Slips, Trips, and Falls Accidents #1
This page was last updated on 05/06/2010
FIREMAN HURT IN TRAINING FALL
By PHILIP MESSING
September 2, 2001 — A firefighter suffered a broken arm yesterday when he fell from a ladder during training in Brooklyn. The Ladder Company 111 firefighter, whose name was not released, plunged 15 feet from a bucket atop a tower ladder during a drill at Stuyvesant and Lexington avenues.
Fall, shock killed man, autopsy says
A Ridgeway man who fell some 65 feet from a cherry picker in Buena Vista while working on football field lights died of “electrocution and blunt force injuries,” an autopsy has concluded. Dr. Gregory P. Wanger of the state medical examiner’s office said Tuesday he believes John A. Bradshaw, 42, still was alive when he fell from the work basket over the Parry McCluer High School football field. Wanger said he could not say whether Bradshaw was coherent after coming in contact with a live electric line before the fall Friday night. Bradshaw was pronounced dead early Saturday morning at Stonewall Jackson Hospital in Lexington, Phil Ragland, a Buena Vista Police Department investigator, said Tuesday. Bradshaw had been hoisted up to the lights “when he reached for a safety cable to connect his safety belt,” recounted Bradshaw’s brother, Charles Bradshaw, on Saturday morning. “There was not supposed to be power on it,” Charles Bradshaw, said, but the line “was energized.” John Bradshaw was co-owner of Triangle Electric Corp. Charles Bradshaw is the firm’s treasurer. Ragland said Bradshaw appeared to be unconscious when he fell. When Ragland got the emergency call, he said, he was told that a man was hung up in a cherry picker. Arriving at the scene, Ragland found Bradshaw slumped in the work basket with one leg in and the other out of the basket, he said. One of Bradshaw’s two co-workers, who were standing on the ground, summoned police, Ragland said. Before electrical power to the light pole was cut, a member of the emergency medical crew was shocked when he came in contact with the pole, said Ragland. The medical worker, who was not seriously injured, was treated at the scene and taken to the hospital. In the meantime, the fire department had extended a truck ladder with rescue personnel toward Bradshaw, said Ragland. Ragland said he had ordered a backup fire truck with a longer ladder because it appeared the ladder of the truck on hand was not long enough to reach Bradshaw. Bradshaw had begun to regain consciousness and make disoriented movements to right himself, said Ragland, as rescue workers atop a ladder on the first truck cautioned him not to move. Either ignoring them or unaware of their pleas, Ragland said, Bradshaw fell 60-65 feet to the ground. Though Ragland said he was not certain whether the ladder on the second truck would have been long enough to reach Bradshaw, he said the rescue workers on the first truck would have been able to secure him until a longer ladder arrived. A graveside funeral for Bradshaw will begin at 11 this morning at Horsepasture Christian Church Cemetery.
Man dies after building site accident
A 27-year-old County Galway man has died in hospital following a building site accident. He was working on a building at Charlestown, Co Mayo, yesterday when he fell 40ft. His name has not yet been released. Gardai and the Health and Safety Authority are carrying out separate investigations.
Worker Falls From Scaffolding On Freeway
Cause Of Accident Under Investigation
Posted: 10:46 a.m. EDT September 5, 2001
MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich.– A construction worker is recovering after falling from scaffolding on a local freeway. Madison Heights police say that the worker fell from the scaffolding on the Interstate 75 overpass onto 12 Mile Road. The man was listed in fair condition at Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital. The cause of the accident is under investigation. No other information was available.
Worker crushed to death at site
By Courtney Lingle, Special to The Denver Post
Wednesday, September 05, 2001 – A construction worker died Tuesday morning in Adams County when a 20,000-ton steel form used to make concrete beams crushed him. Salvistio Fontez-Salazar, 40, of Brighton, leaves behind a wife and five children. He was assembling the forms just before 8 a.m. at the CSR Hydro Conduit construction site at 8600 Welby Road when he was crushed between two of the massive forms, said Sgt. Michael McIntosh of the Adams County Sheriff’s Department. Fontez-Salazar died at the scene from chest injuries. Ed Anderson, regional manager of CSR Hydro Conduit, said Fontez-Salazar had worked for the company for five years, and called him a very popular employee and an “excellent worker.” “The entire company is grieving for him and his family,” Anderson said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun an investigation, but would not release any findings until the probe is complete. Investigators will interview workers and company officials and look closely at everything that took place on the job site at the time of the accident, said Rich Kulczewski, regional public affairs director for the U.S. Department of Labor. Anderson said the company has a strict safety policy already in place, and has won awards for safety. This was the 10th fatal construction accident during the past year in Colorado. On July 31, Miguel Cervantes-Munguia, 37, died from internal injuries sustained when he fell 40 feet from a cement mixer at a construction site in Aurora. The dust collector on the machine collapsed, causing Cervantes-Munguia and his brother Julio Cervantes to fall to the ground. Cervantes suffered minor injuries. Both men were working for Castle Rock Construction.
