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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a citation against Knobel's Refrigeration in North Platte for alleged safety violations related to an accident in July that lead to the death of an employee.

 

On July 9, a 55-year-old worker was climbing a fixed ladder to reach equipment on the roof of a client's building when he lost his grip and fell 12 feet. The employee died of his injuries 10 days later.

 

According to the citation issued by OSHA, the top rung of the ladder that the employee grabbed was positioned near a rain gutter. OSHA issued its citation Aug. 26 following an investigation into the accident.The citation lists three serious and one non-serious violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. A serious violation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a known hazard.The two serious violations related to the accident on July 9 were for use of a ladder with less than seven inches of perpendicular clearance between the rungs and any obstruction and failure to train workers on fixed ladder hazards.

 

A third serious violation, which is unrelated to the accident, involves failure to properly train workers to operate a forklift. The non-serious violation relates to an alleged failure to properly record employee injuries and illnesses.

 

These violations carry a total penalty of nearly $16,000. Knobel's Refrigeration has been given 15 days to respond to the citation. According to OSHA's area director Ben Bare, the company has requested an informal conference.At that conference, the owners of Knobel's Refrigeration will be allowed to present evidence they believe would support a change to the citation and/or any related penalties.Officials from Knobel's Refrigeration did not immediately return calls for comment on Tuesday.

 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.