Newport Beach : Building Firms Cited in Accident That Killed 1

Two county construction companies have been cited by the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to have adequate support for a steel column that fell and killed a welder at a construction site at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel, an agency spokesman said Tuesday.

Recon Steel Placers of Los Alamitos and A. Lloyd’s Welding of Westminster were cited for not properly securing the 3,500-pound column of steel-reinforcing bars that fell and crushed Joey Hlista, 23, on Sept. 16, James Brown, a CalOSHA spokesman, said.

Workers for Recon Steel were responsible for the guy wires that held the 24-foot-tall columns in place, Brown added.

Fines against the companies have not been determined, he said, adding that neither firm has been previously cited by CalOSHA for violations.

Lloyd Smith, owner of Lloyd’s Welding, said he plans to appeal the citation because he said his company was not responsible for conditions at the site that caused the accident. Hlista was employed by Lloyd’s, Brown said.

Lloyd’s was held responsible for allowing workers to operate at an unsafe job site, Brown said. While Lloyd’s workers were not involved with guying the columns, their workers were exposed to the danger of the columns falling, he pointed out.

The accident occurred while a Cal-OSHA inspector was en route to the site to investigate a worker’s complaint alleging unsafe conditions. Brown declined to reveal the contents of the complaint but said it was not about the steel columns.

Smith said his only alternative would have been to leave the job, adding: “If we had walked off they would have gotten other welders to do it.”

Hlista was working on the fourth floor of the hotel when the beam fell and killed him instantly, Brown said. The hotel is adding a 14-story wing that will contain 202 rooms and a cocktail lounge.

Construction of the support beams involved hoisting the reinforcing bars by crane to the fourth floor, righting them, guying them so that they could be temporarily welded in place and then permanently welding them to the foundation, Brown said. The columns were then covered with cement. Hlista’s task was the final welding before removing the guy cables.