Who's responsible for a worker's fatal fall in Bayonne?
On Dec. 11, 2015, Enrique Maxia, 30, of Jersey City, suffered a fatal fall while removing siding from 75 East 21st St. in Bayonne, OSHA said on June 21, 2016. Photo taken June 24, 2016. Jonathan Lin | The Jersey Journal
Jonathan Lin | The Jersey Journal
By Jonathan Lin | The Jersey Journal June 24, 2016
BAYONNE -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a contractor for safety violations that led to a worker's fatal fall in Bayonne last year, but the contractor is saying the agency is blaming the wrong company.
On Dec. 11, Enrique Maxia, 30, of Jersey City fell about 25 feet from "a ladder that was part of scaffold" when he pulled on a piece of siding from the front of a three-story apartment building at 75 East 21st St. and it gave way, OSHA said this week.
Dan Roszkowski, who works at an auto shop and gas station across the street, said today that he was outside pumping gas at the time of the incident. His back was turned, but his customer alerted him to the fall.
When the 55-year-old ran over to Maxia, he found the worker bleeding from the nostrils and ears, and he rushed back to the auto shop to call 911.
"He looked like he was convulsing," Roszkowski said.
In a statement released along with investigation findings on Tuesday, OSHA said Maxia's death could have been prevented if Union City-based contractor Bolivar Enterprises had "properly protected workers from fall hazards."
But Bolivar Salto, owner of the company, told The Jersey Journal another Union City-based contractor -- which he named but who couldn't be reached for this report -- is to blame for the incident.
Salto said he subcontracted the other company to do some work at 75 East 21st St. but they did additional work on the site that he had no knowledge of, including the job in which Maxia died.
The worker was descending a ladder to get off the barge when he fell in the water, police said.
"I'm going to hire an attorney to take care of this," Salto said, adding that he has documentation to back up his account.
He said he would soon be sending The Jersey Journal copies of that documentation as well as a letter to OSHA that he is currently drafting.
Asked about Salto's remarks, OSHA spokeswoman Leni Uddyback-Fortson said the agency stands by its original accusations.
Meanwhile, a super for the building at 75 East 21st St., who only identified himself as Rick, said Bolivar Enterprises was the contractor in charge of the job at the time of Maxia's fall. The building's owner couldn't be reached.
The Jersey Journal has filed open public records requests with the city for any police reports regarding the incident, as well as any construction permits issued in connection to the job.
Maxia's family could not immediately be reached for this report.
OSHA cited Bolivar Enterprises for nine serious violations, including hazards such as failing to provide adequate fall protection; not erecting scaffolding that met OSHA's standards; using scaffolding improperly; and failing to providing scaffolding training to workers.
The proposed penalties for the citations total $57,000.
A tenant at the building said today that it remained vacant for about a year up until this month after being damaged by a fire next door.
That July 11, 2015 blaze at a three-story building at 77 East 21st St. killed a couple and left 19 homeless. The fire, whose cause has remained undetermined, resulted in the demolition of 77 East 21st St.