Fines levied in boom lift wrongful death accident

In June, an ironworker was killed on an construction accident on an Indiana job site when the book lift he was riding in hit a two foot by two foot hole which was a foot deep.  This caused him to be thrown from the lift where he suffered injuries which resulted in his wrongful death.

OSHA investigated the accident and issued fines to four companies.  The basis of the fines was failing to mark, barricade, or provide stops logs which would have prevented the boom lift from rolling into the hole.  One construction safety concept that is embodied in the OSHA construction safety regulations is that openings in walking and working surfaces must be marked and barricaded so as to prevent workers from falling into the holes created by the floor openings.

From the news article, the role of the four construction companies in creating the hole and then failing to cover it was not clear, but clearly the OSHA investigation revealed some negligence on their part.  This can form the basis of a third party construction negligence liability suit.