November 3 2008
The owner of a construction firm in New York City, William Lattarulo, has been charged with manslaughter in the death of one of his workers. Lauro Ortega suffocated when a foundation of a building next to where he was digging at a Lattarulo site collapsed on him. Mr. Ortega’s head was all that was uncovered when the foundation collapsed, but the pressure of the dirt and debris that rendered him immobile constricted his chest and made him unable to breathe. He suffocated to death as his co-workers tried to dig him out from the debris.
Mr. Ortega’s co-workers as well as a safety consultant had warned Mr. Lattarulo that the trench was unsafe and needed to have some supports placed in it to prevent a collapse. When he was warned a second time by his workers he said, “Don’t worry about it.”
In addition, digging operations require that the contractor hire a consultant to oversee the safety. While Mr. Lattarulo listed a company as a consultant for the safety job, he did not actually have or pay a consultant, something that saved him $90,000 on the job. On the day of the collapse, a building inspector for the city visited the site following the fatality and said there were “shoddy work conditions.” She also found eight violations of city construction codes at the site.
The Lattarulo site involved digging a foundation next to another building, but the Lattarulo building required a deeper dig. The result was that the foundation of the building next to the site was weakened and required support until the Lattarule concrete was poured to provide the substitute for the former ground support. A consultant working nearby did warn Mr. Lattarulo about the foundation’s risk of collapse once the digging went deeper. Mr. Ortega also raised his concerns to Mr. Lattarulo on the day of Ortega’s death. Mr. Lattarulo told him to keep digging. Shortly after, the adjoin buildings foundation collapsed onto Mr. Ortega.
When the criminal manslaughter charges were brought, contractors had questions about their criminal liability when there are accidents on job sites. However, the Building Department commissioner said that when there are clear rules, as there were in the case for the required support for digging trenches, and those rules are not followed, and there are warnings, there will be criminal sanctions.
When is an owner criminally liable for actions and work conducted by employees?
Michael Wilson, “Manslaughter Charge for Builder in Brooklyn Collapse,” New York Times, October 12, 2008, A24.