Indiana cites contractor in worker’s death at IU’s campus

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana regulators have cited a contractor for serious workplace safety violations found following a worker’s death at an Indiana University construction site.

Thirty-five-year-old William M. Brown Jr. of Bloomington died in April when a 10-foot-long limestone slab fell and killed him as it was being lifted above an interior doorway at IU’s Swain Hall.

State workplace safety officials inspected the accident site and cited Rock Solid Masonry LLC for four serious violations. Those include improper use of a winch, failing to instruct employees in its proper use and failing to identify existing and predictable hazards.

Officials have proposed $11,200 in penalties against the company, which was a subcontractor on Swain Hall’s $36 million renovation.

The Herald-Times obtained the safety order and proposed penalties notification through a public records request.