Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

Last week in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a 10-wheel Mack truck killed Robert Augeri of Londonderry, Mass. Augeri died at 1:30 am on his 31st birthday while working for Brox Industries on a highway paving project on Interstate 495. The truck, which was driven by Robert McCann of Methuen, Mass., had backed into the closed left travel lane near Exit 44.

The Massachusetts State Police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are launching a dual investigation, examining the truck and construction job site to ensure that federal safety regulations were followed. According to the Highway Department, this was the first fatal accident in a Massachusetts Highway Department Construction Zone in more than a decade.

That news comes as little consolation to Augeri’s family. His parents, who reside in Lowell, Mass., told the Eagle Tribune that their son was so committed to giving his wife and four young children a good life that he held down three jobs. The father and husband also worked for Chunky’s Cinema and SPR in Milton.

Massachusetts contractors Shawnlee Construction and James T. Lynch Contractors, Inc., potentially face over $100,000 in fines for violating federal safety standards, announced the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) last week. OSHA says the construction site of a new McDonald’s restaurant in Concord, New Hampshire put construction workers and other employees at risk for injuries by not following safety standards.

Last November, OSHA compliance officers visited the McDonald’s construction site and found employees of Shawnlee Construction working on 15-foot high trusses without fall protection or properly anchored fall-protection lifelines. The officers also found that Shawnlee workers were not wearing eye protection while using nail guns nor did the company use fall protection harnesses and lanyards properly. OSHA has cited Shawnlee for similar work site violations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island during the past three consecutive years. Because the Plainville, Mass.-based roofing company is a repeat offender, they received $96,500 in fines.

James T. Lynch Contractors, Inc., an excavation company based in Reading, Massachusetts, was also fined a total of $23,700 for using an access ladder that was too short, not having a hazard communication training program, and for putting construction workers at risk for cave-in accidents. The latter was considered a willful violation, which is the most serious violation, committed with “plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health,” according to a press release announcing OSHA’s findings. The excavation company had been sited for similar violations in the past.