration, consist of four "knowing" violations, five "serious" violations and one "non-serious" violation. The alleged violations include not having written procedures for workers, not using lockout devices when cleaning the inside of the truck, and more.

The largest of the fines—which amounts to $70,000—is for a knowing violation in which the Indianapolis Department of Public Works permitted its trash collectors to ride on the back on the truck while going faster than 10 mph.

For more information, visit http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/37c74a975f724640ac188123b6b1b56c/IN--Garbage-Truck-Fatality/#.UjoBhNKshcY.

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