In early November, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that two local St. Petersburg contractors will face over $80,000 in fines due to a fatal elevator accident that occurred at the Tradewinds Island Resort earlier this year.
Federal investigators from OSHA have concluded that both the resort and SWS Environmental should be penalized for serious safety violations. On April 24th, Mark Allen Johnson was crushed to death while working in an elevator shaft after an elevator descended upon him.
Johnson, 45, of Tampa, was employed by SWS, the company that had been subcontracted to clean out the bottom of an elevator shaft at the resort’s Jacaranda Beach Villas, 5600 Gulf Blvd. He was working for about 40 minutes when the elevator suddenly descended from the second floor. Johnson could not escape and was crushed.
In the days following the fatal incident, fire department officials who attempted to rescue Johnson noted how they immediately noticed an important safety step had been not been taken. Before work began inside the shaft, no one had ensured the main power to the elevator was completely off, a process referred to as “lockout/tagout.” This is a routine safety step for any work or service performed on an elevator, mandated by OSHA.
OSHA investigators stated it was the responsibility of Tradewinds and SWS to ensure proper safety procedures were known and followed. The agency has proposed Tradewinds pay $23,000 and SWS pay $61,000 in penalties.
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