This story was first referred to in the thread about the death of electrician Fenton "Andy" Hollingsworth in West Palm Beach Florida. However it never had it's own proper place for discussion. I have copied the pertinent posts from that thread below. You will find new content on the story beginning in post #4.
Well this story ought to be enough to make everyone mad. There was a similar death in Vegas back in May of 2009 at the MGM. A stagehand fell off a platform with no hand rails. As you read above in this thread, in Florida an Electrician fell off a platform with no hand rails too.
-In Vegas the Venue paid a fine of $19,800.
-In Florida the venue paid a fine of $3675.
Are lives less valuable in Florida?
$19,800.... REALLY? The MGM was originally fined $38,700 but it was reduced to $19,800. $19,800... They give away that much on free cocktails every few hours. They have rooms that cost more than that per night! They'll loose a lot more than that on one hand of black jack in the high roller room. $19,800... I hope MGM can survive the fine.
The fine for the outside staging company was lowered because of the size of the company? A GUY DIED! It doesn't matter how big or small your business is. If you get an employee killed you need to seriously rethink your procedures. $4,000... You College students could pick up a nice late 90's used Honda Civic for that, makes a great college car.
A friend in Vegas tells me that the guy who fell violated a direct order to not go up on that catwalk. That isn't mentioned anywhere in the story. Maybe that's part of the reason the fines were reduced, but it still doesn't make any sense. There was mention of him wearing a harness incorrectly. I don't think the guy in Florida was wearing a harness at all. While this may seem inconsistent with the rest of my rant, remember you need to be properly trained and use your harness. While the employer needs to provide a safe working environment, we are all responsible for making choices that are safe on the job.
Finally what's up with this statement in the article:
Well this story ought to be enough to make everyone mad. There was a similar death in Vegas back in May of 2009 at the MGM. A stagehand fell off a platform with no hand rails. As you read above in this thread, in Florida an Electrician fell off a platform with no hand rails too.
-In Vegas the Venue paid a fine of $19,800.
-In Florida the venue paid a fine of $3675.
Are lives less valuable in Florida?
$19,800.... REALLY? The MGM was originally fined $38,700 but it was reduced to $19,800. $19,800... They give away that much on free cocktails every few hours. They have rooms that cost more than that per night! They'll loose a lot more than that on one hand of black jack in the high roller room. $19,800... I hope MGM can survive the fine.
The fine for the outside staging company was lowered because of the size of the company? A GUY DIED! It doesn't matter how big or small your business is. If you get an employee killed you need to seriously rethink your procedures. $4,000... You College students could pick up a nice late 90's used Honda Civic for that, makes a great college car.
A friend in Vegas tells me that the guy who fell violated a direct order to not go up on that catwalk. That isn't mentioned anywhere in the story. Maybe that's part of the reason the fines were reduced, but it still doesn't make any sense. There was mention of him wearing a harness incorrectly. I don't think the guy in Florida was wearing a harness at all. While this may seem inconsistent with the rest of my rant, remember you need to be properly trained and use your harness. While the employer needs to provide a safe working environment, we are all responsible for making choices that are safe on the job.
Finally what's up with this statement in the article:
Technologies present new hazards? Gravity pretty much always works the same way. If anything our industry has gotten safer as fall protection has spread throughout the industry. 20 years ago there were a lot more falls due to the rare use of harnesses. The addition of moving heads, LED's, and more video projection haven't made falling from catwalks without handrails any more dangerous....the entertainment industry, which has grown more sophisticated with technologies that present new workplace hazards.
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