TOSHA: Company Fined Thousands after Employee Falls to Death at Gatlinburg Convention Center

The company facing fines is Appalachian Staffing Service, LLC. (Courtesy: WVLT)

TOSHA: Company Fined Thousands after Employee Falls to Death at Gatlinburg Convention Center

Posted on April 23, 2024

Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A third party working at the Gatlinburg Convention Center is now facing thousands in fines following a workplace death in December of last year.

According to a report from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA), Appalachian Staffing Service, LLC was fined $8,200 after 66-year-old Jeffrey Coker fell from the center’s rafters on December 26, 2023.

Investigators say employees were working on rigging equipment to the ceiling when the Coker fell 32 feet onto a concrete floor.

Appalachian Staffing Service is facing four citations, ranging in fines from $1,200 to $1,400 each. The violations mostly cover safety checks-and-balances, claiming the company did not verify that all equipment was working correctly.

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