'The Lone Ranger' Death -- Production Company Fined $61,000

The government is going after the production company behind the new "Lone Ranger" movie -- after a crew member drowned in a diving accident on set last year -- issuing fines exceeding $61,000.

According to official documents obtained by TMZ, Cal OSHA (aka California's Occupational Safety and Health Administration) issued the fines against Silver Bullet Productions, claiming the company was directly at fault in the death of Mike Bridger, a welder and water safety guy working on the film.

Bridger died last September while cleaning one of the movie's deep water tanks.

OSHA cited Silver Bullet for numerous violations, but the four big ones were -- 1) SB failed to obtain medical records for the diver, 2) SB did not have a standby diver available when Bridger was in the water, 3) SB let Bridger dive without a tether, 4) Bridger dove without a partner.