Paving worker's death draws $7K fine
INDIANAPOLIS — A paving company has been cited by the Indiana Department of Labor after a road worker was killed by a machine west of Middlebury.
Milestone Contractors, a construction company headquartered in Indianapolis with offices around the state, faces proposed penalties of $7,000 following an inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The company was cited for a serious violation involving workplace hazards which resulted in the death of an employee.
Rodolfo Nunez, 49, of Decatur, was declared dead at the scene of the Oct. 13 incident in the area of U.S. 20 and C.R. 27. Nunez was on the ground cleaning the hydraulically powered augers on the paving machine when he was caught between them.
His cause of death was determined to be multiple blunt force injuries, according to Elkhart County Coroner Merv Miller. IOSHA records describe multiple injuries to Nunez’s head, neck, ribs and lungs.
His death was ruled accidental in nature.
The concrete placer is cleaned with a pressure washer after use and is not locked out or shut off during the process, according to the IOSHA notification of penalty issued April 11. There is no guarding or other means of protection in place to prevent an employee from being caught in between the augers, the notice states.
The notification recommends using lock-out procedures while cleaning the machine and ensuring that it’s been shut off during the process. The company was given until May 28 to abate the violation.
Milestone Contractors was carrying out road widening work along that stretch of U.S. 20 as part of a major project managed by the Indiana Department of Transportation.