Two killed in fall at Trinidad’s Atlantic LNG work site
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Two men working on the expansion of the Atlantic liquefied natural gas plant in Trinidad fell 80 feet (24 metres) to their deaths from a scaffolding platform, the company said Friday. Work at the construction site, where 2,500 people are employed, has been temporarily halted to allow an investigation of the accident, which occurred Thursday night, Atlantic LNG officials said. The two Trinidadians were working on a 160,000 cubic metre tank and employed by a subcontractor building the tank. Atlantic LNG is owned by a consortium of companies including BP Amoco Plc, the British Gas unit of BG Group Repsol , Cabot and the National Gas company of Trinidad and Tobago. The expansion project will increase the plant’s LNG output from the current 3 million tonnes per year to 9 million tonnes per year.
Man dies after fall at elevator
Sept. 6, 2001, By PHYLLIS J. ZORN, Hays Daily News
ELLIS – An employee of the Golden Belt Cooperative grain elevator died this morning after falling into a grain pit. Few details concerning the accident were immediately available after emergency personnel were called to a report that someone had fallen into a grain pit at the farm co-op. The employee, identified only as an employee of the elevator and believed to be in his 50s, was pulled from the pit at about noon. He was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical technicians. Officials notified the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and were awaiting arrival of the district coroner before leaving the scene. Ellis Police Chief Leonard DeBolt said the man apparently fell into the pit at about 11 a.m. Other employees of the elevator apparently were near the pit, but it was uncertain how he fell. _It was an unfortunate tragedy,_ DeBolt said of the accident. _You just can4t work fast enough to get someone out of a situation like that. We had two grain pumps going, and you just can4t work fast enough._ The pumps were called to the scene in an attempt to remove the grain from the pit. Rescuers worked feverishly late this morning to remove grain from the main dump pit at the elevator where the worker apparently had fallen. The dump pit is the primary location used by farmers when they unload grain during harvest. Grain goes into the pit and is then moved by a conveyor belt to buckets for eventual distribution to the different bins at an elevator. The pit is located just east of where the elevator4s main office building is located. A small army of emergency personnel employees were on the scene, with representatives from Ellis and Ellis County fire departments, Ellis and Hays police departments, the Ellis County sheriff4s office and the Kansas Highway Patrol.
Man injured in fall at construction site
CULVER – A construction worker sustained serious head injuries at the Culver-Union Township site Wednesday when he fell into an elevator shaft. Luiz Garza was transported by ambulance to Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Inc.-Plymouth Campus and was later airlifted to Parkview Memorial Hospital. His condition was unknown at press time. Co-workers at the construction site believe Garza is about 25 years old. Garza’s address was unknown at press time. A 911 call was made from the construction site about 6:15 a.m. The caller stated Garza was working near the elevator shaft when he slipped and fell about 16 feet. He was unconscious and bleeding from the head, but paramedics from Culver and Plymouth said Garza regained consciousness when they arrived. Rescue workers removed Garza from the shaft and into the ambulance. While en route to the hospital the Culver Community Ambulance broke down on Ind. 17. Fortunately the Plymouth ambulance was following the Culver unit to the hospital. Garza was moved to the Plymouth ambulance and taken to the emergency room. The Culver-Union Township Library is being expanded from 4,500 square feet to more than 19,000 square feet in order to meet the needs of the library for the next 20-30 years. Since work began there has been two serious accidents at the site, one of which resulted in a fatality. It is the same site where a construction worker was electrocuted earlier this year. Clarance Strawderman, 45, of Walkerton, was electrocuted during what co-workers called a freak accident in July. That accident remains under investigation. Witnesses claims Strawderman was standing in wet cement at the top of a wall. He was using a hose with a metal nozzle to wet down more concrete as it was being poured into the wall. A boom truck allegedly came around and hit three power lines. Witnesses at the scene said the wires were not wrapped. The truck hit the wires causing a power surge. A line of electricity arced about seven feet, hitting Strawderman, who was then knocked backwards into the nearby scaffolding. Strawderman was declared dead at the scene by Marshall County Coroner John Grolich. Strawderman was employed by W.A. Sheets and Sons of Fort Wayne. Garza was employed by one of the subcontractors on the project.
Roofer dies after falling from top of Edison Tech
By Breea Willingham, Democrat and Chronicle
(Saturday, September 8, 2001) — A 36-year-old man died yesterday after falling three stories from the roof of Edison Technical and Occupational Educational Center — the school he graduated from in 1983. Michael Smalls had a broken leg and complained of back pain after falling at about 10:40 a.m., said his father, Ervin Smalls. Smalls said he talked to his son in the emergency room at Rochester General Hospital. “I said, ‘You got a headache?’ and he said, ‘No, I don’t have a headache, but my back hurts.’ I asked him what happened and he said, ‘I don’t know. I just fell.’ “A few seconds later he went into shock, and 10 minutes later they (doctors) asked if I wanted them to get a priest,” his father said. Michael Smalls worked for LTS Construction & Roofing, a Rochester business owned by his brother and managed by his father. Smalls said he asked his son to go to Edison, on Colfax Street, to measure the roof. The younger man was atop the gym, at the southeast corner of the building, when he fell. A police officer who was in the area saw the fall and called for an ambulance. The incident is being ruled as an accidental death, said Rochester police Sgt. Carlos Garcia. The City School District, Police Department and federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration are investigating. No students or school staff members were involved. But counselors will be available if students need to talk about the accident, said a letter sent home with Edison students yesterday. Roofing was Michael Smalls’ life, his father said. “He was a roofer from the heart. It’s what he did from Day One,” Smalls said. “He was so safe. He taught safety classes for me. I still can’t see what happened.”
