An 18-year-old worker in Bay Harbor Island, Florida ended up in the hospital on his first day on the job -- because his employer failed to provide him with fall protection, according to OSHA.
The incident occurred when the Fast Carpentry Inc. employee was installing roofing sheathing and a gust of wind caught the plywood he was carrying, causing him to fall approximately 14 feet to the ground. The man landed on a metal fence post, upon which his upper thigh and buttocks were impaled.
OSHA inspectors issued a willful citation was issued for the employer's failure to provide fall protection when workers are performing residential construction at heights greater than 6 feet and a repeated violation relates for not providing prevention training so that employees can recognize, minimize and prevent exposure to fall hazards.
Proposed penalties: $152,145.
"Fast Carpentry continues to put employees' lives at risk by intentionally and repeatedly ignoring OSHA's standards, and as a result of the company's reckless actions, a young worker nearly lost his life on his first day on the job," said Condell Eastmond, OSHA's area director in Fort Lauderdale. "The company must take immediate action to cease the practice of putting workers' lives in jeopardy."