| Irwin Industries, Inc. , Issue No. 2 |
October 1999
|
The Contractors Critic
Irwin Industries, Inc. Reporting on Safety, Productivity, and Honesty in the Construction Industry.
|
Is Irwin Taking You To Court?
|
4 OIL INDUSTRY GIANTS FACED LITIGATION IN 8 IRWIN-RELATED
SUITS
Irwin Industries makes millions of
dollars annually, partly from their construction and maintenance work in the
petroleum industry facilities in the Los Angeles area. Court records show that
at least four of Irwin’s oil industry clients have had to deal with litigation
that was spurred in part, over allegations of Irwin’s on the job negligence or
other factors. Shown is a list of these clients and the related court suits,
several of which are described in greater detail below.
|
IRWIN ACCEPTS, THEN DENIES INDEMNITY FOR CHEVRON IN WORKER
INJURY LITIGATION
| Most construction customers try to reduce
their worries by requiring their contractor to defend, hold harmless, and
indemnify them against litigation and liabilities arising from the contractors’
own actions. In the following case, Chevron argued, in a declaration by their
attorney, that Irwin had "Accept(ed) and later deni(ed)... defense and
indemnity" for Chevron. Chester V. Chevron, Irwin - Steve
Chester was a journeyman ironworker when he was struck in the face by a falling
heater tube while working at the Chevron refinery on the Reformulated Gasoline
project. He was hospitalized for four days, suffered permanent injuries to his
jaw, and incurred over $24,000 in medical bills and lost over $24,000 in
potential earnings. An investigation determined the accident was caused by
improper rigging of the load on which he was working.
His court suit charged that Irwin, Chevron and others were negligent in their
supervising of Chester’s job site. Chevron had a contract with Irwin that
obligated Irwin to defend and indemnify Chevron in any litigation. Chevron
thought Irwin would be defending its interests in this litigation, but as the
suit wound its way through legal proceedings, Irwin withdrew its obligations to
defend Chevron, its customer. Chevron’s angry declaration complained that
Irwin’s legal arguments on this issue "are completely devoid of any legal
authority."
|
Irwin's safety
problems continue
| In the last ten years Irwin has received
over forty OSHA citations and been assessed total fines exceeding $10,000. In
March, 1999 OSHA Cited Irwin for three citations, including a serious violation,
and assessed fines of $5,750. The citations and fines stemmed from a job site
fall that hospitalized a 49 year old pipefitter. In 1988 Irwin had three major
injuries that involved serious burns and OSHA citations. In 1990, George Short
suffered second and third degree burns over half of his body while working for
Irwin at Powerine Oil Co. Refinery in Santa Fe Springs. George was hospitalized
and OSHA issued citations.
In 1991, Irwin was involved with a demolition job in San Pedro when an
employee had an accident that required hospitalization and amputation of part of
his left index finger.
In 1993, an Irwin employee was working with a Grove carry deck crane when his
foot was crushed by its outrigger. This accident required hospitalization and
involved a $450 fine by OSHA.
In 1996, an Irwin employee was hospitalized and had surgery that required
amputation. This accident was so serious that the initial fines totaled $6,125.
In 1997, on an Irwin job in Ventura, a welder broke his leg and required
hospitalization. OSHA fined Irwin $100. LASER does not maintain that these are
the only injuries of Irwin employees.
If you are a major construction customer, you should be aware of the safety
history of the contractors you use. If an employee of an unsafe contractor is
injured or killed while working at your facility, your company could be dragged
into court as a result of lawsuits from injured workers or their families. One
method of judging a contractors safety program is to review their OSHA and MSHA
citation history. | | | | | | | | |
