ORLANDO, Fla. — The federal investigation into an I-4 Ultimate construction worker’s death resulted in the contractor facing less than a $16,000 fine, according to an Occupational Safety and Health Administration report.
The 56-year-old construction worker, James Mills Jr., died after suffering a head injury when he was struck by an 18-inch by 20-foot steel pipe near Fairbanks Avenue and Wymore Road.
The OSHA report found one of the main problems was that flatbed workers were moving the giant drainpipe to an area that was not sitting on level ground.
A flatbed trailer sat the construction site for days after the steel pipe rolled off the truck and struck Mills.
Labor attorney Frank Eidson said OSHA penalties often don't have teeth.
“It’s the cost of doing business and nobody’s going to jail as long as it’s not a willful act or making a false statement. There are no criminal provisions in the statute,” said Eidson.
The accident forced I-4 work to stop for a weeklong safety evaluation.
In the OSHA citation report, the violation was deemed “serious.”
The report said the contractor, SGL, failed to provide a work environment free from “hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.”
The total proposed penalties are $15,155.
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