UPDATE: August 12, 2024. Details of an OSHA investigation remain few. However, fines were given to Maine Dept. of Transportation after two workers were pinned between an excavator and a flat-bed trailer in Cushing, on July 25, 2023. A “Z” penalty with a $1,000 fine was issued Nov. 2, 2023, with an abatement date of Dec. 7, 2023. A “P” Petition to Mod Abatement, $1,000, was issued Dec. 2, 2023, with an abatement due date of Jan. 3, 2024. No narrative accompanies the penalty information, and therefore no explanation is granted as to what and why the penalties were issued, or what OSHA considers a “Serious” citation type.

CUSHING — A construction site accident on the River Road, in Cushing, has left two workers seriously injured, Tuesday morning, July 25, 2023.

Cushing Ambulance was called to the area of 36 River Road, across from Fales Market, at 7:54 a.m., after a report of two men having just been pinned between an excavator and a flat-bed trailer. The workers were part of a crew that was retrieving sheet piles near the intersection of River Road and Pleasant Point Road, according to Maine Department of Transportation, in a news release.

At the time of the call, other workers had freed the injured parties, but they still needed immediate hospital attention. 

“The safety of our employees and the traveling public is always MaineDOT’s primary concern,” said MDOT.

Cushing and Warren ambulances responded to the scene, as did multiple deputies and detectives of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. After tending to the patients and ensuring that the scene was safe, the next priority was to establish whose jurisdiction this incident fell to. The workers happened to be employed by the State as employees of the Department of Transportation. MDOT has been conducting culvert repairs along the road, which is a State road. Also in State jurisdiction is the operation of all commercial trucks – in this case, construction vehicles. However, if the two men were working on a side project not related to the specified MDOT roadwork, then the investigation falls to the KCSO. 

The Sheriff’s Office worked with the State and it was determined that Maine Department of Labor, which has jurisdiction over incidents at state job sites, should take over the case.