OSHA fines two Florida firms following workplace fatalities
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Tuesday issued fines to two Florida following fatal work incidents.
Ballhawker of Florida Inc., a Fleming Island-based commercial diving and recovery company was assessed $55,870 in penalties after a dive technician drowned while working to recover sunken golf balls in a pond on a Ponte Vedra Beach golf course in December 2021.
OSHA said it found the company failed to train divers to handle assigned tasks safely, to ensure all dive team members were CPR trained, and to provide a first-aid handbook and a resuscitator at the dive location.
Union Carpentry LLC, a Fort Pierce carpentry contractor was fined $32,113 after a 19-year-old worker in January fell 25 feet to his death while helping to install trusses and plywood sheathing on a residential development clubhouse.
OSHA cited the contractor for one willful violation for failing to ensure employees wore fall protection while exposed to fall hazards, and one serious violation for failing to train workers on the correct use of fall arrest systems.
