3 companies will pay $549,874 in L&I fines in death of worker at wind farm
Three companies found to have violated worksite safety laws that led to the death of a worker at the Skookumchuck Wind Farm will pay out the full $549,874 originally levied against them last year.
A Washington state Department of Labor and Industries spokesperson confirmed the information to The Chronicle after manslaughter charges were filed against five site workers last week in Lewis County Superior Court.
Two of the workers are facing first-degree manslaughter charges, with the prosecutor’s office alleging they “did recklessly cause the death” of Jonathan Stringer, 24, of Chehalis, after an unreinforced trench collapsed.
RES System 3 LLC, parent company RES Americas Construction Inc. and contracted medical service company GEMS were the three companies fined following L&I’s investigation into the incident.
L&I spokesperson Dina Lorraine said the settlement includes “a substantial investment in worker safety in Washington.”
Nearly $470,000 of the total payout will be invested in “worker or industrial safety-related activities, programs or equipment in the state of Washington.”
The state will have until July 7 next year to identify the specific investments of those funds, Lorraine said. Possible safety investments could include trenching safety training or equipment, or search and rescue equipment for local governments and first responders.
The rest of the roughly $80,500 will be placed in L&I’s workers compensation supplemental pension fund, which helps injured workers and families of those who have died on the job.
Stringer’s family settled a wrongful death claim for $12 million in February after filing suit in King County Superior Court.
The settlement, according to probate case documents, is believed to be “one of the largest payments for the wrongful death of a single individual in Washington state history, and may be tied for the largest such settlement.”
The estate’s beneficiaries include Stringer’s 3-year-old daughter. He also is survived by his fiancée, Ashlee Thompson, who while not a beneficiary may be subject to a portion of the settlement.
This story was originally published September 4, 2021 at 10:47 AM with the headline "3 companies will pay $549,874 in L&I fines in death of worker at wind farm."