East Freetown Company Pleads Guilty in 2023 Worker Death

BOSTON (WBSM) — The East Freetown company accused of violating workplace safety standards in the death of a worker in 2023 has pleaded guilty in federal court.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that John Oliveira & Sons Stamp Concrete, Inc. pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston on February 4 to willfully violating Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) safety standards in the incident that killed a man identified by the New Bedford Light as Josué Tiquiram, 24, a Guatemalan immigrant living in New Bedford.

What Happened During the 2023 Workplace Accident

Tiquiram was killed when he tried to remove a bolt from a nearly 36,000-pound soil screener. There was no equipment in place to keep the soil screener’s tail conveyor from closing, and it closed unexpectedly while Tiquiram was trying to remove the bolt.

He fell into the upper frame of the soil screener as the tail conveyor – which weighed about 1,500 pounds – closed, crushing his head. He suffered massive head trauma and was pronounced deceased soon after.

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Federal Investigators Cite Repeated Safety Failures

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said it was not the first time the tail conveyor had closed unexpectedly. It happened on various occasions in 2022 or 2023, and the soil screener had suffered a ruptured hydraulic pressure line.

The charge of willfully violating an OSHA safety standard calls for a term of probation of up to five years, a fine of up to $500,000, and restitution payable to the estate of the deceased victim.

Potential Penalties and Sentencing Timeline

Sentencing is scheduled for May 4, 2026.