worker safety:

Killed crane oiler’s family sues MGM Mirage, others

Published Wednesday, May 6, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Updated Wednesday, May 6, 2009 | 7:30 p.m.

Construction Deaths

The relatives of a 39-year-old crane oiler killed last year in a construction accident at CityCenter are suing over his death.

Dustin Tarter's May 31 death, which at the time was the sixth in 18 months at the mammoth Strip project, sparked a one-day walkout by his fellow workers over unsafe working conditions.

His story was among those chronicled in a series of Sun articles on the high rate of construction deaths on the Strip that won this year's Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

The defendants in the suit include: the project's owner, MGM Mirage; its general contractor, Perini Building Co.; and Dielco Crane Service, the company operating the crane that crushed Tarter to death.

"We believe the practices at the City Center project were shoddy at times and that unrealistic deadlines may have played a part in this," said Tracy Eglet, managing partner of the personal injury law firm of Mainor Eglet Cottle, which filed the suit.

"It appears that profits may have taken a greater priority than worker safety. Mr. Tarter's family has been devastated by his untimely death, as have other families who have lost loved one's on this project."

MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said the casino company is not responsible for Tarter's death.

"We believe MGM Mirage should not have been named as a defendant in this lawsuit, and the charges against us will be quickly dismissed," Feldman said. "Our condolences go out to the members of Mr. Tarter’s family as they struggle with this tragic situation."

Last fall, the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Dielco $12,000 for a series of violations, including failing to instruct employees to sound a horn before swinging the crane, a warning that could have prevented Tarter's death.

The suit alleged that the crane was "defective" and "that the horn/warning system failed to perform as expected and was more dangerous than reasonably expected by an ordinary consumer."

Lance Pierce, the Dielco worker the suit said was running the crane at the time of Tarter's death, took control "after willfully consuming or using alcohol or another substance, knowing that he would thereafter operate the crane," the suit alleged. Pierce is also named as a defendant.

In its investigation, OSHA could not substantiate the claim that Pierce had been drinking on the job.

And Dick Dieleman, who runs Dielco Crane, said late Tuesday the allegations against Pierce are false. He said Piece is still running the same crane.

Dieleman said he did not want to comment on the allegations leveled against his company until he has a chance to read the suit.

He said, however, that he considered Tarter a personal friend and the company is "sorry for his loss."

OSHA cited Dielco for failing to properly instruct employees on how to use the crane and failing to follow the manufacturer's guidelines.

The state agency concluded that Tarter was oiling the crane's tracks when the operator rotated the crane, causing the counterweight to drip and crush Tarter.

The lawsuit alleged that MGM Mirage, Perini Building Co. and Dielco all were negligent in their "hiring, training and supervision of employees" on the $8.7 billion CityCenter job site.

The family, including Tarter's mother, Lynda Jackson, is seeking general and punitive damages.

Tarter was born and raised in Boulder City. His father, Richard was a plumber-pipefitter who died in a construction accident in San Diego.

Just three weeks before Tarter died, one of his brother's was killed in a motorcycle accident.

After Tarter's death, his half-brother, Ryan Walters, told the Sun that Tarter was an avid outdoorsman who loved motorcycle riding, boating, hunting and skiing.

"He loved life in general," Walters said.

Jeff German is the Sun’s senior investigative reporter.

Discussion: 6 comments so far…

By bdover

5/6/09 at 7:24 a.m.

Suggest removal

I get a pension from the Operating Engineers, and I can't believe that a crane operator would be drinking before operating such a huge machine. If this is true, he should be hung by his cajones from the crane.
By dodgerchuck

5/6/09 at 9:29 a.m.

Suggest removal

wow,what a guy,hes' "sorry 4 his loss" and considered him a friend.im sorry 4 his loss also and i dont even know him. may b mr dielco needs 2 come up w/a littl' bit bettr' offer. his present 1 doesnt seem quite enuff.
By AnnOnn

5/6/09 at 10:57 a.m.

Suggest removal

I would like to know how it's possible to sue an employer over a work-related accident. My understanding is workers' compensation insurance completely protects employers from such suits.
By SafetyNow

5/6/09 at 11:34 a.m.

