Company Fined $2,800 After Worker Death In Midwest

Source: Casper Star Tribune

A well service company will be fined $2,800 after one of its employees, Dennis McCulloch, fell from a workover rig July 14 in Midwest, according to state documents.

State investigators determined the 28-year-old derrick hand was not connected to an appropriate safety anchor for the job he was performing.

McCulloch was employed by C L Well Service. A person who answered the phone at the company office hung up on a reporter seeking comment Wednesday.

The company was a contractor working with FDL Energy, which operates the oil field. McCulloch fell between 74 and 78 feet and died as a result of impact injuries, according to the Natrona County coroner.

Failing to provide appropriate safety lines and anchors for employees is considered a serious violation by the Wyoming Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

However, in this case, proper equipment was available. It was improperly used, state investigators said.

“When he first hooked up, he was hooked up in the right location,” said John Ysebaert, the Department of Workforce Services’ standards and compliance administrator, who oversees the OSHA division. “He did some work going around the derrick at the top and did not move his anchor point along with him. That is when it came across the block, and it ended up cutting the line.”

McCulloch was considered a highly competent worker by those interviewed by investigators, Ysebaert said. The incident appeared to be a momentary lapse in judgment, he said.

The penalty levied on C L is well below the maximum penalty for a serious violation, which is $7,000. By federal regulations, C L’s small company size led to a 60 percent reduction in that fee. The maximum fine for serious violations will increase in February by 78 percent to $12,471.

Despite the circumstances of this incident, the company is still considered responsible for providing a safe and supervised work environment, Ysebaert said.

Employers can argue that their workers were negligent and thus mitigate their liability. In that case, a company must provide evidence, including its written rules, proof of training, proof of appropriate enforcement and consequences for noncompliance.

C L has yet to ask regulators for an informal meeting where they would be able to discuss the fines, Ysebaert said.

Wyoming is often cited for having a poor worker safety record, though some argue the method for calculating occupational deaths inflate the state’s rates. Wyoming’s small population and its large percentage of workers in dangerous jobs also counts against the state, some say.

Later this week the Department of Workforce Services will release a report detailing 2015 workplace fatalities by industry and cause.