South Dakota Company to Pay $1.33M for Worker’s Death

A company has agreed to pay more than $1.33 million in penalties and fines for the death of a Canton, S.D., worker.

Forty-two-year-old Larry Kinzer, of Sioux Falls, was killed in November 2011 at Adams Thermal Systems Inc., which makes cooling systems for vehicle engines.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration say Adams will pay Kinzer’s wife $450,000.

Also part of the agreement is a criminal fine of $450,000 and OSHA fine of $435,000 for regulatory violations that caused the fatality and additional violations found during inspections.

OSHA’s investigation found Kinzer was crushed in a machine used to make radiator cores. The agency says managers told workers to bypass the manufacturer’s barrier guard in order to adjust the machine to keep it running.