The demolition company involved in a fatal Government Center garage collapse in Boston is facing $1.2M in fines for willfully exposing workers to hazards, according to OSHA. The agency said the company, JDC Demolition Co. Inc., failed to train workers adequately and ignored their safety concerns.
A portion of the Government Center parking garage collapsed on Saturday, March 26, killing 51-year-old Peter Monsini of South Easton and sending another person to the hospital.
The demolition at the garage was part of the $1.5 million Bullfinch Redevelopment Project, according to the general contractor John Moriarty & Associates. Monsini was doing demolition work in a construction vehicle that fell over the side of the garage when the structure collapsed, falling eight or nine stories alongside large amounts of debris. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to OSHA, it was Monsini's first day of work.
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Earlier in the day, another employee who had been working on a concrete beam on an upper floor had reported to the foreman that they had concerns about the floor's safety, OSHA said. But despite that report, work continued. OSHA said that Monsini never got a safety briefing or training on how to follow the engineer's demolition plan.
OSHA also said that the company did not stick to the demolition plan, including putting heavy equipment on the partially demolished structure on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors despite that kind of equipment being prohibited for safety.
The company was cited for "eight egregious-willful violations, two serious violations and one other than serious violation of workplace safety standards," OSHA said, totaling $1,191,292. The citations included issues with training and loading violations, inadequate accident prevention program, uncovered floor holes and insufficient recordkeeping.
See the breakdown of the citations below:
OSHA also cited John Moriarty and Associates Inc., the general contractor, for four serious violations, totaling $58,008 in proposed penalties.
Lizzy Guyton, a spokesperson for JDC Demolition provided the following statement to NBC10 Boston on Tuesday:
"JDC Demolition takes the safety and security of their employees extremely seriously and remains deeply saddened by the tragic loss of a team member. JDC Demolition historically has had an excellent safety record. They have fully cooperated with OSHA's investigation and are carefully reviewing the citations, and will contest them as appropriate."
Both companies have 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or to contest the findings.
