A Gering Nebraska company was fined $25,000 and placed on two years probation for not protecting a worker who was killed when a ditch collapsed.

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United States Attorney Joe W. Stecher announced that the Midwest Farm Service Company, Inc. was sentenced today for violating the Occupational Safety and Health laws Act of 1970.

Midwest Farm Service pled guilty and was sentenced on April 1, 2009, to an information charging the offense. The violation resulted in the death of Travis Ballinger, a laborer employed there. Midwest Farm Services drills wells and irrigation systems throughout Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota. On March 7, 2007, near Scottsbluf. Travis Ballinger and two other laborers were attempting to remove dirt from a trench that was inaccessible by a backhoe. The trench was 3 feet wide by 8 feet deep and contained no protective support or shield system, nor was the trench sloped. This violated safety standards that required such excavations to be protected by an adequate protection system. While removing the dirt from the trench, a section of the wall of the trench collapsed and Travis Ballinger was completely covered by the dirt. He died of suffocation.

The criminal statute violated by Midwest Farm Service provides that a willful violation of an OSHA regulation which causes the death of an employee is a misdemeanor. United States Magistrate Judge David L. Piester imposed a $25,000 fine and placed Midwest Farm Services on probation for two years under certain conditions, including a requirement that it comply with all OSHA rules and regulations, that it permit unrestricted access to all work sites to OSHA representatives for inspection purposes, and that it comply with the provisions of a separate administrative agreement with OSHA. The criminal fine is in addition to the civil penalties totaling $80,000 previously paid by Midwest Farm Services.

U.S. Attorney Stecher again stressed the importance of enforcing workplace safety rules. He said “Protecting citizens from death or serious injury, particularly in the grain handling industry is as important as any type of case the United States Attorney’s office handles. We will be aggressive in prosecuting employers who do not provide a safe environment for their employees.”