A Florida court of appeals upheld previous findings made by a workplace safety agency concerning the case of a killer whale trainer who died on the job.

SeaWorld officials contended that a series of citations issued by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration after the death of veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau weren't true.

But the court maintained its stance, stating in its ruling that SeaWorld didn't take proper precautionary measures for all of its employees.

"The administrative record establishes that SeaWorld did not lack fair notice because the hazard arising from trainers' close contact with killer whales in performance is preventable," the judges stated. "Statements by SeaWorld managers do not indicate safety protocols and training made the killer whales safe; rather, they demonstrate SeaWorld's recognition that the killer whales interacting with trainers are dangerous."

The court ruled in favor of OSHA, 2-1, the Guardian reported. One judge dissented, and announced that OSHA didn't have the right to regulate SeaWorld any more than it could regulate NFL tackles.

In his dissenting opinion, Judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote that people in dangerous lines of work are fully aware of the risks associated with their jobs. He stated that OSHA had "departed from tradition and stormed headlong into a new regulatory arena."

Branchea died in 2010, after a 12,000 pound killer whale named Tilikum dragged her into the water and killed her in front of an audience watching a show at SeaWorld's Orlando park, CNN reported.

OSHA delivered a number of citations against SeaWorld , which the federal watchdog said didn't observe its duties as an employer by leaving workers vulnerable to "recognized hazards," especially when training killer whales.

SeaWorld expressed its disappointment with the ruling in an official statement.

"Following the tragic death of Dawn Brancheau in 2010, we voluntarily deployed several new safety measures, including removing trainers from the water during shows," officials wrote. "In so noting its opinion, the Court acknowledged that there will still be human interactions and performances with killer whales and, according to the Court, the decision simply requires that we continue with increased safety measures during our shows."

SeaWorld has not yet stated wither it will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.