By Tom Dalton
Staff writer
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SALEM — The company that installed the exterior wall panel that fell from the state courthouse under construction on Federal Street, seriously injuring a worker, has had more than 20 safety violations over the past few years, according to a federal agency.
However, none of those violations was the result of an accident on the job, according to records at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which investigates construction accidents and other job-related incidents.
According to OSHA, Lighthouse Masonry Inc. of New Bedford, a subcontractor at the J. Michael Ruane Judicial Center, has been fined or paid settlements of more than $20,000 since 2004 for 26 "serious" violations, most of which were found during routine inspections. Citations range from failure to provide the proper fall protection for workers to lack of safety training.
The OSHA records did not provide details about the incidents at projects in New Bedford, Braintree, Hull and Needham.
An official at Lighthouse Masonry declined to comment.
Greg Beeman, president of the state chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, which represents more than 400 contractors, including Lighthouse Masonry, said OSHA violations do not necessarily mean a company has a poor safety record.
"You'd be hard pressed to find any significant-sized company" that has been in business for several years and works on public projects "that does not have a series of OSHA violations," he said. "It's almost a given in this industry. ..."
"Some of the most well-respected and successful companies ... have a variety of OSHA citations," he said.
In 2009, OSHA cited Massachusetts masonry and stone contractors in 42 separate incidents, according to the agency's website.
State and federal officials have been careful to stress that the June 15 accident in Salem is under investigation and that no blame has been assessed.
OSHA has opened what it calls "inspections" into three companies: Lighthouse Masonry; Daniel O'Connell's Sons of Holyoke, the construction manager; and General Mechanical Contractors Co. of Auburn, the heating and air-conditioning company that employed the injured worker.
The state Division of Capital Asset Management, which is overseeing the $106 million project, said Lighthouse Masonry installed the panel that fell. A worker for the HVAC company was on a coffee break when a 500-pound limestone panel fell from about four stories and seriously injured his legs, DCAM said.
Lighthouse Masonry has been in business since 2002 and has an average of 60 masons and 70 laborers, welders and other workers out on projects, according to its website. The company also has a full-time safety officer.
This spring, Lighthouse Masonry was one of about 50 companies in the state to receive a 2009 safety award from an affiliate of the Associated Builders and Contractors.
