Feds: Citations Coming in Butte Aerial Lift Death

Federal officials say they are preparing to issue citations in connection with the death of a Montana worker who fell from an aerial lift in Butte, Mont., last month.

The Montana Standard reports the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has concluded its on-site investigation into the conditions and safety factors that may have contributed to the death of Jay F. Bickford.

OSHA regional director Jeff Funke says Big Sky Rental and the company’s owner, Bill Robinson, have cooperated fully in the investigation. Funke says the citations should be issued within about a month of the completion of OSHA’s compliance report.

Bickford was in the bucket of the lift when the machinery tipped on Oct. 18. He was thrown from the equipment, and later died at an area hospital.