Worker dies in accident at grain silo
An investigation is under way after a man was killed and another seriously injured in an accident at a grain plant. It is believed the two men, who were carrying out maintenance work, fell 40 feet on to a concrete floor from a silo at Coastal Grains, Belford, Northumberland. The man who survived with serious injuries, was taken by air ambulance to Wansbeck General Hospital for treatment, following the incident at 1530 BST on 8 September. He was later transferred to Newcastle General Hospital, where his condition was described as critical. The Health and Safety Executive is carrying out an investigation. Chairman of Coastal Grains, Sandy Mole, said: “Everyone here at the plant is in a state of shock. “We have suspended intakes and Health and Safety will be preparing an initial report into what happened.” A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive said: “We were informed about the incident by the police. “An inspector attended and we are investigating.”
Worker killed in 40-foot fall
By John Ingold, Denver Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 01, 2001 – A construction worker died Tuesday morning after falling about 40 feet when part of a cement mixer he was working on collapsed. Miguel Cervantes-Munguia, 37, was on the top of the cement batch when the dust collector on the batch tipped over. Cervantes-Munguia was working for Castle Rock Construction when the accident happened at a construction site near 44th Avenue and Airport Road in Aurora. “It fell over like a tree falling,” said Rory Chetelat, spokesman for the Aurora Fire Department. “He basically came down with it and hit the ground.” Cervantes-Munguia suffered internal injuries and died at Aurora Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Beverly Petry said. Both Cervantes-Munguia and his brother, Julio Cervantes, who was helping Cervantes-Munguia, were wearing safety harnesses attached to the dust collector. Julio Cervantes was about 20 feet off the ground. When rescue workers arrived, he was hanging about 5 feet off the ground in his safety harness. Petry said Julio Cervantes suffered minor rope burns and other injuries. A cement batch is a machine that mixes cement before pouring it into cement trucks. The dust collector sucks in the fine powder that floats around during the process. Both men, along with a third brother, work for Castle Rock Construction and spent winters with family in Mexico. Steve Petersen, a spokesman for the company, said Cervantes-Munguia was a loyal employee. “He was a very good worker,” Petersen said. “We enjoyed his return every year, and he was a very helpful individual.” Petersen said Cervantes-Munguia was one of the few people in the company trained on how to use a high-tech slip-form concrete paver. The company had flown Cervantes-Munguia to California to take classes on how to use the machine. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident. Aurora fire’s Chetelat said Cervantes-Munguia’s safety harness did not fail. “The safety harnesses are designed so that if he falls, it will catch him,” Chetelat said. “But if the piece of equipment falls, it doesn’t do him any good.”
OSHA looking into death of roofer
08/01/01, Mentor
A man working on a roof at a wastewater treatment plant was killed Monday when he fell 26 feet onto a concrete floor. Timothy N. Bowling, 26, of Lafayette Rd., Lodi, died of severe head and brain injuries, according to Lake County Coroner Salvatore Rizzo.
Mentor police Lt. John Jaros said Bowling was working for Commercial Siding Maintenance Co. Inc. in Painesville, replacing the sheet metal on the roof of the Greater Mentor Wastewater Treatment Plant at 8471 Lake Shore Blvd. at 1 p.m. when he fell. Co-workers said Bowling stepped on a piece of loose siding that gave way and he fell onto the large plant’s cement floor, Jaros said. Tom Pontuti, assistant area director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Cleveland office, said the office was notified yesterday morning and sent investigators to the plant, which is owned by Lake County. “Roofers are supposed to use some sort of protection,” Pontuti said. “That could include a number of options from a harness to either a safety belt or a safety line. It appears that he did not have any protection. But as to what caused the fall, we are still investigating the accident.” Pontuti said Commercial Roofing had been cited in the past for safety violations. According to OSHA records, Commercial Siding was fined $840 in December for serious safety violations at a work site in Chester Township. The company was cited for failing to have fall protection devices and fall protection training. A spokeswoman at Commercial Siding who would not give her name said company officials were saddened by the death. She said the fall was a “tragic accident” and that the company was cooperating with OSHA investigators.
UPDATE, OSHA probes worker’s death
The agency will try to find if safety rules were broken on the International Plaza job site.
