Company employing teen who fell at Pittsburgh construction site previously cited for fall-risk violations

Federal records show that the framing contractor a teen worked for when he fell from a construction site in Pittsburgh was previously cited for fall-risk violations.

First responders were called to the site on Sept. 17 around 10:30 a.m. at 5804 Bryant St. in Highland Park. The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police told KDKA a teenage boy working on the roof fell about three stories and was taken to a hospital in grave condition with a serious head injury.

At the time, workers at a business told KDKA that what appeared to be a crew of Amish workers that included teenagers had been working at the site for new condos and retail for two to three months, saying they didn't seem to take safety precautions like wearing harnesses.

This aligns with records from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which told KDKA it opened an investigation into the incident. According to OSHA, the teen was working for Detweiler's Building Company, a framing contractor out of West Farmington, Ohio.

The agency's records show that in 2019 the company paid more than $9,000 in fines for what OSHA labeled as "serious" violations at the Edgewater Square townhouses in Oakmont.

One citation said employees working "approximately 27 feet above the ground were not protected from falling" because they did not have "guardrail systems, safety nets or personal fall arrest systems."

OSHA also cited the company for using "two ladders" to reach "the upper work areas" that "did not [extend] at least three feet above the landing surface."

KDKA discovered other fall-risk violations under nearly identical company names, also in West Farmington, and has reached out to OSHA to confirm if it is the same company.

Allegheny County property records show the current owner of the building as Gupta Properties. KDKA reached out to the owner for comment, along with the architect and Detweiler's Building Company, but did not hear back on Monday. 

KDKA also checked in with Pittsburgh police for an update on the teen's condition, but the bureau would not share any details.