Second Henley Bridge death nets fines for contractor

State authorities have fined the contractor on the Henley Bridge reconstruction project more than $7,000 for safety violations involved in the death of an employee in May, the second fatal accident this year at the site.

Britton Bridge employee Solin Estrada Jimenez, whose age is listed variously as 47, 49 and 50, died about 2:35 p.m. May 24 after a chunk of concrete plummeted 60 feet from the top of the bridge onto his head. Jimenez was wearing a hard hat, but it provided little protection from the falling projectile.

Relatives identified Jimenez as an undocumented worker from Mexico who had been residing in the Chattanooga area,

Jimenez's death prompted a three-day safety inspection that identified two serious violations, according to state records released Wednesday.

Britton Bridge LLC has been engaged since Jan. 3 with the $24.7 million reconstruction of the nearly 80-year-old bridge. The renovation of the structure is expected to take up to three years.

The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to Britton Bridge LLC alleging the company did not institute a program to identify potential falling hazards and did not erect warning lines around hazardous areas. The first citation imposed a fine of $5,400 while the second deficiency netted a fine of $1,750, records show.

Britton has 30 days from receipt of the report on Sept. 30 to appeal the proposed fines. Jeff Hentschel, spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said Britton Bridge had not filed a notice of appeal as of Wednesday.

Britton Bridge spokesman John Van Mol issued a statement Wednesday saying the company works hard to provide a safe workplace.

"Immediately after the accident, we implemented corrective measures that are addressed in the TOSHA report, as well as additional training procedures," Van Mol said.

In an investigative summary, the report notes a Britton Bridge supervisor conducted a safety meeting each day with his employees prior to their work assignments and that "in the past he had verbally reprimanded Jimenez for working too close to falling debris."

Although Britton Bridge had a bilingual trainer on site, the TOSHA report notes "the Hispanic-speaking employees did not fully understand all the requirements of training and hazard identification."

The report also stated the company was remiss in housekeeping and clearing the construction area of overhead debris that posed a danger to employees below. In addition, the report noted while Britton Bridge has a safety manual, there was no indication that employees or supervisors had completed any of the safety forms and the manual did not address falling hazards.

"Training has not been effective in informing employees in the hazards of the job," the report notes. Britton Bridge has up to 40 employees on the site.

Jimenez was standing on a barge as a crane was lowering a severed concrete spandrel from the bridge to the barge below. One of the nylon ropes used to guide the spandrel to the barge snagged on the bridge above, according to the TOSHA report.

At the same time, Jimenez was moving a cutting torch from one side of the barge to the other in preparation for the next spandrel to be removed.

The snagged rope apparently dislodged a chunk of concrete on the bridge, sending it down onto Jimenez. None of the workers saw the object strike Jimenez because they were all looking up at the spandrel dangling in the air.

"In the absence of barriers to warn employees of the area where they might be exposed to falling objects, Solin as able to pull the torch and hoses under the bridge arches as the loose debris began to fall, therefore, he was in a position to be struck in the head by the debris," the report states.

The TOSHA report noted Britton Bridge had hired an on-site safety manager two weeks before Jimenez's death.

Van Mol said Britton Bridge "has ramped up their training" and the work site now has barricades and safety lines denoting hazardous locations. He said the company also has enhanced its safety communications with Hispanic workers.

"Training, training, training is the name of the game and that has been addressed," Van Mol said.

Britton Bridge project foreman John Womac, 33, of Charleston, Tenn., died Jan. 25 died after being struck in the head and chest by the bucket and arm of a track hoe on the south side of the bridge, according to a TOSHA report.

TOSHA levied $16,750 in fines against Britton Bridge following Womac's death. Britton has appealed those fines, but a hearing date has not been set.

In June, TOSHA announced it was working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division on a review of Britton Bridge's hiring practices. The federal agency is taking the lead in the investigation, Hentschel said.

Source: Knoxnews.com