520 bridge contractor fined $170,500 for safety violations
Dec 23, 2014, 3:14 PM | Updated: 3:43 pm
The contractor building a new 520 bridge has been fined $170,500 for safety violations uncovered after a crane accident at their site in Aberdeen.
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries announced Tuesday that Kiewit-General was given one serious and three willful violations after a 13,000-pound concrete counterweight broke loose from a crane in June and fell to the ground, narrowly missing two workers.
As KIRO Radio reported last week, L&I found that Kiewit ignored multiple warnings over several years about defective lifting lugs on the counterweights and failed to follow changes recommended by the manufacturer.
“A willful violation can be issued when L&I has evidence of plain indifference, a substitution of judgment or an intentional disregard to a hazard or rule,” L&I said in a statement. “A serious violation exists in a workplace if there is a substantial probability that worker death or serious physical harm could result from a hazardous condition.”
In a statement, Kiewit contested some of the findings.
“Ultimately, the crane counterweight incident occurred under Kiewit-General’s watch — and we take responsibility for the safety of everyone working on this project,” spokesperson Tom Janssen wrote in an email. “We are disappointed, however, and strongly disagree with the suggestion by DOSH that Kiewit-General’s mistakes were ‘willful.’ We will continue to discuss this matter with DOSH and, if necessary, use our right to contest these citations.”
“Together with our employees, we will continue to improve and address any safety issues on this project. Our commitment to our client, the government, community and business partners is to ensure this type of incident does not happen again,” Janssen wrote.
Kiewit-General has 15 days to appeal the citations.
