Reply #1: As a Construction Business Owner.. [View All]

[Banned_Wagon]

I can tell you that abatement procedures happen all the time.. When OSHA issues you a fine for the first time, depending on the issue, The fine is usually around $10,000. This fine can be reduced to $100.00 if it was the first incident and if it was easily remedied. I do agree that OSHA is a protector of big business. It does seem strange to me that only the sub-contractors end up liable in these cases. I was on the job for less than 10 minutes, and was issued a $10,000 fine. It was later abated to $100.00. I am a small contractor.

You see, every big contractor should have a safety inspector that works for the contractor itself. Weekly safety meetings should be implemented. And if the company follows these procedures, and your brother happened to have signed any of these safety sheets, the company is covered. All they have to say is that your brother was addressed on the issue of Safety harnesses, blah blah blah, and they are in the clear. After paying a hefty fine that is.
You need someone that was there at the time to testify that your brother was, indeed, sent up there without any safety equipment. And also you need a witness to prove that they did NOT provide any safety equipment. You only need one witness. Are there any? If they have any safety equipment on site, they can say it was there, but that your brother ignored it of his own free will.

Sorry for your loss my friend, but this is a dangerous business. Things like this happen on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the law is on the side of Big Business. That's how they make their millions. At the cost of our lives.