By LINDA GIBSON, St. Petersburg Times, published August 3, 2001
TAMPA — The federal agency in charge of worker safety is investigating the death of a 27-year-old laborer who fell off scaffolding at the International Plaza construction site. Christopher Gene Price of Treasure Island died July 29 at St. Joseph’s Hospital after five days in a coma, said his mother, Patricia Lee Downs. He was working alone on a 12-foot scaffold that morning, his mother said. Two co-workers found him lying unconscious on the concrete foundation about 11:20 a.m. Doctors told Downs that Price had broken bones in his face and head. He died of a heart attack without regaining consciousness, she said. Price had worked for two years for Merit Electric Co. of Largo. The company specializes in retail construction. Other local projects included the Brandon TownCenter and the Citrus Park Town Center, said Merit vice president Bud Wooten. It has about 30 employees at the International Plaza site. Price was the first Merit employee to die on the job since the company was founded 50 years ago, Wooten said Thursday. Records of the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, which is investigating the death, show that Merit was most recently fined for violations in 1998. One involved a housekeeping violation, failing to keep walkways clear of construction debris. The other was for a stairway that was not equipped with a railing. Les Grove, acting area administrator for OSHA in Tampa, said he could not comment on an active investigation. But in general, the agency will try to determine whether Merit failed to comply with safety regulations. The 1.3-million-square-foot mall on Westshore Boulevard is scheduled to open next month.
Builders to walk off over death
By MARK PHILLIPS, industrial reporter, 03aug01
ALL commercial construction in Victoria will stop today as 55,000 building workers walk off the job following a workplace death yesterday. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union has called a statewide stoppage after a 45-year-old man was killed on a site at Derrimut yesterday morning. The man, from Yarragon, died after he fell about 10 metres onto a concrete floor, when the scissor lift on which he was standing toppled over at 9.25am. WorkCover is investigating the death. WorkCover spokeswoman Jasmine Sussex said the man had been installing foam panels at a refrigerated store in Swann Drive, Derrimut. He was employed by Precedent Contractors, a sub-contractor at the site. The only witness was a forklift driver who was too distressed to speak. It is the fourth death in the construction industry this year and the third workplace death in Victoria this week. CFMEU state secretary Martin Kingham said about 55,000 building workers would stop work today as a sign of respect for their dead colleague. They would not return to work on Monday until a safety inspection had been completed at each construction site. The spate of deaths comes as the State Government prepares to introduce an offence of industrial manslaughter at the next session of Parliament. A delegation from Trades Hall met Attorney-General Rob Hulls yesterday to urge the Government not to back down over the planned legislation. Mr Kingham said this week’s deaths showed the need for continued vigilance to force employers to focus on safety. He said it was expected that the state Opposition would attempt to block the legislation. “But privately a huge number of employers will acknowledge that, in extreme cases, a more effective deterrent is needed,” he said. The CFMEU has called for the Cole Royal Commission into the building industry to also investigate its “appalling” safety record. “The fact remains that we’re (the union) accused by the Federal Government of abusing our industrial powers over safety matters, but if we don’t, we know lots more people would die,” Mr Kingham said.
5 Fall, 2 hurt in collapse at hotel construction site
Witnesses say beam gave way as new floor was being poured
By MICHELLE CROUCH
Two workers were injured Saturday after part of an uptown hotel construction site collapsed, plunging them 50 feet down in a sea of wet concrete and construction debris. Their injuries were not life threatening, fire officials said. The accident occurred just after 10 a.m. at Stonewall and College streets across from the Convention Center, where the hotel is just starting to show its skeleton. The 700-room Westin is due to open in late 2002. Workers said they were pouring concrete when a beam beneath them gave way. “I heard a big noise like a tree breaking, and I started running,” said Zenon Hernandez, 25, who works for Signature Concrete. “When I turned back, I saw that people had fallen to the ground.” A total of five workers fell in the accident, officials said. Two were taken to a nearby hospital. Their names were not released. Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the cause of the accident, said Charlotte Fire Department spokesman Rob Brisley. It was unclear when they would have a report. The project was behind schedule because a large quantity of granite in the ground hindered construction for weeks, project director Rulf Stute told The Observer last month. To make up for lost time, crews were working extra: 10 hours a day, six days a week. Saturday, officials from builder J.A. Jones said the rush played no role in the accident. “We worked extra hours, but we didn’t take any shortcuts,” said Jim Watson, corporate safety director for J.A. Jones. “This was a structural failure.” J.A. Jones spokesman Steve Luquire initially said crews would be back at the site “at 6 a.m. sharp Monday morning.” Later, he altered his statement, saying the company would wait for a report from a structural engineer to make sure the site was safe. About 80 workers from three subcontractors – American Pan and Engineering, Signature Concrete and National Erectors – were on the site Saturday. Emergency officials called to the scene initially thought as many as 10 people were trapped or hurt, Brisley said. But co-workers were able to rescue most of them. “We were very lucky,” he said. Once complete, the hotel will be the city’s largest. It will include a stop for the Charlotte trolley, a parking garage with 1,650 spaces and 1,245 square feet of retail space. The city’s tourism officials, who have often bemoaned the lack of uptown hotel rooms, are looking forward to its completion. The city contributed $16million toward the $144million cost of the project.
