The State of Michigan has issued multiple citations after a worker fell off the Ambassador Bridge in July.
On July 12, an employee on the bridge was completing work on the American side when he fell approximately 150 feet into the water below. Due to quick thinking by witnesses, the man was rescued and has since made a full recovery.
The day after the accident, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) began an investigation at Structural Technologies LLC, the contractor working on the span. The probe resulted in a total of six citations for alleged offences.
The offences included workers not being given flotation devices. Another was failing to have a life buoy while working over the water. The employer also did not have a system for employees to communicate via radio with the lifeboat.
The company was also cited for workers not having using fall protection while working atop a flatbed trailer just over a metre from the bridge's edge, having at least four workers exposed to fall hazards due to the top guardrail being too low, and a failure to properly train employees to prevent falls.
MIOSHA said Structural Technologies LLC was fined $29,400. The company has since appealed.
-with files from Ruby Sweeney
