ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — It would be easy to forget. In some cases, it would be easier.

But an important deadline was about to slip by in Josh Adams’ case.

Adams, 33, a Robertsdale electrician, was killed July 23 when he was electrocuted while working in a classroom of the new Robertsdale Elementary School building.

He left his mother, Peggy Phillips, a fiancee, Cindy Hicks, an infant son, Joshua Brayden Adams and a host of friends and relations.

Unbeknownst to Adams’ family, a clock was ticking.

The Occupational Safety and Heath Administration, also known as OSHA, had just six months to rule on Adams’ death.

According to Ron Hayes of Fairhope, the founder of FIGHT, Families in Grief Hold Together, a national group that helps families deal with OSHA, not many families are aware of the situation.

“I met Ron Hayes when he came by the Magnolia Landfill (where Phillips works) and saw a picture of Josh,” said Phillips in a telephone interview. “We got to talking.”

Hayes is no stranger to family tragedy. His 19-year-old son, Patrick, was working at Showell Farms in DeFuniak Springs, Fla., in 1993. There was an accident, and Patrick was suffocated in a stack of grain.

Brokenhearted, and looking for answers that had to be pried out of OSHA officials, Hayes left his job as an X-ray technician and with his wife, Dot, founded FIGHT. Hayes says the organization has helped more than 765 families.

“We help with the grief process and deal with OSHA,” said Hayes.

In Hayes’ case, the company that employed Hayes’ son was fined, but the fines were later reduced. Hayes found out about that from news reports.

He vowed that would never happen again.

Because of his work, Hayes says OSHA now sends him to major disasters so he counsel families and get the ball rolling on their cases.

After talking to Phillips, Hayes did some investigating. He had trouble getting a case file number and quickly realized that somehow, someway, Adams’ file was lost. A few calls put the matter to rights.

“The case was held up,” said Hayes.

“He threw up a red flag, said Phillips. “The case number did not come up.”

Hayes and Phillips both stressed that they did not think there was anything untoward in Adams’ case.

“Mrs. Phillips, like most families, didn’t know to call OSHA,” said Hayes. “You have got to call and ask for information.”

According to an OSHA collection notice, C & R Electrical Services Inc. of Stapleton faces penalties of $14,700 in the case. One of the charges is that the breaker controlling the lights to the room where Adams was working was not tagged properly. Other violations charge that circuits were not “deenergized,” and that circuit breakers were not rendered inoperative. All the violations are described as “serious” in the Jan. 14 report.

C & R Electrical Service has 15 days to dispute the findings, Phillips says.

“My main purpose is that this not happen to another family,” said Phillips.

She says that all the electricians were pushed to finish the work.

“The whole job was behind schedule. they were working 7-12 (seven day a week, 12 hours per day) that month, maybe for six weeks” said Phillips. “I found out he got into something (electrical) the week before, and it took two men to knock him off (the energized circuit.)”

The fines are likely to be reduced, Hayes says.

“They (OSHA) will reduce penalties based on the size of the company, if the company has no history with OSHA, or if they are showing a good faith effort and have taken steps to correct the situation,” said Hayes.

Hayes added that he could not find a record of C & R Electrical having a problem before.

Neither Phillips nor Hayes had not seen the report. They were expecting it in the mail later this week.

In the meantime, Hayes says that Adams’ family will be put in touch with other families who have lost a loved one to a workplace accident.

“The family helps the other family understand the grief process,” said Hayes.

Later, Adams’ family will help another to heal, Hayes says.

FIGHT is a 501(c)3 organization. Donations are tax deductible. For information, call 1-800-388-8644. At the prompt, enter Code 19. The e-mail address is rhfight!@att.net.