Sandwich resident injured falling from scaffold
CAPE COD TIMES
SANDWICH – A 40-year-old Forestdale man was airlifted to a Boston hospital after falling 25 feet from a scaffolding Friday afternoon. Thomas Greene was working at a home on Fairfield Drive when he fell. Sandwich rescue responded and immediately called for a helicopter. Greene was flown from Sandwich Hollows golf course to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was treated and released.
UPDATE, Name Released in Industrial Accident
By AP Staff
Police on Friday released the identity of a metal manufacturing employee who died when he fell into a vat of caustic chemicals. John M. Knight, 49, tumbled into an elevated tank full of 180-degree degreaser on Thursday while he worked at PCC Structurals, a subsidiary of the Portland-based Precision Castparts Corp. Knight’s co-workers pulled him out, but paramedics were unable to revive him. The state Occupational Safety and Health Division is investigating the accident to determine if the company violated the Oregon Safe Employment Act, said Steve Corson, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Business and Consumer Affairs, which oversees OHSA. “The bottom line is, we want to know specifically what went on and why it happened,” he said. Precision Castparts is cooperating with the investigation, said Dwight Weber, a company spokesman. Knight, who lived in Sandy with his wife and four children, had worked for PCC Structurals for six months.
Window washer dies after fall
Tuesday, August 07, 2001
A window washer died yesterday when he fell about 40 feet from a window at South Vo Tech High School. Paul Snow, 54, of Braddock, was taken to Mercy Hospital, after sustaining head injuries, two broken legs, a fractured pelvis and other broken bones. He died at about 3:45 p.m. Snow was working on a third-floor window that faces an air shaft in the middle of the school, located on Carson Street on the South Side. The accident happened around 11:45 a.m. No one saw Snow fall. Co-workers said he was probably sitting on the window ledge, with his legs inside the building and his back to the air shaft. He was not harnessed, a co-worker said, because the windows on that floor are customarily cleaned from the inside and there is nothing on the outside on which to attach a harness. The third floor windows pivot in the middle. Co-workers speculated that the window swung out and knocked Snow over. Snow landed on his side on a metal grate at the basement level. Snow had washed windows at the school many times, workers said, and had been in the business for at least 20 years.
Man hurt in fall through roof at Atlantic States
08/07/01, By PETER HALL, The Express-Times
PHILLIPSBURG – A construction worker was seriously injured Monday morning when he fell through the roof of a building at the Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Co. foundry on Sitgreaves Street. Nebil Maazoun, 37, of Wood Street in Bethlehem suffered head, neck, back and leg injuries when he fell between 20 and 25 feet to a concrete floor at about 8:30 a.m., Phillipsburg police said. He was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township where he was listed in critical condition. Maazoun is an employee of Challenge Construction Inc. of Upper Milford Township and was working on the roof of a building. Challenge Construction officials would not comment on the incident. The foundry was shut down for routine maintenance on Monday, an Atlantic States manager said. The foundry is Phillipsburg’s oldest industry and employs about 300 people. In the last two years the plant has been the site of two fatal accidents and a spate of less serious incidents. Alfred E. Coxe, 47, of North Whitehall Township, a millwright and foreman at the foundry, died March 24, 2000, after he was struck on the leg and then run over by a forklift. An electrician, Sonnie J. Peacock, 54, of Harmony Township, died in January 1999 as he repaired a conveyor motor on an elevated platform at the foundry. In December 2000, a fire tore through a paint shop at the plant when a welder’s torch ignited paint residue on the floor. No one was injured in the fire.
Construction worker impaled on steel pole after slip from roof
By JANET LETHGO, Staff Writer
FRANKLIN — A construction worker fell from the roof of a Cool Springs restaurant yesterday in a bizarre accident and was impaled on a steel pole. He died later at Williamson Medical Center. ”We have lots of construction accidents, but this one is different,” said Williamson County Medical Center spokeswoman Laura Bustetter. Those at the job site at CoolSprings Galleria gathered in groups as emergency medical technicians worked frantically on Jeffrey Feltz to administer CPR and stop the man’s bleeding. Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s LifeFlight helicopter was called after the 10 a.m. accident but canceled its trip, fueling speculation that the worker might not survive. Bustetter said he was in surgery until about 4 p.m.. Feltz died about 7:30 p.m. Feltz, from Georgia, was on his second day of work at Carrabba’s Italian Grill when he apparently slipped from the roof. Feltz was impaled on a thin pole about 12 feet below the roof. The pole, about 5 feet long, was one of two marking dimensions for a stacked stone wall near the front door. Feltz quickly lost consciousness. His co-workers stood silently by while EMTs gave chest compressions. Members of the Franklin Fire Department shielded the scene with a blanket, while a fire truck blocked the view from hundreds of cars that were in the area. The restaurant, off Cool Springs Boulevard south of the mall, is set to open next month. Restaurant executive Bob Frey, who opened Brentwood’s Outback Steakhouse eight years ago, said the Carrabba’s project had been trouble-free until yesterday. ”This has been such a pleasant positive experience. All of the workers have been happy and proud of the way the restaurant is coming,” Frey said. Feltz was atop Carrabba’s unusual roof, a steel reinforced, poured concrete planter designed to carry more than 300,000 pounds. It holds more than 500 trees and plants, including magnolia trees. The injured worker was at the front of the restaurant and may have slipped on some aluminum material at the lip of the roof. Construction workers had just been at a work safety meeting dealing with issues like security harnesses. After the accident, most returned to work.
