According to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Jose Lopez-Cardenas, a 40-year-old from Provo, fell to his death on Jan. 7 while building a home in Silver Creek Village.
The incident report and resulting citation from Utah Occupational Safety and Health say Lopez-Cardenas was standing on the third level of scaffolding when he fell. He had been placing plywood strips on the outside of a tarp and attaching the tarp to the scaffold with metal wires.
Sheriff's deputies secured the worksite when they were called to the scene shortly after the fall. An officer from the state agency inspected the site that day.
The officer found six violations related to the scaffolding, labeling each of them “serious.” According to Utah Occupational Safety and Health, the “serious” designation means the employer, Eco Exteriors, knew or should have known about the elements of the worksite that weren’t complying with state regulations. The designation also means that noncompliance resulted in a substantial possibility of death or serious physical harm.
Calls to Eco Exteriors’ office in West Jordan and corporate office in Nevada were not immediately returned Friday afternoon.
The firm was fined $1,500. The violations included visible ice and standing water on the scaffolding; missing elements of the scaffolding; inadequate devices to prevent tipping; a lack of interior cross braces; and unsecured rails that were not discovered by a competent inspection.
According to the Utah Labor Commission, there were 48 work-related deaths in Utah in 2020, the latest year for which statistics were available. Of those deaths, 17 were construction workers and 16 were caused by falls, slips or trips.
