Missouri Roofing Contractor Faces $205K Fine After Employee’s Fatal Fall

On March 27, 2023, an 18-year-old employee of a Missouri contractor was applying sealant to a commercial building’s roof when he fell more than 22 feet and suffered serious injuries that left him in a coma for five days before dying.

After the tragic fall, the employer — Troyer Constructors LLP, operating as Troyer Roofing & Coatings — allowed a foreman and another worker to continue working without fall protection until they finished their shift. In addition, inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration learned the Jamesport employer had fall protection available but allowed employees to decide if they wanted to use it.

“Troyer Roofing & Coatings could have prevented this young worker’s death by requiring their employees to use fall protection equipment. Disturbingly, the employer allowed other workers to go back to work on the same roof without fall protection,” said OSHA Area Director Karena Lorek in Kansas City, Missouri. “Employers have an obligation to comply with requirements that are designed to prevent tragedies such as this from occurring.”

OSHA investigators determined that, in addition to not ensuring that employees used fall protection, the contractor failed to train them on how to use it. Investigators also found Troyer Roofing did not train employees on proper forklift operations, failed to provide workers with face and eye protection, and did not have a written hazard communication program for sealants and other chemicals the employer used.

OSHA cited Troyer Roofing & Coatings for one willful violation, three serious violations, and one other-than-serious violation. OSHA proposed penalties of $205,369. The agency cited the company for similar fall protection violations in 2015.

Based in Jamesport, Troyer Constructors LLP is a third-generation, family owned and operated business with more than 20 years of roofing industry expertise. Troyer Roofing & Coatings provides commercial roofing restorations and repairs to customers in north and central Missouri.

Source: OSHA

Topics Contractors Missouri