Atlantic utility worker falls 10 feet while in manhole
August 9, 2001 – 12:23 AM, By PAT ARNEY, Staff Writer
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP – A contractor’s worker at the Atlantic County Utilities Improvement Authority slipped off a ladder in a manhole Wednesday and fell about 10 feet to the bottom, a fire official said. Todd Mock, whose age and hometown were not available, was climbing down the ladder to change a valve when the accident happened about 4 p.m., said Assistant Fire Chief Leonard Tilley of the Farmington Fire Company. Mock was alert and conscious when Vince Jones, of the Atlantic County Emergency Management Office, and 2nd Lt. James Garth, of the Farmington Fire Company, removed him from the manhole, Tilley said. Mock could be seen flexing his bare feet as he lay on a gurney inside a Galloway Township Ambulance Squad vehicle, awaiting transfer to a helicopter that flew him to the Atlantic City Medical Center, City Division. Mock was discharged shortly after his arrival at the hospital, according to a nursing supervisor. ACUA President Richard S. Dovey said the worker was employed by Grace Industries Inc., a contractor installing a drainage system for a new landfill cell at the ACUA complex off Delilah Road here. The manhole is located along the perimeter of the landfill, where the landfill’s two liners collect leachate, Dovey said. The leachate then feeds into the sewage plant for treatment. Tilley said he reported the accident to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Atlantic County Health Department because Mock was not wearing a harness and had no one watching his activities when he climbed into the manhole.
Lucky escape for workers
Trapped man rescued, rest had minor injuries
Cal Millar and Alison Taylor, STAFF REPORTERS
All things considered, it was a lucky day for construction worker Reuben Ponte and his co-workers. Ponte, 20, was trapped for four hours in the midday sun yesterday after a large scaffolding collapsed like giant matchsticks at a road construction site in Etobicoke. Snapped pieces of reinforced metal and huge wooden beams enveloped the construction worker when the makeshift floor gave way around 10 a.m. “I had just finished putting down a piece of burlap,” Ponte said. “I had my back turned (to the site) and the whole thing just came crashing down. Ponte fell backward, doing several somersaults, finally landing on his back in a pile of hot, wet concrete, about seven metres into the debris. A fellow worker, Anthony Fasullo, rushed in to help Ponte. Using water and intravenous packs, Fasullo helped Ponte wash the corrosive concrete off his skin. “I wasn’t really scared, but it didn’t really sink in. I was just amazed we were alive,” Ponte said last night in his North Hamilton living room. Later, specially trained firefighters David Dunt and Matt Drenters rappelled about 20 metres from an aerial platform and pulled them both to safety. “We were surrounded by sinking cement,” said Dunt. “If you’d step in it you’d sink down to your ankles at least and deeper . . . . The structure was very insecure. At any point you’re working with the knowledge that something could collapse on you.” At the time of the accident, there were 10 workers on the scaffolding at the site on the southbound ramp from Highway 427 to Brown’s Line. The other workers were not trapped and had minor injuries, officials said. “If somebody was underneath that structure when it came down it would have been a very serious injury,” said Lloyd Ferguson, general manager of the Dufferin Construction Company, which is responsible for the $30 million project, together with the Ministry of Transportation. About 525 tonnes of concrete had been poured into the structure, according to Ferguson. One of the major concerns throughout the rescue was the overpowering heat. Fasullo used a blanket to shade Ponte from the sun and rescue workers were able to get water to both. Despite the heat, rescue crews were not taking any chances by rushing things. “This was a very unstable structure,” said Alan Craig, acting general manager of Toronto’s Ambulance. “Once it had given way we couldn’t take any chances of climbing around on it for fear the whole thing would let go and all of a sudden we’d take a safe situation and turn it into a fatality.” Ponte was lifted out by 2 p.m. and rushed to hospital with leg and back injuries. He was discharged by evening. Ferguson was unwilling to speculate about the cause of the accident but he was very pleased that none of the workers was severely hurt. The provincial labour ministry is investigating.
Construction worker in critical care
Aug 9 2001 12:00AM By By Linda Perry Staff Writer A construction worker injured Wednesday when he fell 12 feet onto concrete from scaffolding at the site of the new North Daviess Elementary School remains today in the neuro critical care unit at an Indianapolis hospital. Air Evac airlifted Jonathon Hamm, a construction worker with the Evansville firm, Danco Construction, a metal, stud and drywall subcontractor for Krempp Construction in Jasper. Hamm was taken to the Daviess Community Hospital for initial treatment before being flown to Methodist Hospital. The accident occurred at 10:13 a.m. Wednesday. The worker fell while installing classroom wiring. It was the first accident at the building site.
