Press release, Charles B. Roberts, Attorney at Law: “Brandon Nutter, 28, was trapped in the rear access area of a compactor at his Spotsylvania County job and killed on July 7, 2022. His family is devastated not only by his death but by the horrific way he senselessly died.”
“Immediately after his death, the Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Department (VOSH) and the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office began investigating. In their Reports, both concluded that the failure of County employees to comply with federal, state, and County safety and training measures was the cause of his death. When the Sheriff’s Detective asked the County Safety Officer for a copy of the safety and training documents for employees, she was unable to supply any.”
“The Sheriff’s Report states that County employees working at the scene admitted there were no formal safety training programs in place at the facility for the compactors, including how to lock out the compactors’ power when employees were working on them, as required by federal, state and County safety laws.”
“Brandon was employed there a little over two weeks, and he had received no training on the safe operation of the compactor and how to lock out the energy supply when working on it. Nevertheless, with full knowledge of the violations of the safety laws, Brandon was ordered to perform maintenance on the compactor, which was outside of his job description.”
“In January, exactly six months after Brandon’s passing, VOSH finished its investigation and issued seven safety violations against the County with penalties totaling $296,402.00. The County exercised its right to contest the penalties, publicly stating on March 7, 2023, that it would be finished in two more months. The County has now been contesting the citations for six months. According to VOSH, it has yet to be settled, and no negotiations have been started on the citations or penalties.”
“If we must file suit, we are preparing for a protracted and expensive legal battle. It’s time for the County to give Brandon’s life and his family the respect, dignity, and closure they deserve by accepting responsibility for its employees’ actions and promptly resolving the 7 VOSH citations, the criminal case, and the wrongful death claim filed with the County Attorney. It is the right thing to do.”
Fredericksburg.com: “[A Spotsylvania County Government statement] notes that it has not received any notification regarding a recommendation of criminal charges through the OSHA investigation and that there was no criminal finding in the citations.”
“The county said officials continue to work through the OSHA investigative process and that it was prepared to complete the process in April, but OSHA and the department of labor and industry rescheduled it to August.”
“This matter is not closed,” the county response stated. “Importantly, the county actively continues to address and responsibly improve workplace safety. It remains important to the County meaningfully to learn from this tragic and terrible accident and engage in actions to prevent something similar from happening to someone else.”
