Indiana Company Faces Fines after Radio Tower Worker Death

After two men were killed during the construction of a radio tower near Colburn, the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA) has concluded its investigation of the fatal worker accident and proposed over $90,000 in fines regarding the worker safety violations it discovered.

In April, 32-year-old Paul Aliff and 29-year-old Ernesto Garcia were building the WXXB radio tower in Tippecanoe County as employees of ERI, Inc. when they both fell an estimated 340 feet to their deaths. The IOSHA found during its Indiana worker death investigation that the company had nine work safety violations, including four knowing violations and five serious violations. Specifically, the company did not provide the two men with adequate fall protection, did not provide a weight limit for the basket the men were working in, and did not have the basket designed by a qualified person.

ERI responded to the violations and fine related to the Colburn construction site accident by saying that it disagreed with some of the IOSHA findings. The project was completed in the months following the radio tower fall accident.

Construction workers face some of the most dangerous working conditions in the state - and they are even more prone to accidents when their employers do not provide them with a safe work environment. If you or a loved one has been harmed in an Indiana construction accident, speak with an Indianapolis accident attorney at Keller & Keller LLP today.