OSHA fines Sam's Club maximum amount in death of worker, 20, hit by door at Summit store
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Sam's Club for a workplace safety violation and has given it the maximum penalty in a September accident at the retailer's Summit Township store that caused the death of a 20-year-old employee.
The OSHA-Erie office issued the citation March 29 to Sam's Club, with a penalty of $156,259 listed, in the Sept. 30 accident at the Sam's Club at 7200 Peach St. that caused the death of Benjamin Knight Jr., according to information on OSHA's website.
The $156,259 is the maximum penalty OSHA can assess for a willful or repeated violation. The amount went into effect after Jan. 15, according to information in the penalty section on OSHA's website.
The accident at the Summit Township Sam's Club was listed in OSHA's inspection report as a willful violation.
Knight, a graduate of Fort LeBoeuf High School, died Oct. 7 at UPMC Hamot of complications of blunt-force trauma, the Erie County Coroner's Office reported.
Knight was at work at Sam's Club on the early evening of Sept. 30 when he was struck by an overhead garage door, Coroner Lyell Cook reported following Knight's death.
More: OSHA investigating after Sam's Club employee dies following workplace accident in Summit
According to information in the investigation summary filed with OSHA's inspection report, an employee was using the ratchet strap attached to the 10-foot by 18-foot door to pull it closed when the door hit the employee on the neck, back and leg area, trapping him under the door.
According to information in the citation issued against Sam's Club, employees were exposed to a "struck-by" hazard that existed because a defective garage door used by employees would not stay securely in place in the raised/open position.
Employees opened the overhead door to gain access to the building's exterior to deliver merchandise and for other purposes. But the mechanism for keeping the door in the raised/open position was broken, so employees were exposed to the danger of the door lowering suddenly and with great speed, according to information in the citation.
"On September 30, 2022, a 20-year-old employee was struck by the door when it closed at an unexpectedly high rate of speed. The employee later died of his injuries," the citation reads.
The door was in a state of repair in that its two spring mechanisms were not operational and were awaiting servicing by an outside contractor. The door was lifted with a forklift into the open position, according to information in the citation.
Risk prevention methods would have included locking the door out of service until repairs would be competed, or using a danger tag until the hazard is eliminated, the citation reads. The door was not tagged, officials wrote in the citation.
Walmart, which owns Sam's Club, said in a statement to the Erie Times-News that "Our condolences continue to go out to Benjamin’s friends and family."
"Benjamin Knight was a valued associate and well-liked member of the team," according to the statement. "We are continuing to cooperate with OSHA, and out of respect for everyone involved, we are not going to discuss the details of this matter further.”
OSHA identifies anyone under the age of 24, such as Knight, as a youth worker, which puts them in a vulnerable worker population, said Brendan Claybaugh, OSHA's area director. OSHA's website has a section that provides a variety of information for young workers and for employers, he said.
Knight will be remembered April 28 during the annual Workers Memorial Day ceremony on the west side of Perry Square in Erie, Claybaugh said. Also expected to be honored at the 5 p.m. ceremony, according to Claybaugh, are Deveon Hubbart, 32, of Ripley, New York, a Waste Management employee who was fatally injured while working in Millcreek Township in February; and Erie firefighter Michael Smith, 47, who died in February of occupational cancer, according to a post on the Erie firefighters union's Facebook page.
More: OSHA investigating workplace death of Waste Management employee in Millcreek Township
OSHA is continuing its investigation into Hubbart's death, Claybaugh said Wednesday.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: OSHA fines Sam's Club in Summit store accident that killed 20-year-old
