Elvis Dumervil’s company fined in death of construction worker in North Miami

Prestige Estates and Jesus Balbuena facing $44K in fines

Elvis Dumervil and 12501 Northeast 13th Ave. (Credit: Twitter, Google Maps)
Elvis Dumervil and 12501 Northeast 13th Ave. (Credit: Twitter, Google Maps)

Elvis Dumervil’s real estate firm was fined by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to protect employees at a construction site in North Miami.

The fines come six months after a worker fell from an aerial lift 20 feet above the ground that led to the employee’s death at 12501 Northeast 13th Avenue in November. Prestige Estates Property Management LLC and Jesus Balbuena of Miami face $44,146 in penalties, according to OSHA. They have 15 business days to pay the fines or contest the findings.

Dumervil’s Prestige Estates bought the 91-unit apartment building a year ago for $10 million with plans to renovate the property. Dumervil has expanded his portfolio of North Miami and North Miami Beach apartment buildings since 2016, after his professional football career came to an end.

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OSHA’s investigation into the November 2019 accident found that Prestige Estates and Balbuena failed to ensure that a fall protection system was used, failed to train employees to recognize and avoid fall hazards, and did not have an accident prevention program in place. Dumervil’s company was also cited for not reporting a hospitalization within 24 hours and a death within eight hours, as required.

OSHA Acting Fort Lauderdale Area Director Juan Torres said in a press release that “employers have an obligation to ensure the working conditions they ask employees to operate under are free of recognized hazards.”