NEWPORT NEWS — The Virginia branch of Occupational Safety and Health Administration found the general contractor not at fault for the death of a construction worker at the new Ferguson Headquarters Building 3 at City Center.
W.M. Jordan Company is the main contractor for the project and works with a subcontractor, Mid Atlantic Steel Erectors Inc.
On May 14, a man suffered life threatening injuries and another with minor injuries after construction materials loaded onto the second floor deck of the construction site fell about 20 feet, according to Joanna Hawkins, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Labor.
“On 05/14/2019 materials placed on a pallet were being loaded up onto the 2nd floor deck that was under construction. The 2nd floor deck was at an elevation of about 20′ above grade. When the materials were set on the deck the materials fell through to the ground below. An employee working at the ground level was struck by the falling materials and received fatal crushing injuries. W.M. Jordan was the General Contractor and Mid Atlantic Steel Erectors, Inc. was another employer on site.”
Jose Ramos-Enrriquez, 42, of Mcgaheysville, died at the hospital and the other man, not identified by authorities, was treated for minor injuries.
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Jennifer Rose, spokeswoman for Virginia OSHA, said the department uses the term “accident” to refer to all workplace incidents like fatalities.
Rose said the subcontractor at the site, Mid Atlantic Steel Erectors, did receive citations related to workplace safety and health violations found during the course of the investigation.
“I believe those were just recently issued and are still part of an open investigation which can not be discussed,” she wrote in an email.
It remains unclear what the citations are and she did not immediately respond to additional calls for comment.
