Fatal Staten Island mezzanine collapse ‘should never have happened’
Formica Construction’s willful disregard led to death of 46-year-old demolition worker
On November of 2014 in Staten Island, a 46-year-old demolition worker was killed in a
building collapse at an auto dealership. This incident could have been spared if his employer had
not disregarded federal safety rules. The mezzanine of the former Dana Ford Lincoln dealership
collapsed on him while working for Formica Construction Co. Inc. The company willfully
disregarded demolition safety protocols designed to prevent such incidents.
OSHA inspectors found that the company did not conduct a required pre-demolition engineering
survey to determine the building’s stability and a possible structural collapse (OSHA, 2015, para.
4). Once work had begun, Formica Construction ignored required safety practices by removing
