OSHA fines two companies a combined $24,000 for the death of an employee on the job site and yet NFL players can be fined $10,000 or more for giving the crowd the middle finger.

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When put like that, makes me feel horrible that someone life is only worth $24,000.

That being said, just trying to rationalize this within my own head, I think the fines are for improper working conditions and to get them to pay for the death, it'll take a civil or criminal lawsuit.

As for the silly things NFL players can be fined for, I believe Dolphins WR Hill claimed he was fined $7,000 for not wearing socks in a game.

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I don't think the $24,000 is meant to equate to the person's life. That is just the dollar equivalent to how far the companies involved violated safety regulations contributing to the accident.

Put another way, if the companies had followed regulations perfectly and the accidental death happened anyways, they would have been fined $0. The value of the life is independent of how badly the companies followed regulations.

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Failed to identify a potential pinch point in a somewhat unique scenario. It was human error, from what we know of what happened, not some corporate cost cutting evil. I really doubt that anyone is getting cut any extra slack here. My bet is on a tragic and expensive error, however small that error might have been, that cost a tragedy.
It looks like the regulatory bodies saw it this way as well.

I understand why OSHA's fine structure is the way it is. I know the difference between a civil or criminal lawsuit and a safety regulation. But still, i have seen larger fines for less injury. We had a once in a lifetime hail storm this past year. Roofers were flocking to the area like bees to a field of wild flowers.
One roofer was driving around town looking at the safety harnesses (or lack thereof) on his competitors. Then calling and filing a complaint with OSHA. No one fell off a roof but OSHA fines were comparable to the ones in this loss of life injury.

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