Vermont Roofing Company Resolves Fines With OSHA Following Employee’s Death

Bellow Falls, VT (Workerscompensation.com)- Back in October, Workerscompensation.com reported that Bellow Falls Company, Jancewicz & Son, a home improvement company, had been investigated after an employee fell to his death.

Last month, nearly five months after the work-related death of 33-year-old employee Derek Goldsmith, federal regulators had concluded that the cause of the accident was due to an insufficient number of guardrails on the scaffolding on which Goldsmith was standing. On Sept. 22, 2018, while working on the roof of a single-family stucco and wood home in New Hampshire Goldsmith feel 20 feet to his death.

This is the second time that the company that does business under the name Jancewicz & Son has been in trouble for scaffolding safety violations.  On Sept. 21, 2018, the day before the fall, the company was cited by the Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

According to the Citation and Notification of Penalty obtained by Workerscompensation.com, an inspection was conducted around April 10, 2018, at one of the work sites located at 7 Church St. in Woodstock, VT, and was written up for an array of serious violations. One was for letting employees erect several multi-level scaffolds without being under any supervision of a competent person. Scaffolds are not to be removed, erected, dismantled or altered unless under the supervision and direction of an experienced and trained employee.

During this unannounced but routine inspection, multi-tier scaffold that was a part of a roofing project did not have a complete set of railing at the top of the working level, according to the citation. Also, the scaffold was built around the electric service entrance cable, and there was a step ladder in use at the top level to access the roof, which had no mudsills under the leg levelers. The investigators that were on site noted that permanent injury or death could occur from the numerous hazards that were present with the way the scaffold had been set up.

The agency’s inspection resulted in seven violations, six of which were classified as serious and Jancewicz & Son, according to their records were issued a civil penalty of $7,760. In an informal settlement, the Vermont regulators reduced the penalty to $2,500.

After the work-related death of Goldsmith, Federal regulators launched an inquiry because the fall happened in New Hampshire, and unlike Vermont, the state doesn’t have its own OSHA program. The federal agency issued its findings in January, citing Jancewicz & Son with five violations, all listed as serious.

The January 7 citation notice says three of the violations that the roofing company received at the job site were for scaffolding safety, and the other two were related to the requirements for regular hazard inspections that take place on site, as well as training employees to recognize hazards related to scaffolding.

The citation notice also states that the scaffolding on the job site lacked guardrails on all open sides. OSHA also noticed that all the scaffolding lacked protection in case of a fall. “At no time did Jancewicz & Son protect their employees on the site from falling off the gable end of the roof while they worked,” it said. There was not even a safe access way, such as a ladder or stairs on the scaffolding. There was a “job made ramp,” which in the citation regulators deemed to be unsafe.

Initially, Jancewicz & Son was hit with a $34,922 civil penalty. But after coming to a settlement agreement with OSHA, it was reduced to $12,934. In a media statement, Jayson Dunbar, Jancewicz & Son President called Goldsmith’s death a “tragic accident,” and said “based on our ability to show proper training for our employees and that all necessary equipment was available," they were able to settle.

Steve Monahan, Director of Workers’ Compensation & Safety Division Vermont Department of Labor told WorkersCompensation.com that “VOSHA takes its enforcement role very seriously. It is essential that employers take steps to provide their employees with safe and healthy work environments.

“At a minimum, employers should comply with the safety and health standards promulgated by federal OSHA and adopted by VOSHA, train their employees on those standards, and ensure that they are implemented at each worksite. Failure to do so may lead to severe injury or death, and creates social and financial costs to workers, their families, society and the businesses that employ them.”

The case will continue to stay open until the company pays the penalty in full.

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