Roofing contractor cited after worker dies on first day
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An Idaho roofing contractor has been cited by federal workplace safety regulators and is facing $13,971 in proposed fines after an employee suffered a fatal fall on his first day on the job.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Nampa, Idaho-based RP Construction failed to prevent 42-year-old Brandon Horine’s death by ensuring fall protection equipment was used when Mr. Horine was removing shingles from a residential roof in September. He suffered severe brain trauma in a fall and succumbed to his injuries days later, OSHA said Thursday in a statement.
The contractor was cited for serious and other-than-serious violations for failing to ensure workers engaged in roofing activities used fall protection, for not training employees on fall hazards and for failing to notify the agency of a hospitalization within 24 hours and an employee fatality within eight hours, per OSHA regulations, according to the citations.
“The number of employers in Idaho’s residential construction industry that consistently fail to protect their workers from falls hazards is very troubling,” David Kearns, OSHA’s area director in Boise, Idaho, said in a statement. “Brandon Horine’s death is a tragic reminder of what happens when employers do nothing to protect their workers. Employers must stop gambling with workers’ lives and change the way they operate before an OSHA inspection or before another worker dies needlessly.”
A company spokesperson could not be reached for comment.
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