$411K in Fines Proposed in Nebraska Grain Elevator Fatality

September 14, 2016

A federal safety agency has proposed more than $411,000 in penalties against the operator of a south-central Nebraska grain elevator where a worker was killed.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a news release that Cooperative Producers Inc. was being cited for three egregious willful and three serious violations following the agency’s investigation. OSHA says 41-year-old Jason Weston died March 16 at the CPI elevator in Prosser after his lifeline tangled in an unguarded, rotating auger.

President Allan Zumpfe said the co-op disagreed with OSHA’s categorizing some violations as “willful” but said the co-op will work with OSHA to resolve those points.

OSHA has placed the co-op in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which focuses on employers that the agency says commits willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations.

Topics Workers' Compensation

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