The United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has completed its investigation of Pearson Farm in Fort Valley after an in-depth look at the facility where an employee was killed. The inspection dates took place between August 6, 2019, and January 28, 2020.
Their official report and findings, including the penalties assessed to Pearson Farm, were issued on February 3, 2020.
Have you or a loved one been involved in an accident? Speak to a lawyer for a free no obligation consultation
Or call us at (888) 699-7975
The original incident that prompted the OSHA investigation happened on August 5, 2019, when the Crawford County Coroner concluded that Francisco Rodrigues was injured when he was hit in the head by a pallet that was on a forklift.
Rodrigues was taken to an area hospital in Macon and died less than an hour later from blunt-force trauma.
OSHA later came to the conclusion that the death of the employee was caused by the conditions in which he had to perform maintenance tasks. They also found that Pearson Farms was exposing its employees to fall, amputation, and chemical exposure hazards.
Other citations included the lack of anhydrous ammonia leak detection, lack of emergency response plan, inadequate training for employees, and no lock-out/tag-out procedures. This is just a little bit of what OSHA found at the peach farm. The entire citation is 25 pages long.
The penalties that the Fort Valley farm was assessed equaled $128,004.00. They have until March of this year to comply with payment. They also must complete the safety compliance worksheets included in the order and pass another inspection by OSHA.
Pearson Farms will have 15 days from the date that they receive the citations and penalties that are proposed to contest or comply with the findings.
Reports state that Francisco Rodrigues was a 56-year-old Mexican native who had been living in Fort Valley for many years. He had worked for Pearson Farms during his time in Fort Valley.