New Jersey Contractor Arraigned for Worker Death at Poughkeepsie Construction Site

A New Jersey construction company and its principal have been charged with willfully violating federal workplace safety regulations at a Poughkeepsie, New York construction site where a wall collapsed, killing a worker in 2017.

Prosecutors allege that the death was the result of violations of federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations. According to the charges, the contractor, OneKey, and principal Finbar O’Neill built and placed dirt loads on a concrete wall without considering whether the wall could withstand the weight. They also charge that OneKey and O’Neil failed to warn workers about the dangers of the wall that later collapsed.

The arraignment was announced by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams and Jonathan Mellone, special agent for the Department of Labor. It took place before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy.

OneKey and O’Neill “endangered the safety of their workers by disregarding regulations and taking shortcuts to sidestep their safety obligations. This conduct led to the death of a worker on a construction site,” Williams stated.

Prosecutors contend that the contractor implemented a soil compaction plan that involved piling large quantities of dirt on top of the sites of three future buildings. The contractor did not follow the plan designed by an engineering firm. Workers complained that construction machines were continuing to add dirt and later that day, the wall collapsed. As it fell, the victim ran away from the wall, but he could not get away in time and was killed.

The New Jersey corporation faces a maximum fine of $500,000, while O’Neill faces a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

The charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Topics New Jersey Contractors Training Development Construction