Worker Falls to Death; Carteret Roofing Company Fined

By Jason Koestenblatt/Patch

Carteret, NJ - A Carteret roofing company has been fined $43,080 for workplace violations after an employee fell from the roof of a warehouse on a job site in Parsippany last August.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, S&S Roofing, Inc. of Carteret failed to provide workers with proper fall protection and had a similar violation in 2011. The company has been cited by OSHA a total of 10 times for comparable offenses since 2000.

The victim fell on Aug. 20, 2015 and died six days later from his injuries. The investigation determined the worker was using a manually-operated roof hoist to lower his tool bags to the ground that caused the hoist to tip and go over the edge of the roof, OSHA said. As it tipped, the hoist’s boom hit the man, causing him to fall over the roof’s edge and land on the pavement approximately 25 feet below.

“This tragic incident and unnecessary loss of a life could have been prevented had S&S Roofing properly protected its workers against falls, the leading cause of death in the construction industry,” said Kris Hoffman, director of OSHA’s Parsippany Area Office. “Compounding the tragedy, the hoist’s manufacturer warns: Never use roof process materials as counterweight.’ We determined S&S Roofing regularly used roofing materials to counterweight the hoist regardless of the warning. Workers should not have to risk their lives needlessly for the sake of a paycheck.”

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