The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Tuesday that it cited an Alabama concrete company over the November 2023 death of a worker who was crushed by a shipping container.
OSHA cited Moundville-based Ballard Contractors Inc. for seven “serious” violations and one “other-than-serious” violation, saying the company failed to protect workers from fall, struck-by and crushed-by hazards.
The worker was guiding an 8,575-pound shipping container into place when one of the chains used to lift it snapped, according to OSHA.
The agency said Ballard Contractors failed to ensure that rigging equipment was properly rated and could handle the shipping container’s weight; permitted employees to work beneath a moving load; failed to perform periodic inspections of slings; and failed to ensure proper fall protection was in place.
OSHA said the company has since entered into an informal settlement agreement that resolves the citation.
OSHA records show that the agency initially proposed an $82,271 penalty that was reduced to $68,077 at the time of the informal settlement agreement.