Agency faults contractor for death of employee

An inspection by the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has found that a 51-year-old laborer who fell to his death on the job in April was not provided with the required fall protection equipment.

The agency found that the victim, Vidal Sanchez, and his co-workers were not provided with harnesses and lifelines, and their employer – Brooklyn-based J&M Metro General Contracting Corp. – had not trained them on how to minimize fall hazards. The inspection also identified other fall-related hazards, such as missing stairway guardrails, a defective extension ladder, unprotected floor holes and construction debris in both stairways and work areas.

“Mr. Sanchez’s death could have been prevented by J&M Metro General Contracting,” said Kay Gee, OSHA’s area director for Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. “This employer knew fall protection was required, but did not supply lifesaving equipment that would have prevented this fall.”

Sanchez fell while raking freshly poured concrete at the unprotected sixth floor edge of a Brighton Beach building.

OSHA has since cited the company, which now faces $84,000 in proposed fines.

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