Cal/OSHA Casts its Web on Spider-Man By Robert Warne - August 24, 2001The death of welder Tim Holcombe on the set of "Spider-Man" March 6 wasn’t part of the script. Now it appears that the accident could have been avoided if certain safety rules and procedures were adhered to. The blatant safety violations as determined by state officials has prompted fines from Cal/OSHA to Sony Pictures in the neighborhood of $59,000.
The two main workplace safety violations drew $25,000 penalties each. The first charge is for modifying a forklift to be used as a crane, exceeding its load capacity. The second is for not getting prior written approval from the forklift manufacturer for the modifications.
Other violations found were: no fall protection for Holcombe; the driver of the forklift had not been trained in its operation; employees hadn’t been trained how to use load charts for a modified forklift; there was no identification of the attachments to the forklift; employees that created the modification were untrained in how it would affect weight and balance; and a forklift rules sign was not posted.
Holcombe was struck dead instantly when the modified boom extension fell onto an aerial cage that he was working in below.
A statement released by Sony on Aug. 22 said, "We deeply regret the accident and continue to cooperate fully with all investigative agencies as we have from the outset. We are doing everything we can on an ongoing basis to assure that crews on all our productions follow very strict safety procedures to minimize the risk of accident."
Another accident on the set of the film came a month after Holcombe’s death when a stunt man broke his leg when he crashed into a wall.
The deadline for Sony to appeal the fines is Sept. 6. |