A view of The Madison townhomes from Smith Valley Road in late May in Greenwood.
Daily Journal File Photo
State regulators have proposed a $6,300 fine following the death of a construction worker at The Madison construction site last year.
The Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or IOSHA, issued a serious violation to West Lafayette-based Atlas Excavating and proposed the company pay a $6,300 fine. A safety order was issued to the company on May 11 following a series of inspections from Dec. 19, 2022 to March 23.
The incident that sparked the series of inspections occurred on Dec. 16, 2022. Around 3 p.m. that day, first responders were called to the 500 block of S. Madison Avenue in Greenwood on a report of a man being pinned in a pit at The Madison construction site. When officers arrived, they found that a concrete box — which is used for drainage — had fallen from a crane at the construction site, pinning Larry Scott Stinson, 53, of Indianapolis.
Stinson, who was working for Atlas Excavating, later died as a result of his injuries at an Indianapolis hospital. Police believed the incident was a workplace accident, they said at the time.
The IOSHA safety order released last month provides a more detailed explanation for what occurred during the accident. Two workers were working in a trench when an excavator operator bumped the controls and tried to correct, causing the box to strike one employee and crush another employee against the trench wall, the order says.
IOSHA officials issued one serious violation after finding Atlas Excavating did not provide a place of employment that was free from “recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees when employees were exposed to struck-by and crush hazards.” They also told Atlas to mandate that the excavator operator get and remain in control of excavator controls before and during the time employees are inside of a trench, the order shows.
The order also shows the violation was corrected during the inspection period.
Atlas Excavating is in the process of appealing the order, Casey Dillon, the company’s president and CEO, said via email Tuesday. The company also continues to grieve for Stinson and his family, Dillon said.
IOSHA and Atlas are working together and hope to resolve the order in the next 30 days, Dillon said. He declined to comment further about the pending order, citing the ongoing situation.
