🗞️ Roofing Company Cited After Fatal Fall Into Empty Pool, Faces $172,000 in Federal Penalties
Federal regulators cited a Fort Lauderdale roofing firm for willful safety violations after two workers fell from a two-story roof into an empty pool in September 2025, killing one and seriously injuring the other.
Two workers employed by Max Home Services LLC, which operates under the name Pasat Roofing and Solar Energy, were installing a tarp on a two-story Fort Lauderdale residence on Sept. 24, 2025, when they slipped from the roof and plunged into an empty swimming pool below. One worker died from his injuries. The other was seriously hurt.
Federal investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration concluded that neither employee had been equipped with personal fall protection while working more than 20 feet above the ground. The agency also found that the company had not adequately trained workers to identify fall hazards and had no hazard communication program in place for employees handling potentially dangerous chemicals.
OSHA issued the company one willful violation for the fall protection failures and two serious violations for the training and hazard communication lapses. The agency has proposed $172,324 in penalties. Max Home Services is contesting the citations before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, a process that could result in adjustments to the penalties or their underlying findings.
The case reflects a pattern that federal data show persisting across the industry. Falls are the leading cause of death in construction, accounting for 389 of the 1,032 construction and extraction worker fatalities recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. Fall protection violations have topped OSHA's list of most frequently cited workplace safety standards for 15 consecutive years.
Roofing contractors working on residential properties face some of the highest risks in the industry. Federal research suggests that roughly 70 percent of all fatal falls in construction occur at companies with fewer than 10 employees, and about half of all falls documented in industry surveys involved workers operating without any fall protection whatsoever.
Key Points
- Two Pasat Roofing and Solar Energy workers fell from a two-story roof into an empty pool on Sept. 24, 2025; one was killed, one was seriously injured
- OSHA determined both employees were working above 20 feet without personal fall protection equipment
- The company also failed to train workers on fall hazard recognition and lacked a hazard communication program
- OSHA issued one willful and two serious violations, with proposed penalties totaling $172,324
- The company has contested the citations before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
- Falls remain the leading cause of death in construction; fall protection is OSHA's most frequently cited violation for 15 consecutive years
- Approximately 70 percent of fatal construction falls occur at firms with fewer than 10 employees
Primary Source Author: Erika Ruthman, U.S. Department of Labor / OSHA
Primary Source: U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA News Release, April 24, 2026
Primary Source Link: https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/osha/osha20260424
Supplemental Links
- OSHA Fall Prevention Campaign
- OSHA Free Fall Protection Guide for Roofing Workers (PDF)
- OSHA Fall Protection, Construction Standards
- OSHA Commonly Used Statistics
- OSHA National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction
- OSHA Establishment Search (track citation/penalty status)
- OSHA Free Compliance Assistance Resources
- CDC/NIOSH: The Problem of Falls from Elevation in Construction (2024)
