Shipyard workers receive $7.5M settlement

OSHA: Fraser Industries knew of lead, asbestos

A group of 60 workers exposed to dangerous levels of lead and other hazards while replacing the engines of a Great Lakes freighter at Fraser Shipyards in Superior will receive a $7.5 million settlement.

Fourteen of the workers had lead levels up to 20 times the exposure limit, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in 2016 when investigating the claims. The agency also found workers were exposed to other heavy metals.

Overexposure to lead can result in brain damage and kidney disease, among other health issues.

OSHA had said Fraser Shipyards knew of the presence of lead and asbestos throughout the vessel Herbert C. Jackson but ignored federal regulations, its own safety manuals and workers’ concerns.

The shipyard faced $1.4 million in OSHA fines, but that amount was reduced to $700,000 as part of a settlement agreement that included the company adopting a new safety plan.

The $7.5 million settlement ends three pending lawsuits.

“We believe that this settlement, which resolves all outstanding claims, is in the best interests of all parties,” James Farkas, president of Fraser Industries, said in a statement.

“Our business depends on taking the health and safety of our people seriously,” he added.

Fraser Shipyards, founded in 1890 in Superior, says it is the last major independent shipyard on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes.

The shipyard workers were represented by Rapport Law Offices of Chicago.

“This case cried out for justice, and our investigation revealed all of the defendants were grossly negligent. What happened at Fraser Shipyards should not be repeated anywhere. It is a throwback to days of worker abuse that should have vanished from the workplace 40 years ago,” the firm said in a news release.