Construction Company Convicted of Pile Driving Violations & Fined $90,000

Workers at a construction project were vibrating large steel beams into the ground to be used as piles to support the soil during construction. Four piles had been welded onto a frame before the workers began setting them into the ground. Workers were vibrating one of the piles into place when another came loose from its welding. The pile fell and struck a worker, causing serious injuries. The construction company was convicted of failing to drive one pile at a time without having any others welded during the driving process or have a professional engineer provide requirements for such welding work. The court fined it $90,000 [Deep Foundations Ltd., Govt. News Release, Oct. 29, 2012].