OSHA Fines Georgia Grading Contractor $20,480 After Worker’s Death

If federal workplace safety requirements had been followed, a 24-year-old Georgia worker would not have been killed in a front-end loader accident in May, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said.

OSHA fined Mathis Grading Inc. $20,480 after an investigation found that the contractor failed to follow safety precautions and did not notify OSHA within eight hours of the incident, the agency said in a news release. The worker was holding a stake as the front-end loader drove it into the ground. The fork attachment on the loader dislodged and struck the man, the agency said. He died at a local hospital.

“Like all employers, Mathis Grading must provide a workplace free of recognizable hazards by identifying and mitigating safety hazards,” said OSHA Area Director Joshua Turner. “Had established safety instructions outlined in the equipment safety manual been followed, this tragic death could have been prevented.”

Mathis Grading was founded in 1985 and is based in Cumming, Georgia. It is a family owned and operated site-grading and pipeline installation contractor for residential, commercial and industrial land development.

The company has 15 business days to comply or request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Topics Workers' Compensation Georgia Contractors