U.S. fines Wis. bar $7,000 for death in dumbwaiter

Published 1:50 pm Saturday, May 30, 2015

FOUNTAIN CITY, Wis. — The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined a Wisconsin bar $7,000 for the death of an employee who died when her head got caught in a dumbwaiter.

OSHA says WingDam Saloon and Grill in Fountain City failed to furnish a workplace free from recognized hazards that were likely to cause death or serious harm to employees.

Twenty-one-year-old Brooke Baures died Dec. 1 from severe head trauma after she became trapped in the food service elevator, or dumbwaiter. She was a gymnast at Winona State University who lived in Chetek, Wisconsin. She was also a 2011 graduate from Cameron High School.

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OSHA says the dumbwaiter lacked safeguards to prevent it from moving when employees would reach in to load and unload it.

The dumbwaiter has been permanently removed.