In a troubling discovery, federal workplace safety inspectors have found an Indiana contractor, MDM & Sons Construction, exposing its employees to deadly fall hazards twice within two weeks at construction sites in Perrysburg.
Inspectors from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) observed employees of MDM & Sons Construction LLC working on residential roofs at heights up to 13 feet without proper fall protection on May 1 and May 14, 2024. These incidents occurred at locations on Brampton Park Road and Old Dover Road, respectively.
Violations and Penalties
OSHA issued four willful violations against the Woodburn-based company for repeatedly exposing workers to fall hazards, failing to provide fall protection training, and not developing an accident prevention program. Additionally, inspectors found the company failed to provide eye protection for workers using pneumatic nail guns. Six serious violations were also cited for the company’s failure to train workers in the safe operation of powered industrial trucks, exposing employees to ladder and electrical hazards, and not installing handrails on stairs.
These recent violations mirror the company’s past infractions. In 2021, MDM & Sons Construction was cited for two willful and six serious violations after similar inspections.
“MDM & Sons Construction continues its dangerous pattern of exposing its employees to serious injuries and death related to falls from elevation, the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry,” said OSHA Area Director Todd Jensen in Toledo, Ohio. “Federal law mandates employers to provide and ensure the use of proper fall protection when working at heights of six feet or more. If MDM & Sons Construction persists in ignoring its legal responsibility to protect its workers, disaster may strike, resulting in severe injury or loss of life. The company must take immediate action.”
The Bigger Picture
MDM & Sons Construction faces $199,761 in proposed penalties and has been placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1,056 construction workers died on the job in 2022. Of these fatalities, 423 were related to falls from elevation, slips, or trips.
OSHA’s website offers extensive safety information and video presentations in English and Spanish, educating workers on fall hazards and proper safety procedures.
