Construction Accidents: March 2007 Archives

Millions of Hours Lost Due to Accidents

The need for job safety for construction workers is a topic that will play a major role in this year's Hardware and Tools Trade Exhibition that runs from May 13 to 15 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center. Melanie Beese, the spokesperson for Messe Frankfurt, said that “There is no doubt that mishaps taking place at construction sites have placed an additional emphasis on the health and safety aspects of the industry this year. Protection for the key workers should always be an overriding priority within the construction industry and this year we have a number of exhibitors who will be demonstrating and displaying various safety related items of equipment, such as harnesses, hard hats, breathing apparatus and fire retardant materials.”

Millions of Man Hourse Lost Every Year on Construction Sites Due to Accidents

Concern over the safety of workers on building sites has been gaining attention recently, especially after having been addressed by the Middle East branch of Occupational Safety and Health, (IOSH.) IOSH has expressed concern over the health and safety standards for construction workers in UAE and expressed concern over the lacking government regulations. The IOSH says that a Dubai based company worked 13 million man hours in 1998, but lost 48,057 hours because of industrial accidents. By increasing safety, the company reduced the occurrence of accidents to only costing them 6,600 manhours and productivity was increased to 28 million in 2006. Beese said of this fact, "it is in everybody's interests to strive to minimize incapacitation and injury at the workplace.

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Constrution Worker Dies After Fall

A 28-year-old Union County, New Jersey man died after a fall at a construction site. Jeffrey Sack had been walking on a steel beam at a construction site on Route 37 when he fell and landed on a cement surface that was several stories down. Police and paramedics tried to save Sack's life but were unsuccessful in their attempts.

Construction Worker Dead of Head Injury After Fall From Beam

Sack's father had been a supervisor on the job, said Chief Michael Mastronardy. Sack was taken by ambulance to West Dover Elementary School, where a landing strip was set up to fly him to a trauma center, where he was pronounced dead.

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Mexican Family of Victim Seeks Compensation

The family members of a construction worker who was killed when a house collapsed at Chateau Elan have hired an Atlanta lawyer to fight for workers' compensation for them. 43-year-old Evaristo Enrique Chimal Librado had been working on a house on March 3 when the house collapsed on top of him. Librado was an undocumented alien from Mexico who sent his monthly $400 paycheck back to Mexico City to aid his wife, three children, and his mother. Librado's lawyer, L. Brown Bivens, says he does not believe that Librado's lack of citizenship will affect his eligibility for compensation. "I have to tell you," said Bivens, "I’ve never had a case where the injured party was here illegally, or an alien. My understanding of the law in the worker’s compensation arena, and in every other personal injury, is that it doesn’t matter where you are from.”

Mexican Family of Victim to Seek Compensation

Most builders only hire subcontractors who have workers' compensation insurance. Under Georgia law, a maximum workers' compensation claim would give the Librado family with two-thirds of Librado's salary for 400 weeks, or $125,000. It also would offer a $7,500 death benefit. Bivens says that the circumstances of the case might merit further legal action: "It interests me because I can't understand how an 80-percent complete house blows over in a 33 mile-per-hour wind."

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Teen Dies in Construction Accident

17-year-old Pascual Francisco died at a construction site in Kentucky on Tuesday when a heavy-duty roller turned over and crushed him. Francisco was working at the site but it is unknown whether he was wearing adequate safety gear or whether he was performing his job duties in the safest possible manor. Jim Knight, from the State Department of Labor, said that "we will investigate this accident to determine whether there was a violation of a safety rule that could have contributed to the death of the worker and if we do find that there's a safety violation, the employer can be assessed a penalty."

Teen Dies in Construction Accident

Because English was not Francisco's native language, it is possible that a language barrier may have caused Francisco's dangerous situation. Knight hopes that the tragedy does not go for naught: "Last year we investigated something like 35 workplace fatalities, one of the lowest rates in the country, but one fatality is one too many."

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Construction Accident Kills 24-Year-Old

Jonathan Fundalinski, a 24-year-old construction worker, feel more than 30 feet to his death while working on a renovation project in one of the oldest buildings in downtown Buffalo. "He had so much of a future. I just can’t believe it,” said Fundalinski's mother, Sharon. “He was just a positive, upbeat person, and he was always willing to help. I’ll just miss him a lot.” Fundalinski was planning a future with his high school sweetheart; they were to close the deal on a house in South Wales in the next few days.

Downtown Construction Accident Kills Young Worker

Fundalinski had been working to create a new interior in the 119 year-old Webb Building in New York. At 7:45 a.m., Fundalinski was inside working when he lost his balance and feel 30 feet into the basement. Reports say he was working next to an open stair shaft when he fell.

