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Michigan Court of Appeals
Upholds Guilty Verdict in Worker Fatality Case
On October 17, 2006, the
Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the October 2004 trial court
decision that found Lanzo Construction Company guilty of a MIOSHA
felony in the 1999 workplace fatality of their employee, Robert
James Whiteye (People v. Lanzo Construction, No. 260738, 10/17/06).
On May 24, 1999, a crew from
Lanzo Construction Company was installing sewer pipe when a cave-in
occurred on Lake Ravines Drive in Southfield. Robert James Whiteye,
52, a pipe layer, was pronounced dead at the scene after rescuers
worked for several hours to extricate him from the trench.
The fatality occurred in
an area of the excavation that was approximately 18 feet deep,
with vertical walls, and without any protection to guard against
cave-ins. MIOSHA investigated the cavein and found that Lanzo
Construction violated the most basic provisions of the MIOSHA
trenching standard.
The company received 12 citations
alleging willful violations connected to the fatality. Based
on provisions in the MIOSH Act, Public Act 154, as amended, every
willful violation, which is connected to a fatality, is referred
to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office for criminal investigation
and/or prosecution.
The appeals court defined
“willful” for MIOSHA purposes as requiring only that
a defendant either intentionally disregard a MIOSHA requirement
or be knowingly and purposely indifferent to a MIOSHA requirement.
They rejected the defendant’s claim that “willful”
equates to gross negligence under involuntary manslaughter.
The appeals court ruled,
“Accordingly, the trial court not only employed the proper
definition of willfulness as it relates to MIOSHA violations,
there was sufficient evidence to support its conclusions of law
on this issue.”
The court also clarified
how a corporation could become criminally responsible through
the acts of an onsite foreman and superintendent. The court determined
that they were “high management official(s),” i.e.
those “having supervisory responsibility over the subject
matter of the offense and acting within the scope of his employment
in behalf of the corporation.” Using this definition, the
court determined that Lanzo Construction bore criminal liability
for the worker fatality.
The unanimous decision was
signed by appellate judges Deborah Servitto, Christopher Murray
and Michael Smolenski.
Click here for a complete copy of the Court's decision
in pdf format
Source: MIOSHA News
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