Green Energy Worksites: Solar, Wind, Battery Storage and Worker Hazards Fatality File

Worke US Department of Labor cites Florida roofing company for willfully exposing workers to safety hazards after worker suffers fatal fall, another injured

What Happened

On September 24, 2025, two workers from Max Home Services LLC — operating as Pasat Roofing and Solar Energy — were installing tarp on a two-story residential roof in Fort Lauderdale, Florida when they slipped and fell into an empty pool below. One worker suffered fatal injuries. The other sustained serious injuries. Neither worker was wearing personal fall protection at heights exceeding 20 feet.

What Went Wrong

OSHA investigators found that the employer willfully allowed both employees to work without personal fall protection at heights of over 20 feet. The employer also failed to adequately train employees to recognize fall hazards and did not implement a hazard communication program for workers using hazardous chemicals. OSHA cited the company for one willful and two serious violations and proposed $172,324 in penalties. This was not an unforeseeable accident — it was the direct result of a willful decision to send workers onto a roof without the protection federal law requires.

The Bottom Line

Green energy and roofing work share one of the most well-documented hazards in any industry — falls from elevation. The controls that prevent those falls are equally well-documented: harnesses, anchor points, training, and enforcement. When an employer willfully ignores those controls, the outcome is predictable. A worker did not go home. No job, no timeline, and no tarp installation is worth a worker’s life.

Source: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom