San Rafael contractor cited ?in Petaluma jobsite death

Cal/OSHA on July 15 said it cited San Rafael-based general engineering contractor Maggiora & Ghilotti, Inc., $38,250 in an accident at a Petaluma jobsite that killed a 28-year-old Novato man.

The agency’s American Canyon office issued three citations following an investigation into the April incident. The worker, Jared Overfield, was killed when a 40-foot concrete-coated steel pipe being unloaded from a forklift rolled down a hillside just west of Highway 101, near the new Petaluma Boulevard South overpass, and crushed him.

“This fatality could have been avoided had the required safety measures been in place for working at a hazardous location,” said Christine Baker, director of the Department of Industrial Relations, in a statement. Cal/OSHA is a division of DIR.

The accident occurred around 7 a.m. April 15 near Highway 101, where Maggiora & Ghilotti was replacing an old water pipe. The employee was working with a forklift operator to unload and transport the new pipe down a sloping dirt road. The pipe weighed about 8,000 pounds and was not secured to the forklift. It was unloaded directly to the ground without any chocks or barrier to prevent it from moving. The worker was facing the pipe when it slid off the forks, rolled over him and was finally stopped by a chain link fence.

“Employers must be vigilant in recognizing job hazards and keeping their employees safe by taking the necessary precautions in all aspects of an operation,” said Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum in the announcement.

The citations to Maggiora & Ghilotti were for failing to recognize and plan for the hazard of transporting the steel pipe, for failing to survey and plan for the hazards of uneven ground, and for not securing the pipe during transport.