Freetown company charged with violating OSHA rules leading to death of New Bedford man

BOSTON – John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete, Inc., a corporation doing business in East Freetown, Mass. has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty to willfully violating Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety standards in a 2023 incident that led to a worker’s death.

According to court documents and a release from the Massachusetts Department of Justice, the company utilized a large soil screener for purposes of processing and screening soil and similar substances. The soil screener was approximately 46 feet long and 13 feet high, and weighed approximately 35,880 lbs. The tail conveyor of the soil screener – which weighed approximately 1,500 pounds – could be placed in a vertical closed position or could be opened to an approximate 45° angle. It is alleged that at various occasions in 2022 or 2023, the tail conveyor of the soil screener closed unexpectedly, and the soil screener had suffered a ruptured hydraulic pressure line. 

On Sept. 6, 2023, a company employee was working alongside a co-owner on the tail conveyer of the soil screener, which was in the open position. At the time, there was no equipment in place to prevent the tail conveyer from closing. According to the charging documents, as the employee was seeking to remove a bolt, the tail conveyor closed unexpectedly. The employee held onto the upper frame of the soil screener as the tail conveyer closed into the vertical position, crushing the employee’s head. The employee suffered massive head trauma and was pronounced dead soon thereafter.

The employee was 24-year-old Josué Deodoro Tiquiram Sam, also known as Sam Jackson, of New Bedford. According to a GoFundMe fundraiser, “Josué was a young Maya K’iche’ migrant from Guatemala who came to the U.S. in 2022. His goal was to buy a piece of land and build a house for his parents and siblings. His body was flown back to Guatemala and he was buried there on September 25, 2023.

For willfully violating an OSHA safety standard, John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete, Inc. faces a term of probation of up to five years, a fine of up to $500,000 and restitution payable to the estate of the deceased victim. Sentences are imposed by a federal judge based upon statutory factors.  

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley, Kelly M.  Lawson, Acting Regional Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Boston Regional Office and Jeff Erskine, Regional Administrator of the Department of Labor OSHA Boston Region made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney William F. Abely, Chief of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.