The head of California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health said Monday he will personally oversee a "rigorous and effective" criminal investigation into the Dec. 29 chemistry lab fire that killed a UCLA staff research assistant.
Cal/OSHA Chief Len Welsh's pledge came after a civil probe last month resulted in one regulatory and three "serious" violations, and fines totaling $31,875. The family of the research assistant, Sheri Sangji, had criticized the review as inadequate.
"I can't tell you what the results will be right now, but I can tell you we are reviewing everything from the very beginning of this inspection and we will take appropriate action," Welsh said Thursday in a voice-mail message to Sangji's sister, Naveen.
But Welsh, who confirmed that he had left the message, said Monday that any future action would not include harsher civil penalties against UCLA, as the family had sought.
"We have decided not to take any further action in the Cal/OSHA civil case," Welsh said, adding that a separate investigation into potential criminal liability, common in death cases, is continuing. "The criminal case, right now, is the one people should be looking to."
If Cal/OSHA finds evidence of a crime, it will turn that material over to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
Sheri Sangji, 23, suffered severe burns over nearly half her body when air-sensitive chemicals burst into flames during an experiment and ignited her clothing. Sangji, who was not wearing a protective lab coat, died 18 days later.
In May, Cal/OSHA issued its citations after concluding that Sangji had not been properly trained and was not wearing protective clothing.
UCLA paid the fines but appealed the violations and sought a stipulation from Cal/OSHA that the school admitted no fault in connection with the findings -- a legal move aimed at limiting liability.
The university withdrew its appeal Friday, however. Kevin Reed, vice chancellor for legal affairs, said Monday that it was not worth the "hue and cry" it had raised from the family, the union that represented Sangji and others.
"In our view it was not worth the distraction it was causing," he said. "It was in UCLA's best interest to withdraw the appeal and move forward, as we have been trying to do since this tragic day happened."
Reed also accused the family of sending Cal/OSHA a letter "ghost-written by plaintiffs lawyers" in an "effort to get some big judgment at the end of the rainbow here."
