After a safety and health investigation, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has cited and fined Rotschy LLC after a 16-year old boy from La Center lost both legs while operating equipment on a job site.
Rotschy LLC construction company, based out of Vancouver, directed the teen to operate the machine without supervision or adequate safety measures and is facing more than $150,000 in fines, a release by L&I stated.
“The young worker was participating in a work-based learning program that allows students to earn credit and gain experience working outside the classroom,” L&I stated. “Washington’s youth employment laws identify prohibited duties for workers under 18 years old. Rotschy had a student-learner exemption permitting minors to do some work that is otherwise prohibited, but use of the walk-behind trencher was not part of the exemption.”
In the aftermath of the incident, L&I ordered the company to stop work and suspended the student-learner exemption, the release added.
“This tragedy should never have happened, and this young man’s life will never be the same,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, in the release. “Employers with young workers should look after our children as they would their own. When they fail to keep a young worker safe, it’s a violation of the community’s trust.”
L&I’s Safety & Health Division fined the company $156,259 — the maximum penalty possible — for allowing employees to operate equipment without appropriate training or experience.
The violation is considered “willful” because the company knew or should have known the requirements but still failed to meet them, L&I added. It’s also classified as “serious” because the issues could, and in this case did, lead to serious injury or death.
The youth employment investigation continues as Rotschy is facing further investigation from L&I’s Youth Employment Safety Unit, which oversees hiring requirements, prohibited duties, hours young workers may work and more. The investigation may lead to additional fines and restrictions of the company’s ability to employ minor workers and participate in work-based learner programs.
L&I’s safety and health division issued the citation in December, and Rotschy has appealed, the release concluded on Jan. 23.
Rotschy commented on the accident in an email.
"We were deeply saddened by the incident involving one of our minor workers who suffered a tragic injury on our job site. As a family-owned company with a strong safety record, this has been a distressing moment for us," Rotschy said. "Safety has always been our top priority. We are committed to learning from this and strengthening our safety measures to ensure such incidents never happen again. The worker has returned to work for Rotschy in an office role using the skills obtained in the field to assist a project manager in project duties."
