OSHA proposes fine for worker’s death

Forklift operator at Marietta company fell 15 feet, later died.

The federal government has proposed $167,933 in penalties for a Marietta company, charging that lax procedures were responsible for the death of a worker in February.

Company officials denied the allegations and contested the government’s version of the incident.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday that Kitchen & Bath Solutions allowed a 55-year-old forklift operator to work on elevated storage racks without proper protection and that the worker fell 15 feet onto a concrete floor.

According to a report by the Marietta Police Department, Leonard Grier was found breathing but unconscious on Feb. 13 and taken to Kennestone Hospital. The police report said Grier was 58 years old, not 55. It said that the forklift from which Grier had apparently fallen had a harness, but it did not appear that he had been wearing it.

The worker died the next day of his injuries, according to OSHA.

The incident was preventable, said Jeffery Stawowy, OSHA area office director. “This case should remind all employers that prioritizing production or profits over safety is never an acceptable choice.”

OSHA cited the company for a number of violations, including an alleged failure to train employees on operating powered industrial trucks safely and not inspecting or removing faulty forklifts from service.

However, Alex Liu, company president, told The Atlanta Journal-constitution that the worker had been trained and warned repeatedly about the need to wear a harness that would keep him from falling. “He had been warned more than once.”

In addition to being without a harness, the worker did not follow other safety procedures, using the wrong equipment to lift him toward the higher racks, Liu said.

Kitchen & Bath Solutions imports kitchen cabinets and similar items, selling them wholesale in the United States. It is family-owned.

The incident happened when only a handful of the company’s 20 employees were in the facility, including only one supervisor, Liu said. “This was overtime work.”

Liu complained that the OSHA investigation was inadequate. Officials did not interview any of the supervisors at the site, he said. “How do they arrive at a decision without even talking to us?”

The company received written notification of OSHA’S conclusion this week, Liu said.

According to OSHA, the company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’S area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.