A 65-year-old employee at a Kissimmee supermarket lost their life due to a defective ladder and other workplace safety violations, according to an investigation conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA has proposed a fine of $95,000 for Kissimmee Meat & Produce, citing 12 violations, with 11 of them classified as serious.
In response to OSHA’s findings, attorney Luis Santos, representing store president Ana Gonzalez and CEO Pedro Gonzalez, emailed the Miami Herald, stating, “We dispute OSHA’s findings. Beyond that, we will not provide any further comments as this is an ongoing matter.”
The employee’s name and the duration of their employment at Kissimmee Meat & Produce, located at 1528 W. Vine St, were not disclosed. This is the first OSHA investigation the store has faced in the past decade.
According to OSHA’s investigation into the incident that occurred on May 2, the 65-year-old clerk fell approximately nine feet from the second tier of a warehouse storage rack when a rolling ladder malfunctioned. The safety violations listed on the Citation and Notification of Penalty included issues with the ladder, such as the lack of a system to prevent horizontal movement when an employee is on it and a non-functional ladder locking base mechanism.
Furthermore, OSHA found that ladders used by employees to retrieve merchandise from rack systems were not inspected for damage or modifications that could pose a risk of injury. Employees were also using multi-position ladders that had been altered to hook onto the rack system, which is not the intended use of these ladders.
The investigation revealed that employees in the grocery warehouse were exposed to fall hazards of six and twelve feet while retrieving and storing merchandise from the second and third levels of the rack system without using a fall protection system. Additionally, in the vegetable cutting department roof area, employees were exposed to a seven-foot fall hazard without adequate fall protection.
OSHA also discovered that emergency exits in the warehouse were obstructed by carts, ladders, equipment, and palletized products. Furthermore, the emergency exit of the grocery store was blocked by a beer display.
Danelle Jindra, OSHA Area Director, emphasized the responsibility of employers to ensure the safety and functionality of the equipment used by their workers. Jindra stated, “Kissimmee Meat & Produce failed to meet its responsibility, and it cost someone their life.”
Employers seeking assistance in maintaining workplace safety compliance can contact Compliance Assistance Specialists. Employees wishing to file an OSHA complaint can do so online, by calling 800-321-6742, or by visiting their local OSHA office.
