Butler Contracting Company, OSHA Violation, Pennsylvania 2021

A devastating workplace tragedy turned deadly when a worker lost his life after being electrocuted at a construction site in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. On April 12, 2018, the crew of Insight Pipe Contracting, LLC, a Butler County-based company, was installing pipe-liner at a work site when disaster struck.

The crew was using a telehandler to remove liner from a box truck when the equipment came into contact with energized power lines, causing the machine to become electrified. In a tragic moment, one of the company’s employees was electrocuted and died at the scene.

Insight Pipe Contracting, LLC, located in Harmony, Pennsylvania, has pleaded guilty to willfully violating an OSHA regulation that resulted in the worker’s death. The company faces severe consequences for its actions.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that federal regulations require any vehicle or mechanical equipment capable of having any part of its structure elevated near energized power lines to maintain a clearance of 10 feet. Unfortunately, the company failed to adhere to this regulation, putting its employees at risk.

Under the terms of its plea agreement, Insight Pipe Contracting, LLC, has agreed to pay a fine of $20,000 and serve a probationary term of three years. The company also paid a fine of $180,000 in civil penalties earlier this year in an OSHA administrative case stemming from the worker’s death.

The law provides for a total sentence of five years’ probation, a fine of $500,000, or both. Judge Stephanie L. Haines scheduled sentencing for October 28, 2021.

Assistant United States Attorney Michael Leo Ivory is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration of the United States Department of Labor conducted the investigation of Insight Pipe Contracting, LLC.

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