Updated: Mar 15, 2016 9:26 AM EST
The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Omaha office has opened an investigation into a report that a 62-year-old worker died after falling more than 38 feet while installing a platform at a construction site in Sutherland.
The incident occurred on March 9.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the worker who had been on the job for only a month,” said OSHA’s acting area director in Omaha Darwin Craig. “OSHA will be conducting a thorough investigation to see if any violations of safety procedures contributed to this tragic incident. Falls remain the leading cause of death on the job for construction workers.”
According to OSHA, initial reports state that the employee was in the process of installing a platform for work to be done on a grain leg when he fell to the ground below sustaining blunt force trauma injuries.
The site was being managed by Elite Ag Systems Inc., of Buffalo Lake, Minn. Elite Ag Systems has no previous OSHA history.