ConDig (15-Aug-18).  Florida-based contractor G&H Underground Construction has been fined $57,738 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after a worker sustained a serious injury on a construction site in St. Augustine.

The agency said that investigators found that while the employee cut a concrete pipe, the saw blade kicked back, causing a laceration on the employee’s throat.

OSHA cited G&H Underground Construction for failing to provide eye and face protection, failing to train employees on operating equipment and not inspecting equipment for damages and defects. 

“Manufacturers equip power tools with safety devices to protect workers from serious injuries,” said OSHA Jacksonville acting area office director Michelle Gonzalez.

“This employer disregarded safety requirements by altering those protective devices, causing a life-threatening injury.”

G&H Underground Construction has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings.

Earlier this month, another Florida-based contractor Pavemax Corp was fined $16,814 by OSHA for safety violations after an employee suffered fatal injuries at a project in Orange City.

A 2016 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released in December showed that the rate of fatal injuries in the construction industry increased 6% in 2016 to 991 worker deaths compared with 937 in 2015.

BLS figures showed that falls, struck by objects, electrocutions and caught-in/between accounted for 63.7% of all construction worker deaths in last year. There was a rise in total construction worker deaths for each of the “Fatal Four” in 2016.