UPDATE, Missing safety device may be cause of construction accident
Aug 11 2001 12:00AM By Patricia Morrison News Editor
ELNORA — A missing safety bar may have contributed to a serious accident at the North Daviess Elementary School building site. While School Superintendent Wayne Pearl was not at the site at the time of the Wednesday accident he said Thursday it is his understanding that a safety bar across one end of the scaffolding was not in place when Jonathon Hamm fell 12 to 13 feet to the concrete floor in a classroom under construction. David Statler, field services representative with The Odle McGuire & Shook Corp., architects on the project, said Thursday no one really knows what happened. “As I understand it, he was working alone,” Statler said. “The foreman went to get material and came back and found him. He may have been alone for less than 10 minutes. There were no witnesses to the incident.” Hamm, an employee of Danco Construction, a metal, stud and drywall subcontractor to general contractor Krempp Construction, Jasper, was taken to Daviess Community Hospital by Southwest Medical Services following the 10 a.m. accident and then airlifted to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis by Air Evac Lifeteam. He suffered a skull fracture and three fractured vertebra, according to Pearl. He is a patient in the neuro critical care unit at the Indianapolis hospital. Pearl said the general contractor carries liability insurance on the work site, not the school system.
Worker hurt at Utilities’ substation worksite
A man working at the site of a new Hutchinson Utilities substation was injured Monday when he fell into a basement located under a concrete equipment pad. According to Hutchinson Fire Chief Brad Emans, the Hutchinson Ambulance and Hutchinson Fire Department was called to the scene, which is about five miles south of Hutchinson on County Road 25, at 11:03 a.m. The injured worker, identified as David Tifft, a mechanic in the power supply division, apparently fell through an opening in the concrete pad and landed in about 10 inches of water. He was conscious, but complained of back pain and numbness in his left arm, according to Emans. The victim was lifted out of the eight- to 10-foot deep basement with the help of a crane on the construction site and was airlifted to a Twin Cities hospital. No further information on his condition was available as this edition of the Leader went to the press. A transformer, a key component of the project, was delivered to the substation site last week.
OSHA Fines Lansdale Sports Store Over Worker Death (08/15/01)
by KYW’s Michelle Pollino
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued four citations to a Montgomery County sporting goods store following the death of a store employee. OSHA has cited The Sports Authority in Lansdale and fined the retailer more than $25,000. Police say 18-year-old Raymond Campion Jr. died February 18th after he fell backward onto his head while reaching for an 87-pound weight bench on a top shelf. Tom Doherty is a response team leader with OSHA: “There are four citiations. One was for not having proper guarding on the floor, the other was for not having personal protective equipment. The next one was, the operator of the forklift was not properly trained.” The final citation concerned leaving an industrial truck unattended. Frank Bubb, an attorney for The Sports Authority in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says the company will appeal OSHA’s findings. He says Campion’s death was the first in the company’s history.
Construction worker killed in Gardnerville accident
Associated Press, Thursday August 30th, 2001
GARDNERVILLE (AP) — A 39-year-old construction worker was killed Wednesday when he apparently fell from a crane in an accident at a new housing division in southwest Carson Valley. Raymond Eric Bauer, who recently moved to Nevada from southern California, was working in an aerial bucket on a crane when the machine tipped over, Douglas County Sheriff’s Sgt. Lance Modispacher said Tuesday. Bauer fell or jumped, struck his head and died, Modispacher said. The apparent cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, he said. The accident occurred just before 10 a.m. at a housing subdivision called the Job’s Peak Ranch in an area off Foothill Road in Gardnerville. Bauer was employed by M.C. Neuffer Co. of Reno. He had no permanent address in Nevada. An autopsy was planned and the accident remained under investigation. Modispacher said it was not clear whether the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration would join the probe.
Men escape serious injury in fall
Two roofers escaped serious injury when scaffolding collapsed Monday at a New Philadelphia residence, and they plummeted 18 to 20 feet to the ground. Robert Rollins, 31, of Uhrichsville was treated in Akron General Hospital for possible pelvic, wrist and back injuries. He was flown to Akron by Med-Flight helicopter from the New Philadelphia Airport. His partner, John Villwock, 47, also of Uhrichsville, was treated in Union Hospital at Dover for a possible wrist injury. The accident occurred in the back yard of a two-story residence in the 400 block of Fair Ave. NE at about 3:10 p.m. Mike Pearch, a New Philadelphia firefighter/paramedic, said the two were on the roof placing shingles when the scaffolding buckled, causing them to fall. Rollins first hit the ground on his feet and then fell backward. Villwock landed partially on top of Rollins, according to Jim Sholtz, a New Philadelphia firefighter/paramedic.
