Freetown company sentenced to probation after violating OSHA rules leading to death of employee from New Bedford

BOSTON – John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete, Inc., a corporation doing business in East Freetown, Mass., was sentenced in federal court in Boston for willfully violating Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety standards in a 2023 incident that led to a worker’s death.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete, Inc., was sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Levenson to 18 months’ probation and was ordered to pay $115,000 in restitution.

According to court documents, 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. 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 September 6th, 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.

United States Attorney Leah Foley; Anthony D’Esposito, Inspector General of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Jeff Erskine, Regional Administrator of the Department of Labor OSHA Boston Region; and Maia Fisher, Regional Solicitor for Department of Labor Boston Region made the announcement. Assistance in the investigation was also provided by the OSHA Criminal Investigations Team, Boston Region. Assistant U.S. Attorney William F. Abely, Chief of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.