Maryland labor regulators fined the construction company that lost six workers in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse after investigators determined the firm violated an occupational safety standard for protecting workers from falls.
The $2,100 penalty, which Brawner Builders is contesting, was the only citation issued by Maryland Occupational Safety and Health in their investigation of the March 26, 2024 bridge collapse, according to a report obtained by The Baltimore Sun . Labor officials noted the violation of a fall protection standard, while serious, did not cause or contribute to the deaths of six Brawner employees who were filling potholes on the Key Bridge. They also called on the Maryland Transportation Authority to improve communication at work zones.
The construction company’s general counsel, Jeff Pritzker, said the firm’s work on the bridge was done “in a safe and prudent manner” that was “consistent with the standard work practices of all bridge and highway contractors” working in Maryland. He noted investigators’ finding that the violation “was in no way causally related to the tragic loss of life and injuries to our employees,” and that Brawner’s crew was working in the presence of a safety inspector that night.
Pritzker said the company “has taken all steps to vigorously dispute this citation.” The firm, and the families of the employees who died, sued the ship’s owner after the safety investigation concluded in September.
Regulators said that Brawner violated the fall protection standard by not having a guardrail, safety net or other fall protection system in place while its crew was permitted to work near the Key Bridge’s 32-inch-tall walls, 185 feet above water.
Brawner officials told investigators the company sometimes contracts out safety skiffs while working on bridges, though they said a skiff wasn’t necessary for their Key Bridge work. They said crews “were working well into the lane,” far from the bridge’s parapet wall, the report says.
The transportation authority engineer responsible for bridge maintenance also told investigators that fall protection “was not required” for the work that the crew was performing and that the crew had no reason to be near the wall.
The violation issued to Brawner was the fifth time labor regulators have cited the company for failing to protect its workers against falls. According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration records, the company has received almost $11,000 in fines since 2018.
The MOSH investigation did not probe what happened onboard the Dali, which struck the bridge as it departed the Port of Baltimore early that morning. The National Transportation Safety Board is focusing on the ship, its crew and a local pilot as it investigates the probable cause of the bridge collapse.
Safety investigators also determined that the construction workers, who were waiting on cement to dry when a container ship lost power and struck a support column, had “no warning of the incoming errant ship.”
Maryland Transportation Authority Police got a warning from a Maryland Association of Pilots dispatcher before the collapse and were able to block over 30 vehicles from traversing the bridge, the report says. That warning didn’t make it to the crew.
Pritzker noted that communication with Brawner employees at work zones has to be done through the on-site construction inspector. The transportation authority officers responsible for blocking traffic told investigators that they usually get the inspector’s cell phone number after they arrive for a shift.
Damon Davis, the construction inspector who survived the collapse, told labor investigators that he was walking down the bridge to do just that at around 1:30 a.m. when he heard “strange, thunderous sounds and felt the ground vibrate,” according to the report. He ran and saw the bridge falling behind him as he made it to safety, the report states.
Labor regulators did not issue citations to Davis’ employer, Eborn Enterprises, or the Maryland Transportation Authority.
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