ConDig (2-Mar-21).  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined a Cleveland-based contractor $73,533 after a 14-year-old boy working on a roof without required fall protection suffered critical injuries when he fell 20-feet to the ground.

The agency said that West Farmington roofing contractor Double M Roofing & Construction LLC was cited for two willful, three serious and one other-than-serious violations of OSHA’s safety standards. 

The agency determined the company allowed employees to work without fall and facial protection, failed to train employees about fall hazards, and did not report the injury to OSHA, as required.

OSHA alleged that Double M Roofing & Construction LLC owner, Melvin Schmucker, attempted to hide the company’s safety failures, but footage from a nearby security camera showed the boy and three other employees working without fall protection equipment on the roof of the Berea townhome in December last year.

Sixteen days later, OSHA inspectors observed Schmucker and four Double M employees installing roofing materials on a residential roof more than 22 feet off the ground in Hinckley – again without using necessary fall protection equipment.

“All too often, OSHA inspectors responding to reports of roofers without fall protection find the employer has the safety equipment on-site and refuses to ensure its use,” said OSHA area director Howard Eberts. 

“Exposure to fall hazards makes roofing work among the most dangerous jobs in construction. OSHA requires fall protection when working at heights greater than 6 feet.”

The agency also reported that it had fined Hartville-based contractor ILS Construction $117,572 for two willful and one serious violation for fall violations.

Last month, OSHA fined a Missouri-based plumbing contractor $299,590 for two repeated violations of trenching standards.