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Construction Workers Hurt in High-Rise Accident

Three construction workers were injured when scaffolding collapsed at the Huntington House condos in Denver. Denver fire officials say that three workers were taking down scaffolding when the scaffolding collapsed. One of the workers may have fallen as far as three floors.

Construction Workers Injured in Denver High-Rise Accident

Firefighters had been at a training exercise at a nearby building so they were quick to arrive on the scene. None of the injuries is thought to be life threatening.

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Blackpool Company Fined Over Death

Magistrates have ordered a R P Tyson Construction, a Blackpool contractor, to pay more than £22,000 after an employee died while working at the Hutton Grammar School near Preston. Anthony Isherwood was crushed to death by a steel beam on November 29, 2004. Construction companies are being warned that they should have proper risk assessments carried out, updated, and maintained during construction.

Blackpool Firm Fined Over Death at School

The Health and Safety Executive Inspector, Roger Jamson, said that "it is important that anyone in control of a construction site assesses the particular risks involved at their specific site of work and that this is kept up to date as circumstances change."

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Construction Accident Kills a Worker

Thomas Canfield, 28, from Woodstock, New York, fell 30 feet from a roof on Saturday morning. Canfield landed on his back and was said to be bleeding from his ears, unconscious, and struggling to breathe when police arrived. Canfield was declared dead at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, soon after his family had arrived at the hospital. He was employed by AD Builders of Albany, N.Y.

Construction Accident Kills Worker

Fairfield Assistant Fire Chief George Gomola said that this is the second construction accident of this type to occur in the construction of a modular home in less than a year. "We had the building official and the representative from OSHA on the scene. And their best guess right now is that he may have slipped on some plastic covering from the roofing materials or the sticky material on the back of the shingles," added Gomola. OSHA has been contacted to investigate the accident.

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Congressmen Call for Investigation into Cintas Corp. Death

Five congressmen are calling for an investigation into machine safety hazards after a worker died after becoming trapped in a dryer at Cinta's Tulsa plant. The congressmen say that the death of Cintas Corp. employee Elezar Torres- Gomez could have been prevented if Cintas had heeded a warning about the type of equipment used at the Tulsa plant. The letter also says that Cintas was aware of the dangers at the Tulsa facility.

Congressmen call for investigation into Tulsa death

The letter was signed by Representatives Lynn Woolsey, Phil Hare, Timothy Bishop, Donald Payne, and Carol Shea-Porter. "It's more important to protect the lives and welfare of your workforce than it is to make a dollar," Hare said. "I'm seriously troubled with this company and their repeated violations." Torres-Gomez, who was a 10-year-employee of the company, was dragged by a conveyor into a dryer where he was trapped for at least 20 minutes. Maintenance heard banging from the dryer and found Torres-Gomez dead. The death was the second serious incident at Cintas in two weeks.

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Workers Fined $10,000 Each for Fatal Accident

Almost two years after a roofer employed by Gaydon Contractors fell six meters to his death, two of his co-workers were fined $10,000 each and their employer was fined $100,000. An investigation into the accident found that the opening in the roof through which the man fell had been cut by Gaydon workers two days before the contractor arrived at the site and that the holes had been identified as a safety risk that needed to be covered.

Workers fined $10,000 each for fatal accident at worksite

Most of the holes were covered with plywood, but the opening through which the worker fell was covered with insulating foam that had been nailed to the roof. It was not securely fastened or identified as being a covering for the hole. The site supervisor had said the site was safe for work the day of the accident. The fine was levied by the Ontario Court of Justice.

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Worker Hurt in Madison

James Grissom, 33, a construction worker who was hurt in an on-site accident that left him trapped beneath a large piece of machinery, is in fair condition at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Grissom was injured when the compactor rolling machine that he was using rolled on top of him.

Worker injured in Madison in fair condition

According to a news release from the Madison Police Department, Grissom had been using the compactor on a slope when the accident occurred and fellow workers used a backhoe to lift the machine off Grissom. Grissom works for Real Dirt Inc. of Vicksburg. The job site foreman told police that he plans to notify OSHA of the accident.

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Lawsuit Filed Over Worker's Death

Molly M. Glover, 53, was crushed on August 24 at Insulfoam by a machine that cuts and crushes large blocks of Styrofoam. Glover's husband and two former Insulfoam employees allege that Insulfoam knowingly used machinery in an unsafe manner and have filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages on Glover's behalf. The lawsuit goes on the say that Insulfoam and its staff "removed or circumvented" safety guards in order to turn off the cutting machines during cleaning. Such an action violates federal law and safety rules.

Worker's Death Prompts Lawsuit

Glover was a temporary employee at Insulfoam who worked as a forklift operator. On August 24, her second day working at Insulfoam, she was instructed to clean and unjam the cutting machine; Glover had not been trained to perform this duty. A few moments after Glover was given the order, fellow employees heard her screams and found her being crushed by the machine. Because no one was able to get the machine off Glover's head and body, the machine "continued to crush down on the body, chest, and head while she was alive and conscious for at least ten minutes." The Obetz plant where the incident took place is one of fifteen owned by Premier Industries of Tacoma, Washington.

