Massachusetts Concrete Firm Sentenced and Fined for Worker’s Death

A Massachusetts concrete company has been sentenced and fined in federal court in Boston for willfully violating federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety standards in a 2023 incident that led to a worker’s death.

John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete, Inc. was sentenced to 18 months’ probation and ordered to pay $115,000 in restitution.

According to court documents, the company utilized a large soil screener that was approximately 46 feet long and 13 feet high, and weighed approximately 35,880 pounds. The tail conveyor of the soil screener – which weighed approximately 1,500 pounds – could be placed in a vertical closed position or could be opened to an approximate 45° angle.

At various occasions in 2022 or 2023, the tail conveyor of the soil screener closed unexpectedly, and the soil screener had suffered a ruptured hydraulic pressure line.

On Sept. 6, 2023, an employee was working alongside a co-owner on the tail conveyer of the soil screener, which was in the open position. At the time, there was no equipment in place to prevent the tail conveyer from closing. According to the charging documents, as the employee was seeking to remove a bolt, the tail conveyor closed unexpectedly, crushing the employee’s head. The employee suffered massive head trauma and was pronounced dead soon thereafter.

U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and area OSHA officials announced the sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney William F. Abely prosecuted the case.