Montana lift worker’s death will result in federal citations

BUTTE – Federal officials say they are preparing to issue citations in connection with the death of a Montana worker who fell from an aerial lift in Butte last month.

The Montana Standard reported the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has concluded its on-site investigation into the conditions and safety factors that may have contributed to the death of Jay F. Bickford.

OSHA regional director Jeff Funke said Big Sky Rental and the company’s owner, Bill Robinson, have cooperated fully in the investigation. Funke said the citations should be issued within about a month of the completion of OSHA’s compliance report. Among the issues investigated by OSHA is whether a safety harness was being used and whether the company reported the death to OSHA within eight hours, as required.

Bickford was in the bucket of the lift when the machinery tipped over on Oct. 18. He was thrown from the equipment and suffered numerous injuries, and later died at a hospital.