Falls Were Most Common Safety Violation in Washington for 20th Straight Year

Falls from heights were the most cited serious workplace safety violation by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries for the 20th straight year.

In the past four months, L&I issued $1.4 million in fines to five construction companies for violating fall protection rules.

The most recent fine for $82,620 was issued Dec. 29, 2025, to Roof Doctor Inc. of Olympia for one willful serious, one repeat serious and two serious violations for hazards including roofers not wearing fall protection while working on a two-story home in Olympia. Roof Doctor was also fined $110,160 on Dec. 18 for four repeat serious violations for workers not wearing fall protection at a Tumwater strip mall. The company is appealing both cases.

In the past two decades, the company has reportedly filed 393 injury claims, leading to more than $4.9 million in medical care and wage replacement for the state workers’ compensation fund.

Asset Roofing Company LLC was fined four times in September for not ensuring workers wore fall protection, not using ladders correctly and a lack of fall protection training at four different locations. Some of their workers were reportedly wearing harnesses attached to ropes with improperly installed anchors that would not hold if they fell. Fines in four inspections totaled nearly $720,000. Asset Roofing is appealing all four citations.

Other companies facing notable citations from L&I for fall protection violations over the last several months include:

• Valentine Roofing (Seattle): Fined $148,716 for two repeat serious violations Dec. 3 after inspectors saw at least one employee working near the edge of the roof with such a long rope he would have hit the ground if he fell. The company is appealing the citation and fine.
• DaBella (Vancouver): Cited Dec. 23 for a repeat willful serious violation and fined $134,640 for not protecting its subcontractor’s employees from exposure to falls during a roofing job. The company has 15 business days to appeal the citation and fine.
• Modern S Construction LLC (Buckley): Fined $258,514 for two repeat willful serious fall protection violations and two repeat general violations Oct. 15. It did not appeal the most recent citation and fine.