Revel: OSHA for Death of Worker

OSHA fines Pleasantville company $3,000 for violations in September lightning death at Revel site
By DEREK HARPER, Staff Writer pressofAtlanticCity.com

PLEASANTVILLE — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently fined a Pleasantville company $3,000 following the death of a construction worker at Atlantic City’s Revel casino site in September.

Bryan Bradley, a 40-year-old father of two, was killed by lightning Sept. 15.

Network Construction was cited for violating federal regulations that require — once a local storm warning has been issued — that a person in charge determine if the manufacturer’s recommendations to secure equipment must be implemented. This specific incident was cited under OSHA regulations dealing with cranes and derricks.

OSHA classified the violation as serious.

Bradley’s brother, Butch Bradley, said he was glad the incident was investigated, but the penalty was inadequate.

“I appreciate they (OSHA) did their job, and they did it well, and they found an outcome that was obvious to everyone in town: The jobsite should have been closed,” Butch Bradley said.

“You know, you’re talking about $3,000 and my brother’s life,” Bradley said. He added later, “What’s the difference between $100 and $3,000? Why don’t you give me a $50 Wawa gift certificate as a fine?”

The afternoon he died, Bryan Bradley and two other men were on the fifth-floor roof deck, pouring concrete from a hopper that had been lifted to them by a tower crane, according to the OSHA Citation and Notification of Penalty.

“Nearly a half-hour earlier, a Special Weather Statement was issued by the National Weather Service warning of strong thunderstorms in the area,” read the citation signed by OSHA Area Director Paula Dixon-Roderick.

A quickly moving thunderstorm rolled in. A bolt of lightning is believed to have struck the basket of the cement pourer while Bradley held the handle. Another man suffered hand injuries.

OSHA records show the agency concluded the incident exposed seven people to danger. It is unclear who the other people were.

The agency issued the violation Nov. 19, and Network Construction formally contested the fine Dec. 12. The citation became public this month once the six-month window for the investigation closed.

The federal agency has not previously cited the company, according to OSHA records. Company President Bob Polisano did not return a call seeking comment.

Butch Bradley said he learned a new respect for construction workers “who built Atlantic City” and experienced the warmth of the area community in time following his brother’s death.

A Linwood native who now lives in Los Angeles, Bradley said, “You don’t really realize how when something like that happens, everyone comes out of the woodwork to help. It made the whole situation a lot easier to deal with.”

Bradley said that he and his brother’s wife have since established the Bryan P. Bradley Fund for Fallen and Injured Workers in his brother’s honor.

The fund, based in Linwood, is currently organizing a comedy show at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa to be held on the anniversary of his brother’s death.