Investigation: Discounted Lives

Ronald Wood remembers every important date in his three sons' lives. “We enjoy having our sons’ home, all of them,” says Wood as he stands looking at family pictures in his kitchen. But there's one date, he wishes he could forget.

In April 2007, his youngest suffered an accident at work. Wood rushed to the hospital to find his 22-year-old-son, Travis, already dead. Travis died from a 31-foot fall at Automated Distribution Center in Gaffney, when someone drove into his forklift, while he tried to retrieve a package.

OSHA cited ADS with 11 violations, including failing to implement "authorized plant speed limits" for forklifts and “reduced illumination" inside. The initial fine: $15,225 dollars, but months later the company protested, and OSHA cut its fine to $2,700 dollars if ADS promised to make the company safer.

Wood is stunned to know about the reduced fine, “It's just unbelievable that they can actually get by with that small amount of money.”

It turns out this is not the only time OSHA reduced fines after an accident. A 7 On Your Side investigation found it's the norm. We dug through nearly four years worth of accidents investigated by the state's OSHA office and found that fines are reduced nearly 70 percent of the time through either settlements or employment penalty option agreements. Within those four years, 116 people left for work and never returned.

Ronald Magnani is one of those workers who never came home. His widow, Carma, is also stunned to know her husband’s company, Cryovac, got a reduced fine involving her husband's 2004 accident from $3,500 to $1,500.

OSHA cited Cryovac for not having safety procedures in place that may have saved his life, “I mean, we're not talking about a finger. We're talking about a human life that was taken.”

Our investigation also found reduced fines involving companies with repeat accidents or violations, like the Michelin plant in Sandy Springs. In 2006, one person died from burns involving an exposed water pipe. A few months later, another Michelin worker's arm, crushed and then amputated, after getting caught in a machine.

While both accidents involved clear safety violations, both fines: significantly cut through settlement agreements.

OSHA Spokesperson Jim Knight says its system works because accidents have dropped.

“With the system that we have in place, we are not to be a punitive agency. We are to identify hazards get the corrected and the goal is for a similar accident not to happen again.

INFO BOX

S.C. Workplace Accidents by the Numbers**:

Total Accidents W/ Current Violations 2004-2007

Total Accidents inspected: 195

Total Deaths: 116

Total Hospitalized Injuries: 92

Total Non-Hospitalized Injuries: 41

Total # of Accidents with current violations that have reduced fines: 129

Total Initial Fines Before Reduction: $670,097

Total Current After Reduction: $182,466

Of all the accidents OSHA cited for violations, 66% of all fines handed down were reduced by OSHA or through settlement agreements.

**Totals do not include natural deaths, traffic accidents, maritime accidents, or train accidents. Those incidents are not investigated by OSHA.

Knight also says companies often spend more money after an accident to make its workplace safer.

“It's a violation of the statutory law, and it’s cause for penalties,” says former U.S. Representative Ken Holland. He says OSHA’s fines are slap on the wrist and outdated.

To put in perspective, if someone dies because a company did not have safety measures in place, the maximum OSHA can fine is $70,000 dollars. If you illegaly kill tuna in the south pacific, you could face a $325,000 dollar fine.

This year, the U.S. Senate is expected to debate a bill that could increase OSHA’s penalties, and strengthen criminal sanctions.

Not everyone in Washington, D.C. agrees. Upstate U.S. Congressman Bob Inglis says companies get hit harder from higher workers compensation premiums than OSHA’s fines, “That insurance underwriting process is going to look at their claims experience on OSHA violations, and they're going to say, “Listen, you're obviously running an unsafe plant, so your premium fella is going up.”

Wood understands no fine amount can equal the life of his son, but he often wonders if stricter fines and regulations would have made the difference between spending afternoons at his son’s grave, or at his son’s side in new photos creating new memories.

OSHA’s penalties were last updated in 1990, and never adjust for inflation.

There are also no mandatory inspections for even the most dangerous industries.

South Carolina Lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Senators:

Jim DeMint (R-SC)

202-224-6121

Website

Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

202-224-5972

Website

U.S. House of Representatives:

Gresham Barrett

3rd District

WASHINGTON, DC OFFICE

439 CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING

WASHINGTON, DC 20515

P: 202-225-5301

F: 202-225-3216

Website

Henry Brown

1st District

WASHINGTON, DC OFFICE

1124 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Phone: (202) 225-3176

Fax: (202) 225-3407

Website

James Clyburn

6th District

WASHINGTON, DC.

2135 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, 20515

Phone: (202)225-3315

Fax: (202)225-2313

Website

John Spratt

5th District

1401 Longworth Bldg.

Washington, DC 20515

Tel. 202-225-5501

Fax 202-225-0464

Website

Bob Inglis

4th District

Washington, DC Office

330 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Phone: (202) 225-6030

Fax: (202) 226-1177

Hours: 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Website

Joe Wilson

2nd District

The Washington Office

212 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515

Phone: (202) 225-2452

Fax: (202) 225-2455

Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Website

Click on the images below to see accident reports on these specific businesses and people.

James Redmon

Ron Magnani

Travis Wood

INFO BOX

Most Common Type of Accidents: