Ohio Manufacturer Sentenced After Deadly Workplace Safety Failure
Fabcon Precast has been fined and placed on probation after an OSHA investigation into a Grove City incident where a worker died due to a malfunctioning pneumatic door.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- Jun 09, 2025
A Delaware-based manufacturing company was sentenced Thursday to pay a $500,000 fine — the maximum allowed by law — after pleading guilty to willfully violating a federal workplace safety rule that resulted in the death of an employee at its Grove City, Ohio, facility.
Fabcon Precast LLC, which produces precast concrete panels, will also serve two years of organizational probation and must implement a court-ordered Safety Compliance Plan as part of the sentence. The company’s conviction stems from a June 2020 incident in which a worker died after being pinned by a malfunctioning pneumatic door.
According to federal prosecutors, the incident occurred when batch operator Zachary Ledbetter attempted to close a discharge door beneath the plant’s only concrete mixer. The door, powered by pneumatic pressure, became dangerous after the handle on its exhaust valve, designed to safely release energy and disable the door, broke off and was not replaced.
Ledbetter was critically injured when the door closed on his head. He died five days later at a nearby hospital.
“Today’s sentencing reflects Fabcon’s willful failure to implement measures to protect its workers,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Sadly, this led to Zachary’s death. This tragedy shows the importance of following safety standards.”
The mixer’s condition, investigators said, created a known hazard in direct violation of OSHA standards. The Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
“Fabcon Precast LLC willfully failed to adhere to OSHA safety regulations, which resulted in the tragic and preventable loss of a worker’s life,” said Megan Howell, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Great Lakes Region. “This sentencing highlights our steadfast commitment to continue working with OSHA and our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who jeopardize workers’ safety.”
Under federal law, it is a class B misdemeanor to willfully violate an OSHA safety standard resulting in an employee’s death — the only criminal charge applicable in such cases.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Cullman of the DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco is the Content Editor for OH&S.