A federal judge Tuesday levied more than $400,000 in penalties and restitution to a Helena business over safety regulation violations that resulted in the 2017 death of an Alabaster woman.ABC Polymer will pay $242,928 in restitution to the family of the deceased worker, a fine of $167,928, and ordered the company to serve two years on probation under conditions of a safety compliance plan.last year against two employees who removed safety guards that could have prevented the fatal accident.
Investigators said the machine at issue in the case was equipped with a “cage,” or barrier guard, that could be pulled down over one of the exposed sides of the rollers. Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards require moving machinery such as this to be guarded while the machine is energized.
Prosecutors contended that ABC Polymer was aware that employees routinely raised the guard to cut tangled plastic off the rollers, and the company trained its employees in how to cut the plastic off the unguarded rollers. According to prosecutors, ABC Polymer admitted that it knew, or should have known, that doing so violated the law and endangered its employees.
This story was modified at 1:59 p.m. CST Jan. 25 to correct information about the fines and background information on a court decision last year. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.