Company President Convicted

Company President Convicted In Employee On-the-Job Deaths

More frequently company executives are being held responsible for safety problems and violations under their leadership. In this case an Arizona jury found the president of Far West Water and Sewer guilty of negligent homicide. In 2001 two workers were killed and another seriously injured after entering a confined space. The company was not following OSHA requirements for confined space entry -- Far West did not train its workers, did not follow required rescue procedures and did not test the air in the tank on the day of the incident.

The OSHA fine in this case was just $31,500, but the state of Arizona brought criminal charges.

An article on LifeLines Online reported: "In the Far West case, after a 22-day trial, the jury found the former president of the company, Brent Weidman, guilty of two counts of negligent homicide and two counts of endangerment in the deaths of 26-year-old James Gamble and 62-year-old Gary Lanser. Previously, the company had been convicted of five felony charges in the same incident and fined $1.77 million for its failure to adhere to OSHA’s Confined Space Standard. As president, Weidman was ultimately responsibility for the company’s safety practices."

I don't know the details of what happened in Arizaona. But when it comes to safety the resposibility starts at the top. Executives need to create a culture of safety. They need to ensure their workplace is safe through their leadership and the policies they require. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to walk around the workplace, talk to employees and see for themselves how their company is run at the lower levels.