GROVE CITY, OH — Fabcon Precast LLC, a Delaware-based company with a manufacturing facility in Grove City, was sentenced this week to pay a $500,000 fine — the maximum allowed by law — after pleading guilty to a willful violation of OSHA regulations that resulted in the death of an employee.
The sentencing also includes two years of organizational probation and a requirement to follow a court-approved Safety Compliance Plan.
The case stems from a tragic incident on June 6, 2020, at the Fabcon facility where Zachary Ledbetter, a batch operator, suffered fatal injuries while attempting to close a pneumatic discharge door on a concrete mixer. The mixer’s exhaust valve handle, which controls the pneumatic energy and is critical for safe operation, had broken off and was never replaced. As a result, Ledbetter was struck by the heavy industrial door, and later died in the hospital from his injuries.
Fabcon produces precast concrete panels at the Grove City facility, and the mixer involved in the fatal incident was the only one of its kind at the plant.
“Today’s sentencing reflects Fabcon’s willful failure to implement measures to protect its workers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Sadly, this led to Zachary’s death.”
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Officials said the case illustrates the importance of adhering to federally mandated workplace safety standards.
“Fabcon Precast LLC willfully failed to adhere to OSHA safety regulations which resulted in the tragic and preventable loss of a worker’s life,” said Megan Howell, Special Agent in Charge of the DOL OIG’s Great Lakes Region. “This sentencing highlights our steadfast commitment to hold accountable those who jeopardize worker safety.”
Under federal law, willfully violating an OSHA safety rule resulting in an employee’s death is a class B misdemeanor, the only criminal charge available under current federal workplace safety statutes.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Cullman of the DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
