Auto part manufacturer to pay $1.5M for worker death
- February 11, 2025
- Posted by: Web workers
- Category: Workers Comp
An automobile parts manufacturer has pleaded guilty to a charge of willful violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and agreed to pay $500,000 in fines and restitution of $1 million to the family of a worker who was crushed to death in June 2016 at the company’s plant in Cusseta, Alabama.
The U.S. Department of Justice initiated a criminal investigation of ALJoon LLC, operating as Ajin USA of Cusseta and a subsidiary of Korean company Ajin Industrial Co. Ltd., after U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators found 23 violations, including 19 egregious willful violations, at the plant.
The investigators said Ajin failed to use energy control procedures to prevent machinery from starting up during maintenance, and exposed employees to caught-in, struck-by and crushing hazards.
In the agreement, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, Eastern Division, Ajin pleaded guilty to one count of willful violation causing death to an employee, and agreed to adhere to a three-year safety compliance plan to improve hazardous energy control measures at the plant that include appointing a safety compliance officer, updating and improving lockout-tagout procedures, and appointing a third-party auditor to review those procedures.
The other violations identified by OSHA are awaiting review before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
The company remains in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