Suggest removal

Good for them! I hope that these kind of lawsuits become the norm. Then maybe just maybe we will see the day when workers & safety are put before profit and risk where they belong.
By its2hot

5/7/09 at 7:41 a.m.

Suggest removal

I agree with the lawsuit. I understand jobsite safety and production requirements and Las Vegas productions take precedence over safety. So many companies don't allow their managers to enforce safety and demand appeasement of the personal so they meet their production goals.

When Nevada implements a strict safety code and enforcement thereafter then jobsite safety will be taken seriously. Nevada should look at WISHA and how they enforce safety with WISHA inspectors traveling the projects incognito, when violations are found it trickles down to the foreman and all the way up to the President or Owner of the company. WISHA inspectors are non-negotiable and will take you to jail and will shut the job down.

I've fired many people on projects here and personal doesn't understand the need for safety. The ones who've I fired have all come back after the fact and said, THANK YOU for caring about me and my family and they apologized for not understanding how important safety is to the entire project team.

Examples of being fired, truck drivers; posted jobsite speed limit 15 MPH, drivers speed, I fire. Hard Hats, Safety Glasses, Work Boots, Torn Clothing - 1 warning unless violation has occurred within 1-week of initial safety orientation, then fired on the spot. Beer cans or some form of drug in car in employee parking lot, fired. Smell or alcohol or hung over from night before, fired. Operating or performing work unsafe, fired.

I've had zero lost time accidents and have made every budget and have exceeded expected bid profit on every project managed. I've never been to court or claims of wrongful termination. It is about prejob planning, communication of safety every day, and enforcement thereafter. Safety is non-negotiable.

So when you have an injury or death and when Owners, Generals, or Personal say it is to be expected on projects of this size or this industry it is to be expected; no it is not to be expected and all that are involved need to pay dearly. Send a message, safety first and it is non-negotiable with this company or on any project we work.
By Firedup

5/12/09 at 3:15 p.m.

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I would like to say how sorry I am to all of the family and friends of ALL of these workers who lost their lives. Thoughts and Prayers go out to you all!
Safety on the City Center Project is a HUGE issue, but it was not the only one. This was the most hostile work environment I had ever worked on in over 28 years of working construction. The Top Executives for Perini have VERY lousy attitudes toward their employees. The constant negative environment is a huge factor that plays right into the unsafe work environment. With a constant in your face, yelling & screaming, continuous threats of being fired, and being called foul names to your face was a very unhealthy to all workers. Because of this hostile work environment it is no wonder that accidents repeatedly happened. Workers were under constant attack and pressure, which I believe are a major contributor to some of these and other accidents not involving worker deaths. The attitude is constantly we'll fire you! There is not a day that went by that those words were not spoken to several employees. Imagine having the daily fear of being fired for something insignificant.
When there was an issue that Executive Management wanted to deal with or if you yourself had an issue their attitude was, "Don't go to HR, we will deal with it like men right here in this room, and that is where it will stay."
Let me give 1 example...There was a particular day that there was to be work done on one of the parking lots. Remember that monthly, weekly, and daily schedules are done on the project. Management, knowing that the work was to be preformed did nothing to inform their employees of the upcoming work. Instead the day of the work they sent out a nasty e-mail stating that work was being done in this parking lot and if you don't move your car immediately it will be towed at your own expense!
One additional comment: Management not only didn't make sure that their employees were safe but they participated themselves in allot of the same unsafe practices. You absolutely have to lead by example.
It is true that something needs to be done to improve OSHA in NV to uphold the safety, but the Management of Perini, at the City Center Project, has firsthand knowledge of what is going on and THEY decide to ignore and in allot of cases perpetuate it.
I know that I am not the only employee who has witnessed, or has 1st hand experience in dealing with this sort of hostility towards employees, WHO ARE GETTING THE WORK DONE!
I would like to thank the Sun for the opportunity to post here; hopefully others of you will also speak out on this forum in hopes that we can change our work environment!

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