TUMWATER, Wash.-Borton and Sons, a Yakima fruit grower and processor has been fined $290,000 by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries following the deaths of two orchard workers.
Borton & Sons employee Gilberto Padilla was killed in a tractor rollover on May 7 when the front counterweights used to stabilize the tractor he was driving fell off. Padilla apparently drove over the weights, causing the tractor to roll, according to an L&I press release.
After Padilla’s death, L&I directed Borton & Sons supervisors to ensure that tractor drivers use rollover protection structures on tractors and wear seat belts.
However, just one month later on June 8, another Borton and Sons employee, Oscar Rodriguez-Olivera died in a tractor rollover. According to L&I, the ROPS was not up on the tractor and Rodriguez-Olivera was not wearing a seatbelt.
“Orchard owners have the responsibility to make sure workers use safety systems,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health. “If Borton & Sons had been vigilant, these workers might be alive today.”
Borton & Sons was cited by L&I for the failure to use ROPS and seat belts, and for changing the scene of the June 8 accident before the inspection began.
The violations were classified as “willful” because the company knew or should have known the requirements, but still failed to meet them, according to L&I.
The combined fine for both accidents and deaths is $290,000, Borton and Sons is appealing both cases.
