L&I concludes its investigation and issue fines following the Seattle crane construction work accident
For the past six months, the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) investigated the fatal crane collapse that happened in Seattle last April. Today, L&I announced it issued citations and fines to three companies for safety violations that relate to the fatal collapse and loss of life.
The L&I investigation
L&I found that nearly all of the pins and sleeves that hold the crane together were prematurely removed against manufacturer instructions. As a result, the crane owner, Morrow Equipment LLC was fined $70,000 for one willful serious violation of not following manufacturer’s procedures. GLY Construction was fined $25,200 for three serious violations, including:
(1) Not having a qualified supervisor and other personnel on site at all times during the disassembly operations;
(2) Not ensuring the manufacturer’s procedures were followed; and
(3) Not accounting for weather conditions.
Northwest Tower Crane Services was fined $12,000 for three serious violations that include:
(1) Not following the manufacturer’s procedures;
(2) Not ensuring workers understood their assigned duties; and
(3) Inadequate training of workers.
Summary
In total, these fines add up to $107,200. According to L&I it spent hundreds of hours investigating this tragic accident that claimed the lives of two workers and two bystanders. The full L&I press release can be found here: http://lni.wa.gov/News/2019/pr191017a.asp.
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Ms. Tara Reck is the managing attorney at Reck Law — Workers’ Compensation Attorneys in Washington State. If you would like more information, please contact Ms. Reck through the following:
* Seattle | Bellevue | Mercer Island office: (206) 395–6141
* Tacoma office: (253) 999–9828
* Renton office: (425) 800–8195
* Port Orchard office: (360) 876–4123
* Email: office@recklaw.coms
* Her Workers’ Compensation blog at https://tarareck.com/contact/
* or her company website at https://recklaw.com/contact/.
This article first appeared on https://recklaw.com/l-and-i-investigation-seattle-construction-accident/
