OSHA Fined Texas Contractor $262,977 Following Employee's Death
S&D Erectors faces fines for willful and serious safety violations
- By Robert Yaniz Jr.
- Aug 29, 2023
S&D Erectors Inc.—a Farmersville, Texas-based commercial structural steel erection specialist—is facing $262,977 in penalties following an OSHA investigation.
In a statement dated August 24, the agency announced it discovered that the contractor exposed employees to struck-by hazards by overloading a mobile crane during the construction of a metal building. As a result, the crane collapsed, leading to the death of a 23-year-old worker at an Aubrey, Texas work site in March 2023.
OSHA found the company committed four willful violations, including not using temporary alternative measures when the load and radius cell did not work, operating a mobile crane in excess of its rated capacity and requiring crane operation that exceeded its rated capacity.
Additionally, S&D Erectors was cited for 11 serious violations for its failures to to create and employ an accident prevention program, conduct frequent and regular inspections of the work site and meet federal safety standards for crane inspections, wire rope inspections and other hazards.
“S&D Erectors disregarded the safety of their employees, and one worker suffered the deadly consequences of the company’s failures,” OSHA Area Director Timothy Minor in Fort Worth, Texas said in a statement. “By willfully ignoring required safety standards for operating a crane, a young worker’s family, friends and co-workers must cope with a void from his loss that can never be filled.”
S&D Erectors now has 15 business days from receipt of the citation and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest its findings.
About the Author
Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.