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Man Killed in Fall

A man who was working on the roof of a building fell three stories to his death say police. The man has not yet been identified, but is said to be in his 20s and from Maryland. The man is believed to have been putting sheathing down on the rooftop when he fell. Sheathing is a plywood-like material that is installed in sheets. Strong winds may have played a role in the man's fall.

Man Killed in Fall at Construction Site

State Police Cpl. Timothy Iswalt said that about 10 people were at the construction site when the man fell, but it is not known whether anyone saw the man fall. Iswalt said that "it is extremely windy today; however, we cannot divulge whether wind" was the sole cause of the fall. Weather reports say that winds were between 20 and 25 mph throughout the day. The investigation into the accident is not yet complete.

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Construction Worker Killed at Kansas State

Steven E. Darveaux was killed after he fell from a forklift box at the Jardine Apartment Complex construction site at Kansas State University. Another worker also fell, but suffered only minor injuries. Darveaux and Timothy W. Hanes had gotten into a forklift box to be lowered to ground level. However, the side of the box began to tip, causing both men to fall from the box onto the ground. The forklift box hit Darveaux while he was on the ground.

Kansas man killed in construction accident at K-State

Darveaux did not regain consciousness after the incident, even though EMS workers were present at the scene. Both workers involved in the accident were employed by a subcontractor of McPherson Construction Company.

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Contractor Fined in Construction Death

Thomas Morgan, 29, was killed November 9 when a part of a concrete crushing machine hit him at a construction site in Dayton, Michigan. The accident occurred when Morgan checked on a crusher that had jammed. OSHA has fined Homrich, Inc., the company for which Morgan worked, $9000 because the company "did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees."

Contractor fined in demolition death

OSHA says that the Homrich violated three rules: employees were exposed to danger, employees were not taught to recognize dangerous situations, and that the company did not have frequent and regular inspections by a competent person. Homrich president Roger I. Homrich did not commit.

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Lawsuit Filed Over Falling Beam

The parents of a ten-year-old girl whose skill was fractured when a steel beam crashed through a classroom ceiling have filed a lawsuit against two construction companies and against the Troy School District. The suit says that the construction companies working on the school were told not to work in areas in which there were students and that work on the classroom's roof and ceiling knowingly created hazardous conditions for the students.

Suit Filed Over Falling Beam at School

Richard and Stacy Twellman of Missouri filed the lawsuit against the school district, four administrators, Demien Construction Co., and Big Boy's Steel Erection on behalf of their daughter, Amie. The accident occurred December 14. Amie is recovering from her injuries but now has difficulties in school and becomes angry easily, says her mother. "She can't understand why she has a steel plate in her head just because she went to school," she said.

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Widow Files Wrongful-Death Lawsuit

The widow of a Kentucky man who bled to death after his legs were cut off in an underground coal mining accident has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit. David "Bud" Morris Jr., 29, died on December 30, 2005 when an overloaded coal hauler severed his legs below the knees. The accident occurred at H&D Mining's No. 3 mine at Cumberland. Federal investigators say that the driver of the hauler did not see Morris because the large pile of coal blocked his view. Morris had left his vehicle in order to use the mine phone.

Widow's suit claims drugs 'rampant'

The lawsuit, filed by Stella Morris, says that the mine was unsafe because H&D Mining supposedly employs many miners who have drug problems. A room at the mine in which miners changed clothes was also known as "the crack house" because so many miners used illegal drugs there before and after work. The lawsuit also alleges that even though mine owners knew that H&D had a "rampant" drug problem, they did nothing to stop it. "Bud told his wife stories about men snorting pills and drug use inside and outside the mine," said Tony Oppegard, one of Stella Morris' lawyers. The lawsuit says that negligence by mine owners and others resulted in Morris' death. Both Morris and the driver who ran over him tested positive for drugs after the incident. Oppegard responded to this, saying that "Yes, he (Morris) tested positive. Bud had been in a treatment center. He was trying to deal with his drug problem, even at the time of the accident. But what was hard, he told his wife, was working at a mine where miners were taking drugs right in front of him."

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Lawyer to Probe Accident

After last summer's Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapse in Boston that killed one woman, Attorney General Martha Coakley was overwhelmed with ambiguous evidence and too many suspects. Coakley is bringing a new special prosecutor, Paul F. Ware, Jr., to help her decide if flaws in the design and the construction of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel ceiling were serious enough that the death of Milena Del Valle should be considered manslaughter. Ware is the chairman of one the biggest private litigation teams in the country. Coakley said that she is "committed to getting to the bottom of this."

