GRAND RAPIDS (AP) — A judge in western Michigan has dismissed criminal charges in the case of a man who plunged 26 feet to his death while working on a commercial roof.
Black River Builders owner Joe Novak of Holland was charged with a safety violation causing death, a felony. WZZM-TV says a Kent County judge recently dismissed the charge after Novak’s lawyers argued that he shouldn’t be held personally responsible.
In 2012, Brian Tarachanowicz fell while removing a roof deck at a commercial building in Sparta, north of Grand Rapids. The state says the victim was not wearing protective equipment, and no inspections were performed to detect hazards.
Tarachanowicz was working as a subcontractor on the project.
The state says Black River Builders has been cited for past safety problems.
- Posted June 03, 2015
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Charges dismissed in workplace death
headlines Macomb
- New leadership team takes helm at State Bar
- Four weeks before Election Day, mail ballot returns are up 30% over same point in 2022
- Belleville woman arraigned in connection with alleged arson, felonious assault
- Warren man pleads No Contest to Felonious Assault and dog stabbing
- Woman sentenced for mortgage fraud, filing a false $374,000 tax refund return
headlines National
- Melissa Hart, the chair of the ABA Legal Ed council, dies
- Judge suspended after indictment over alleged perjury
- Bill Withers’ music publisher files copyright suit over Olivia Dean’s ‘I’ve Seen It’
- Judge reinstates US attorney in Washington fired by Trump
- Interim law dean of University of Florida named to permanent role
- Clio acquires Learned Hand, an AI company for courts, judges
