Contractors Fined $5 Million in Fatal Building Collapse

The U.S. Labor Department, citing “sloppy construction practices” and “obvious design deficiencies,” imposed a record $5 million in fines Thursday against the contractors of a Connecticut apartment complex that collapsed earlier this year, killing 28 construction workers.

The fines, which can be appealed, are the largest penalty ever imposed in the 16-year history of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Officials said the discovery of serious engineering lapses in L’Ambiance Plaza in Bridgeport, which collapsed April 23 when under construction, may spur toughened federal testing and building requirements. The disaster has already provoked scrutiny of the lift-slab construction process, which failed in the Connecticut project, officials said.

Prosecution Considered

Labor officials said they are still considering seeking criminal prosecution of officials in the two companies cited, TPMI/Macomber of Darien, Conn., and Boston, the principal contractor, and Texstar Construction Corp. of San Antonio, the chief subcontractor.

“I think someone should be prosecuted for this tragedy,” said Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), who attended the press conference at which the fines were announced.

Thomas Murtha, an attorney representing TPMI/Macomber, refused to comment other than to say the company is likely to contest its $2.47-million fine. Texstar Vice President Chris Geckler, whose firm was fined $2.52 million, also refused to comment.

OSHA, releasing the results of a six-month investigation, said the two companies building the 13-story twin-tower apartments showed a “willful” disregard for accepted procedures. They cited more than 300 alleged safety violations.

Smaller fines were assessed against Lift Frame Builders of Elmsford, N.Y., Fairfield Testing Labs of Stamford, Conn., and Preforce Corp. of New York City.

‘Chain Reaction’

The National Bureau of Standards, which participated in the investigation, said the towers collapsed after a part failed in the support system holding the concrete slabs for the ninth, 10th and 11th floors of the west tower. The slabs suddenly shifted, setting off a “chain reaction” that toppled both structures and crushed the workers in them, the bureau said.

The bureau said the key part that failed--a “lifting angle” in a support “shearhead”--was supporting far more weight than the federal limit.

In addition to the 28 people killed in the worst workplace accident since 1978, 10 were injured. Rescuers sorted through the debris for nine days in search of victims.

Frank White, OSHA deputy assistant, said the flaws in the construction system should have been detected easily. “It wouldn’t have cost the companies a lot to make sure the system worked,” he said.

Assistant Secretary of Labor John A. Pendergrass said: “We found a pattern of sloppy construction practices throughout the project and an overall sense of employer complacency for essential workplace safety considerations.”

Several Clues

Officials said the construction companies failed to correct problems even after several clues that Texstar’s slab-lifting system was deficient.

“This was not done even after the system failed on two occasions prior to the collapse,” Pendergrass said.

In a Texstar project in Stamford, Conn., in March, 1986, a lifting angle failed and dropped a slab 15 inches, injuring an ironworker. On Feb. 19 at the L’Ambiance site, a lifting angle failed, but nothing fell. Repairs were made, but the system was left unchanged.

Shays and OSHA officials, citing disregard of blatant warning signals, called for tougher federal requirements on reporting workplace mishaps. Current codes only require companies to report mishaps to OSHA if a worker is killed or five are injured. The investigation has already prompted OSHA to implement more on-site inspections for lift-slab projects.