Lawyer to probe Big Dig accident

"I think it is extremely important for this project and for the Commonwealth . . . to be able to tell the public what we determined did happen and who is responsible for it," Coakley added. Ware is a senior partner in the Boston law firm of Goodwin Procter and has gained a reputation for being a lawyer that private government officials turn to in difficult cases. Ware's predecessor in the Big Dig case, Thomas F. Reilly, said in November that the accident was a crime, but Coakley has said that it would be very difficult to prosecute anyone because the standard of proof for a conviction is so high.

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OSHA Investigates Second Accident

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating a fall from a roof at the Linden Lumber Company. This is the second accident to have occurred at the Linden Lumber Company. While the first accident caused an investigation into Linden Lumber, the new investigation will focus on two subcontracting companies, J&M Construction and Carpenter Construction. The injured worker was a maintenance person from J&M Roofing.

OSHA Investigates Second Accident

The accident happened on February 16 and the victim's name has not been released. Nothing is known about the status of the victim at this time. Jeff Funke, the Assistant Director of the OSHA offices in Mobile, said that “we have verified that there was a second accident in the last several months at Linden Lumber Company. A fall occurred while an employee of Carpenter Construction was working on the roof." Funke also said that while both worker injuries occurred at the same location and in a similar manner, OSHA is treating the incidents as unrelated.

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Man Killed in New York Building-Slab Accident

Gregory Bresnen, 41, was killed in Yonkers when a 2-ton concrete slab fell five stories in an unfinished building. Yonkers police Lt. Diane Hessler said that Bresnen and a partner had been working on the sixth floor of an unfinished building to fit a 4,000 pound pre-fab cement concrete floor into a slot with special pins when the concrete slab slipped. Bresnen's partner jumped off the slab but Bresnen fell with the slab several floors down. "This guy went down with the slab," Lt. Hessler said.

Police Identify Victim of Yonkers Building-Slab Accident

Bresnen was found on the third floor with severe head injuries and fractures. He was taken from the building in a basket and then transported to Jacobi Medical Center where he died. Bresnen worked for Carwin Construction Inc. Hessler says that the incident has been labeled an accident.

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Construction Accident Kills One, Injures Another in Seattle

One worker was killed and another injured during the construction of the Sound transit line in Seattle. Spokesman Bruce Gray said that the accident happed at the west portal of the tunnel being drilled through Beacon Hill, near the old Rainier brewery.

One Worker Killed Another Injured in Construction Accident in Seattle

Gray said that a small supply train leaving the tunnel lost control and hit a parked train. It is unclear whether the two men on the moving train jumped off or were thrown to the ground. Both men were taken to the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where one man died. The other man has non-life threatening injuries. Investigators still are working to figure out why the train lost control.

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Man Falls from Roof at Construction Site

A man was injured after falling from a roof at The Avenue construction site in Tennessee. This is the second reported accident at The Avenue in the last two months. Murfreesboro firefighter Joe Barrett responded to the scene and said that the man had been working on the roof of the building when he feel from a 30-foot overhand. Barrett said that the injured man "was conscious and talking when we arrived."

Man Falls from Roof at The Avenue Construction Site

The man was taken by ambulance to Middle Tennessee Medical Center. While his injuries have not yet been made public, Barrett believes he may have suffered back injuries. Six workers were injured at the construction site in December when a scaffold collapsed. Centex Construction is the main contractor of this project.

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March 30, 2007

Millions of Hours Lost Due to Accidents

March 29, 2007

Constrution Worker Dies After Fall

March 28, 2007

Mexican Family of Victim Seeks Compensation

March 27, 2007

Teen Dies in Construction Accident

March 26, 2007

Construction Accident Kills 24-Year-Old

March 23, 2007

Construction Workers Hurt in High-Rise Accident

March 22, 2007

Blackpool Company Fined Over Death

March 21, 2007

Construction Accident Kills a Worker

March 20, 2007

Congressmen Call for Investigation into Cintas Corp. Death

March 19, 2007

Workers Fined $10,000 Each for Fatal Accident

March 16, 2007

Worker Hurt in Madison

March 15, 2007

Lawsuit Filed Over Worker's Death

March 14, 2007

Man Killed in Fall

March 13, 2007

Construction Worker Killed at Kansas State

March 12, 2007

Contractor Fined in Construction Death

March 09, 2007

Lawsuit Filed Over Falling Beam

March 08, 2007

Widow Files Wrongful-Death Lawsuit

March 07, 2007

Lawyer to Probe Accident

March 06, 2007

OSHA Investigates Second Accident

March 05, 2007

Man Killed in New York Building-Slab Accident

March 02, 2007

Construction Accident Kills One, Injures Another in Seattle

March 01, 2007

Man Falls from Roof at Construction Site