LIBERTY - The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety & Health Administration on June 20 opened an "inspection" of Hudson Valley Foie Gras here following the workplace accident a day earlier that killed Gerardo Contreras Garcia of Mongaup Valley.
Ted Fitzgerald, a spokesperson for OSHA, confirmed to The SullivanTimes on Thursday that the Albany-area office of OSHA was leading the investigation.
He said in an email that:
OSHA’s Albany Area Office opened an inspection at HVFG on June 20 in response to a fatality. The inspection is ongoing.
The inspection’s purpose is to determine whether or not there were any violations of workplace safety standards in connection with this incident.
OSHA doesn’t discuss the specifics of ongoing inspections but can inform you of the outcome when it’s finished.
OSHA has up to six months to complete its inspection. It’s too early to estimate a completion date for this inspection.
The OSHA inspection process and possible outcomes are summarized here: https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/factsheet-inspections.pdf.
The SullivanTimes reported last week that Troop F of New York State Police responded to the emergency and called it "a tragic accident."
A source familiar with the situation who did not want to be identified said that Garcia drowned on the site of the facility after being sucked into a sewer line. That has not been independently verified.
A GoFundMe link has been started by Garcia's family.
Meanwhile, the company has joined a lawsuit filed recently in an attempt to block New York City from implementing a law that bans foie gras.
OSHA’s Albany Area Office opened an inspection at HVFG on June 20 in response to a fatality. The inspection is ongoing.
The inspection’s purpose is to determine whether or not there were any violations of workplace safety standards in connection with this incident.
OSHA doesn’t discuss the specifics of ongoing inspections but can inform you of the outcome when it’s finished.
OSHA has up to six months to complete its inspection. It’s too early to estimate a completion date for this inspection.
The OSHA inspection process and possible outcomes are summarized here: https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/factsheet-inspections.pdf.