Charges Filed Against Company Over Death of Worker
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Criminal charges have been filed against a Panorama City company stemming from the death of a warehouse worker whose head was crushed in the doors of a freight elevator, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office said Monday.
La Curacao Inc., which operates a furniture store, is charged with four violations of the state labor code concerning the proper operation of elevators, said Deputy City Atty. Bill Williams.
According to prosecutors, employee Cesar R. Ponce, 19, of Arleta was working in a basement warehouse area Aug. 20, 1996, when the fatal accident occurred. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators from the Cal/OSHA determined that a safety device in the elevator had been bypassed with a string tied to the activating lever, prosecutors said.
The city attorney’s office is still in the process of determining whether the company as a whole or its directors will be held responsible for the charges, Williams said.
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