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OSHA Cites Florida Contractor After Deadly Building Collapse at Job Site

Jan. 20, 2005

OSHA has hit a Florida construction firm with $79,200 in penalties following the investigation of a July 22 building collapse at a Hobe Sound, Fla., construction site where two construction workers were killed and several others seriously injured.

Josh Cable

The agency has cited Macs Construction & Concrete Inc. for what an OSHA official called a preventable accident.

"This building collapse could have been prevented if the company had followed OSHA and industry-recognized standards for erecting formwork to support the condominium structure," said Luis Santiago, OSHA's Ft. Lauderdale area director. "Inadequate formwork and load support led to the collapse of the three-story building."

OSHA says it has issued one willful citation, with proposed penalties of $56,000, for failing to erect formwork for the concrete walls that was capable of supporting anticipated loads. The agency issues a willful citation when a company has shown intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.

The construction company also received two serious citations, with proposed penalties totaling $11,200, for deficiencies related to the shoring of the formwork.

OSHA also issued two repeat citations unrelated to the fatal accident, with proposed penalties totaling $12,000, for exposing workers to falls through unguarded floor openings and from areas over six-feet high that required guardrails.

The company has 15 days to contest the citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Staff from the Ft. Lauderdale OSHA office conducted the inspection.