ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has levied a heavy fine against a trucking company in connection with a fatal workplace accident.
MN OSHA issued 12 citations against Wayne Transports Inc. of Rosemount, with fines totally $621,600 for the accident that claimed the life of 39-year-old employee Justin Erickson on March 7 at the company's facility in Virginia, Minn.
The company, which specializes in hauling petroleum products, is formally contesting the fines, but also expressing sympathy for the plight of Justin Erickson.
"This is a tragic accident and it's shaken the company to its core. We want to make sure nothing like this ever happens again," Aaron Dean, the Twin Cities attorney representing Wayne Transports, told KARE.
Dean said it's the first time Minnesota OSHA has fined Wayne Transports in the company's 74 years of operations. Wayne Transports is headquartered near Flint Hills Resources' Pine Bend Refinery and has 700 drivers working throughout the Midwest.
"Wayne Transports Inc. respectfully disagrees with Minnesota OSHA, and these citations that were issued, but we are respectful in doing so, and recognize that Mr. Erickson lost his life and that his family is grieving and hurting."
Dean said that Erickson had set out to inspect the inside of a tanker trailer to make sure it had been cleaned thoroughly when he died. The medical examiner concluded that Erickson most likely succumbed to asphyxia, a form of oxygen deprivation, and chemical exposure.
"The employee entered the tanker to inspect the tanker to ensure that it was cleaned correctly, and he was not wearing the respirator that had been issued to him. And he was working alone that day because his coworker had called in sick. It's just a tragic set of circumstances that happened."
The agency's citations assert that Erickson wasn't properly trained, and that he shouldn't have been inside the tanker trailer without a co-worker standing by to assist in the event of an accident.
The agency said Wayne Transports failed to identify and evaluate the hazards, or implement procedures and practices needed to do an inspection in a confined space.
The citation asserts the company failed to test conditions inside the tanker before Erickson entered it, and failed to provide Erickson with an attendant to serve as a safety backup that day.
MN OSHA is part of the Minnesota Dept. of Labor and Industry. Labor Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach issued the following statement Wednesday:
"Work processes must be designed with the goal of eliminating workplace injuries and illnesses, and workers must be properly trained about how to perform their work safely.
"Before work is performed in a confined space, employers must evaluate the elements of that space and ensure they have a comprehensive plan to protect their employees from potential hazards."
The company asserts the citations are duplicative, and because each one carries a fine that level of overlap creates an excessively high total fine.
"Minnesota OSHA issued nine duplicative citations for alleged confined space violations, with fines each being $67,200 and the maximum fine is $25,000," Dean explained.
"So, we are trying to work through our differences with Minnesota OSHA, and we recognize and appreciate the importance of Minnesota OSHA’s mission."