Poland company cited for safety violations

Akron Beacon Journal

AKRON

A Poland-based excavating company has been cited for safety violations related to an April trench collapse in Hudson that killed one worker and injured another.

James Wetzl, 56, of Canfield, was killed and Albert Joseph Bagnoli Jr., 58, of Youngstown, was seriously injured when the trench the men were working in collapsed April 7 at a home being built in the Fossalto Acres subdivision.

The men worked for Bagnoli and Sons Inc., which had excavated a 17-foot deep, 65-foot long trench.

“Employees were not adequately protected from cave-ins while working in trenches that reached up to 17 feet deep, and they had no safe way to get out of the trench in case of emergency,’’ said Rob Medlock, area director for Cleveland of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The company was cited for two alleged willful violations for failing to provide proper cave-in protection shields. OSHA also cited Bagnoli and Sons for two serious citations for allowing employees to work under material that was being moved by digging equipment and failing to keep the material at least 2 feet away from the trenches.

The proposed fines total $140,000.

The company has previous violations dating back to 1989 when it was issued one serious violation for a lack of proper trenching protective equipment and a second violation for a lack of required personal protective equipment.