Feds Fine Construction Company $1.2M In Death Of Worker Killed At Boston Demolition Site

Federal regulators blamed a Brockton construction company for the death of a 51-year-old man who died when the Boston Government Center garage collapsed during a demolition project earlier this year. It was his first day on the job.

Peter Monsini died when the excavator he was in fell nine stories while construction crews demolished the Boston Government Center garage earlier this year. The Department of Labor blamed his death on the company where he worked.
Photo Credit: *Courtesy of the Monsini Family*

Josh Lanier

09/27/2022 2:43 p.m.

The Department of Labor announced on Tuesday, Sept. 27, that it had fined JDC Demolition Co. $1.2 million for not properly training its employees and ignoring safety concerns during the project.

Peter Monsini of South Easton died on March 26 when the excavator he was in fell nine stories after the floor buckled beneath him, officials said. More than 100 tons of concrete fell on top of him as the structure crumbled.

Investigators said another heavy equipment operator told the foreman earlier that day that he worried the floor could collapse, but the boss ignored the warning. Instead, they put Monsini in the excavator, but they didn't properly train him on how to follow the engineer's demolition plan, the Department of Labor said in its ruling. Federal regulators also found that JDC Demolition was not supposed to have the excavator on any partially demolished floor.

OSHA cited JDC Demolition with eight egregious-willful violations in Monsini's death, with fines totaling $1.19 million, regulators said.

“JDC Demolition Company Inc. knew the heavy equipment on the partially demolished floors were over the weight limits and still allowed a worker, unaware of the hazards, to do demolition work,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Galen Blanton in the release. “This willful and egregious disregard for safety cost a worker’s life and exposed other employees to potentially fatal hazards.”

The company did not release a comment on the fines. JDC Demolition hasn't tweeted since Monsini's death.

It was Monisini's first day on the job, but he had a lifetime of construction experience, news reports said. He left behind a wife and 17-year-old son, authorities said.

“We are in shock and trying to process the loss of Peter,” Monsini’s family said in a release just after his death. “He was a loving son, brother, father, uncle, and friend. He was full of life, passionate, thoughtful, and will be missed deeply by his family and partner Alicia.”

A GoFundMe for his son raised $23,000, far more than its $5,000 goal.

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