By Tom Dalton Staff writer The Salem News Wed Jan 05, 2011, 05:58 AM EST
SALEM — The heavy exterior wall panel that fell last summer from the $106 million state courthouse under construction on Federal Street, seriously injuring a worker, failed because a contractor used the wrong type of screws, an investigation revealed.
Lighthouse Masonry Inc. of New Bedford used zinc-coated screws “that were not the type specified in the design of the fastener system,” the state Division of Capital Asset Management said yesterday in a statement.
Use of the wrong screws was the “direct cause” of the limestone panel falling, the state said.
As a result, the masonry company will be barred for one year from bidding on public building projects after Jan. 9, which is when its current certification expires.
In November, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued three “serious” citations against Lighthouse Masonry Inc. in connection with the accident.
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