OSHA city case settled

By Sara StrongThe city of Luverne settled a lawsuit Tuesday involving the serious injury of an electric worker in December 2001.The agreement both saves the city money and reduces the citation to a less serious category.Originally, the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Division cited Luverne for "willful" violations in the accident that left Fulda Electric employee Phillip Kramer without his left hand and part of his forearm.The fines to the city were originally $56,000, but the city contested those fines. The city’s penalty is now reduced to $16,000, and the citation was changed to "serious" instead of willful.The settlement was reached between the city and the Attorney General’s Office, which handled the case for OSHA. Former assistant city attorney and interim city administrator Jeff Haubrich finished this case for the city because he had started it originally.The city originally had received two citations for $28,000 each:
One citation was for failing to properly de-energize, or turn off power. In this case the electrical equipment operated at 14,000 volts.
The second citation said the city did not adequately test or otherwise determine the power source was turned off, even if it was believed to be.The city is involved in civil litigation, which is still in the discovery and deposition phase.The Luverne City Council met in closed session to discuss the settlement agreement Tuesday night, and opened the session only to cast its unanimous vote.Along with the fine of $16,000, the city:
Agreed to request a review of its safety and health programs, including electrical utilities operations.
Agreed to develop and implement more comprehensive procedures for safe entry into potentially hazardous location, including but not limited to, electrical distribution facilities.
Agreed to review and update its health and safety training and to provide safety and health update training sessions for employees.
Agreed to request random audits of its electrical distribution system from the Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association for a year. Those reports will be forwarded to OSHA, which may conduct further inspections.As a part of this agreement, the city doesn’t necessarily admit liability, but "enters into this agreement for compromise and settlement purposes."