01-03-2025
'I would like to get the full story': APS contractor's wife wants answers after his death
When Jenny Olver got a call that her husband, Mike, had an accident at an Arizona Public Service company worksite in Arizona, it had to be a minor accident, she thought.
Her husband of nearly five years was highly experienced and was very cautious about safety.
"It was alarming, but I didn't worry too much," she said.
In fact, a previous employer had commended Mike in a publication for identifying a safety flaw that could have caused serious injuries to other workers, but the man she had known for nine years was not coming home.
More than three months after his death, Jenny says she still has a lot of questions about how Mike died. An investigative report by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health shows a guardrail from which he fell while working for Bay Valve, a contractor at the APS Redhawk Power Plant in Arlington, Arizona near Buckeye, did not meet safety standards.
The report is the most detailed information she has about the circumstances surrounding her husband's death.
"I would like to get the full story of what exactly happened," Jenny said. "We only know what was released in the ADOSH report."
The ADOSH report had levied an $11,500 penalty on both APS and Mike's employer, Bay Valve.
After The Republic's previous story on ADOSH's findings, readers emailed how alarmed they were at how little the penalty is considering there was a loss of life.
A policy manual on civil penalties from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration released in January 2025, shows that penalties for violations range from $7,000 to $16,550 for gravity based penalties referenced in ADOSH's report.
The penalties on APS and Bay Valve, would fall within the moderate gravity violation range.
ADOSH is not offering a comment on this story beyond the report of its investigation.
The penalty does not matter much to Jenny, who is seeking that what happened to her husband never happens again.
She said Mike was a well-known machinist in the industry who would travel often for work.
On the morning of Nov. 4, 2024, Mike packed his bags as usual. He had ensured he went to bed early the previous day since he had a work trip ahead of him.
In their living room, Jenny sipped coffee with her prayer book in another hand. A kiss and a hug later, Mike was out of the door.
They had talked about a planned family trip. As soon as he was back, they were going to head to a cabin in the Lake Tahoe Reserve with the entire family for an early Thanksgiving.
"The day of his accident, he called me that morning just because he had a lull I think, and he wanted to say hi and I love you and check in," Jenny said.
A few hours later, 3 days after Mike left home, he was pronounced dead after he had fallen 18 feet from a guardrail. He was more than 500 miles from home.
A period that is supposed to be a time of joy lays ahead of the Olver family this year. Two of their children are getting married.
Jenny said she still cannot process the fact that Mike would not be there to walk them down the aisle.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: APS contractor died at work. Now his wife wants to know what happened
