Fraser Shipyard company has revealed the agreed settlement of lawsuits concerning tens of workers that were exposed to lead in their line of duty working in Superior on an old freighter as established by the company last week on Thursday.
Fraser agreed to a settlement of $7.5 million to workers totaling slightly more than 60 who were endangered to lead paint two years ago. The workers were involved in a repowering scheme for the ship Herbert C. Jackson at Fraser’s Superior yards in 2016, According to Fraser spokesman Rob Karwath, the workers are said to have been in the process of turning the freighter’s old boiler and steam power system to diesel when the unfortunate accident happened.
However, It was further established that the first of the three federal lawsuits had been listed for trial in December this year.
Prior to the settlement, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration summoned Fraser for several 2016 work violations during the incident and fined the company a total of $1.4 million. The huge penalty was however slashed by half to $700,000 by OSHA as a portion of a settlement in which saw Fraser adopt and develop a new safety plan for the company.
Speaking for the first time after the revealing of the settlement plan, the president and chief operating officer of Fraser Industries, a mother company of Fraser Shipyards said, “We believe that this settlement, which resolves all outstanding claims, is in the best interests of all parties”
A statement released by Farkas further said, “This agreement and earlier settlement agreements with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration concluded with facts and arguments from unions representing our workers, guarantees that as of we can be able to move forward with a solid and strong commitment to employee stability and business viability, in partnership with Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and each person who makes a living at our 126-year-old family-owned corporation in Superior,”
Maritime giants Fraser Shipyards is the last influential independent shipyard on the United States side of the Great Lake.
