OXNARD : Employer Fined in Accidental Death
A state agency that regulates worker safety has fined Skyline Flower Growers & Shippers of Oxnard for violations in the death of a farm worker whose tractor tipped over in a rain-swollen Camarillo creek last month.
A spokesman for the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the grower violated two state regulations that might have prevented the Feb. 8 death of Jose Valdivia, 49, of Oxnard. Another worker who was also on the tractor, Angel Magdaleno Barrios, 64, also of Oxnard, was injured in the accident.
Representatives of Skyline Flowers could not be reached for comment Friday.
One of the rules requires that employees wear U. S. Coast Guard-approved life preservers during flood conditions, Cal/OSHA spokesman Rick Rice said. The other rule prohibits passengers on tractors except for training purposes, he said.
The total amount of the citations, issued March 5, was $8,000--$4,000 for each violation, Rice said.
Ramon Valdivia, Jose Valdivia’s son, said the fine “is not going to bring my father back. It’s never going to be enough.’
Ramon’s wife, Berta Valdivia, said the family had no plans to sue. “We want it to be over,” she said. “We just want him to rest in peace.”
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