A Delaware-based company with operations in Ohio has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge stemming from the death of a 20-year-old employee who was fatally injured by a malfunctioning pneumatic door on a concrete mixer.
Fabcon Precast LLC admitted in federal court to willfully violating an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety standard in connection with the June 2020 incident that led to the death of Zachary Ledbetter, a batch operator at its Grove City, Ohio, facility.
Ledbetter was injured while attempting to free a stuck pneumatic door used to discharge concrete from the plant’s only mixer. The door, which was supposed to be disabled through an exhaust valve before maintenance or cleaning, remained pressurized due to a missing handle on the valve—an issue that had gone unaddressed for months, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
When Ledbetter tried to fix the jammed door, it closed on his head, trapping him. He was later freed and transported to a hospital, where he died five days later.
Under federal law, it is a class B misdemeanor to willfully fail to comply with OSHA standards when the violation results in an employee’s death. The misdemeanor is the only federal criminal offense for workplace safety violations that result in fatalities.
“Employers have a legal obligation to ensure their facilities are safe for workers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. The case was also announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly A. Norris for the Southern District of Ohio and Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Megan Howell of the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, Great Lakes Region.
The Department of Labor’s inspector general investigated the case. Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman prosecuted it.
