Modesto company fined $24K for fatal workplace incident involving 21-year-old employee
Modesto-based company Champion Industrial Contractors Inc. was slapped with four violations and over $24,000 in fines related to the death of an employee last year.
Fred Von Gunten lll, 21, was crushed by a forklift while working for the company in October. Champion Industrial initially was fined nearly $40,000 but was able to reduce the amount through an informal settlement.
Champion Industrial — a commercial and industrial manufacturing company — was found in violation of four California Division of Occupational Safety and Health standards. Two violations were labeled as “serious” and two as “other.” One of the “other” violations was initially labeled as serious, but was downgraded.
Von Gunten was using the forklift to compact trash inside a waste bin. The forklift had a 1,000-pound concrete block attached to its fully extended mast. As he moved back from the waste bin, sharply turning in the process, the block began “swinging like a pendulum,” according to the 260-page Cal/OSHA report.
The forklift toppled from the force of the swinging block. Von Gunten was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the forklift to the ground. The vehicle then came down on top of him.
The Modesto Fire Department responded to the call and found Von Gunten pinned underneath the vehicle.
Crews used airbags to stabilize the forklift and remove Von Gunten. Lifesaving efforts were made but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His cause of death was listed as asphyxia.
Shortly after, an OSHA investigator was called to the 1400 block of Coldwell Avenue to interview witnesses, including several employees and managers, among them Champion’s safety manager, John Miller.
In a response written to the “serious” citation given by OSHA, Miller said the practice of using a concrete block to compact trash was not authorized by management. In response to Von Gunten’s death, the company discarded the block and banned the practice, according to Miller’s statement.
“All Champion employees have been informed that calling our waste management company to empty the dumpster is the only approved practice,” read Miller’s statement.
Documents show that Von Gunten said he was certified to use a forklift when he was on-boarded into the company. However, this never was verified by Champion. A list of employees who received in-house forklift certification was included in the report. Von Gunten’s name was not on it.
“He’d still be alive if he wasn’t using that forklift,” said Von Gunten’s father, Fred Von Gunten Jr. “And the manner they had him using it … he would still be alive. He didn’t have any experience and he didn’t have any certifications. He had no right to be on a forklift.”
Champion Industrial did not respond to a request for comment.
