Workplace death suit settled for $2.3 million
When the son of the man who headed the federal agency for work safety died in a workplace accident, he filed a wrongful death suit.
Just before selecting a jury for the trial scheduled to begin on Monday, the case was settled for $2.3 million.
Kevin Campbell Auchter, a culinary student who worked as a demolition laborer, died during the demolition of two silos at the Monterey Coal Co. in Albers on Feb. 24, 2000.
His father, Thorne Auchter, served as the head of Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 1981 until 1984 under President Ronald Reagan.
Auchter's estate sued the New York-based Ciminelli Services Corp., the general contractor and RBS Excavating, an Albers-based subcontractor.
Their lawyer’s cold not be reached for comment late Tuesday afternoon.
Auchter, 22, of Glen Arm, Md., was preparing one of the silos for implosion when a 40- to 70-ton chunk of concrete was jarred loose from within the silo and landed on Auchter, who was killed instantly.
On the morning of the accident, RBS Excavating was instructed by Ciminelli to bring in a larger excavating machine to speed up the chipping of a portion of the silo in preparation for implosion, according to the complaint.
The machine operator chipped away, causing the large piece of concrete to fall, the complaint alleged. No demolition engineering survey was prepared prior to the concrete's removal.
Ciminelli paid $2 million of the settlement, while RBS Excavating contributed $300,000.
"There's a lesson to be learned from this -- rules are there to be followed," said Philip Harnett Corboy Jr., who represented Auchter's estate. "Don't take shortcuts, especially when the lives of hard-working men and women depend on it."
St. Clair County Circuit Judge Robert LeChien presided over the case.
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