Two men have fallen from the same roof of a WalMart under construction. On died, and the other, a cousin of the first, is in good condition.
What happened is as clear as mud. The police say equipment failure, the employer (surprise, surprise) says the worker was careless .
"The preliminary investigation is that his harness apparatus failed and he fell and suffered some serious injuries,” said Arkansas City Police Capt. Sean Wallace.So, faulty equipment or "bad decision?"
"It was an unfortunate situation," said Ron Reynolds with Key Construction. “It was a situation where an individual made a bad decision. He was very well equipped with safety devices and stepped off a secure platform and took that one step that led to a fall."
Reynolds says sometimes decisions are made and one second makes the difference in life and death.
"That particular device was taken out of service that day and was not used after that,” said Wallace.
And while we're at it, what is this crap about a "bad decision?" It sounds like me talking to my daughter about sex and drugs. It's just psychobable for the same old theory that all workplace accidents can be blamed on lazy, careless workers.
Faulty equipment or "bad decision?" Check back in about six months and we'll see what OSHA decides.
