Safety Regulator Seeks Criminal Prosecution After Teen Worker Loses Legs

Wednesday, April 30, 2025 | 0

Washington's State Department of Labor and Industries is encouraging a county prosecutor to press charges against an employer for allegedly breaking youth labor laws, leading to an accident that cost a teen worker his legs.

L&I, the state's workplace-safety enforcement agency, seeks criminal charges against Rotschy Inc., a Vancouver-based company, after a teen who was allegedly operating trenching machinery without supervision was injured in an accident, according to a report by Big Country News. 

L&I seeks prosecution of Rotschy for allegedly allowing the teen to use dangerous, prohibited machinery unsupervised when he was severely injured, resulting in the amputation of his legs.

L&I has asked Clark County prosecutors to enforce a statute that allows felony charges, punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine, when a violation of a child labor law leads to a death or permanent disability. The agency said the company has a history of youth labor safety issues.