2 construction workers hurt in fall as building collapses
By Vic Ryckaert, Indianapolis Star
Two construction workers on the Far-Eastside fell about 30 feet Friday when a giant piece of steel fell from the arm of a construction crane, sending about half of the skeletal structure of a warehouse tumbling. “The piece fell off the crane and hit the building,” said Kim Schakel, who was sitting in a car across the street when the building collapsed about 11:30 a.m. “The whole building fell like dominoes.”
Worker survives fall in industrial accident
by Farah Abdul Rahim
A worker survived a three-storey fall on Friday after he lost his balance and fell at a work site in Woodlands. Police said several workers were removing the scaffolding at Block 303, Woodlands Street 31 when the accident happened. According to workers, the injured man, a Singaporean in his thirties, lost his balance and fell as he was loosening his safety harness. He suffered head injuries as he hit the roof on the second floor before landing on the ground. The man was sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he is said to be in a stable condition. Jurong Police Division is investigating the incident and those with information can call 261-0000.
Man rescued from compactor
Saturday, August 25, 2001, By Tom Murphy
Jeffrey MacDaniels of Rome became trapped in machine while attempting to repair it. A Rome man escaped serious injury Thursday evening after his arms became trapped in a trash compactor at a Rite Aid distribution center in the city. Jeffrey S. MacDaniels’ upper body kept him from being pulled into the compactor after he fell onto a conveyor belt and his hands and arms became ensnared in the machinery, according to an Oneida County Sheriff’s Department news release. MacDaniels, 23, a maintenance man at the center, was trying to fix a problem with the compactor when the accident happened around 7:50 p.m. Undersheriff Peter Paravati said MacDaniels climbed a ladder above the machine to listen for a strange noise. He left the machine running so he could hear the problem. MacDaniels was standing on the ladder, which was on the compacting machine. He was trying to maneuver a bar on the machine when his right hand became stuck in the machine, the release stated. His other hand also became stuck between the compactor’s large rollers and a conveyor belt. Co-workers stopped the machine and rescued MacDaniels. An ambulance then took him to Rome City Hospital. Hospital officials said he was treated and released. Paravati said MacDaniels’ employers told deputies they would notify the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration about the accident.
Blaze near airport injures firefighters; Attempted truck repairs set off Thermo King fire
A large industrial fire broke out Sunday afternoon, rocking the facility with explosions and sending several firefighters to the hospital. The plumes of smoke from the fire at Thermo King of Indiana Inc. were visible for miles. The fire broke out at about 2 p.m. at the 7924 Burch Park Drive business, near Evansville Regional Airport. Thermo King is in the business of heating and cooling systems for trucks and other transportation equipment. The fire started during a mechanic’s attempted repair to a trailer’s refrigeration unit. Mark Reinicke, the mechanic, was treated and released from a local hospital, said McCutchanville Fire Department Assistant Chief Randy Gentry. The five injured firefighters were treated and released. Two were from McCutchanville, one from Scott and two from Knight. The most serious injury, said Gentry, was a McCutchanville firefighter who broke his arm when he fell about 7 feet from the top of a ladder truck. The fire was caused, Gentry said, by heat transfer from the mechanic’s cutting torch to the trailer’s load of shampoo. The tractor-trailer, owned by Dick Simon Trucking Inc. of Mobile, Ala., was brought in by Dudley Campbell and his wife, Connie. “I called ahead and the guy opened up for us,” Connie Campbell said Sunday. “We unhooked the tractor and parked in front of the trailer. I went to sleep. “Next thing I knew, Dudley was yelling, ‘Get up!’ I asked, ‘What’s going on?’ and he said, ‘It’s on fire.’” While she slept, Dudley Campbell said a mechanic he knew only as Mark began working on the trailer’s condenser, which had a leak. “He was welding,” said Dudley Campbell. “Then I heard him yell. He tried to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. “Then he opened the door to get to the fire inside the trailer. When he opened the door, the fire came toward the air. It set the building on fire.” Keith and Debbie Kinney saw the smoke from U. S. 41 and headed over to help. “We were afraid to get too close,” said Keith Kinney. “Things were exploding in the trailer. “The tractor was around back, getting ready to ram the gate so he could get out. I got the keys from the worker and let him out.” Debbie Kinney assisted the mechanic. “He had a pretty bad cut on his finger,” she said. “Mostly he was shaken up.” Don Moffett, chief of the McCutchanville Fire Department and incident commander, beat his trucks to the scene. “I was first on scene,” he said. “The fire was at the rear and around the trailer. By the time the trucks got here, fire was showing above all four overhead doors. “We went with an external attack, using several large-bore hoses. After the explosion, we got everybody back and set up master streams. We call that surround and drown.” There were several explosions, Moffett said, the largest of which was probably caused by a propane tank. The lower half of a propane tank was lying on the ground a few feet in front of the building, and bits of debris were scattered on the lawn of the business across the road. Moffett said the building was badly damaged, especially the north end, which housed four maintenance bays. “We put a tremendous amount of water on the fire,” he said. “We had two ladder trucks and three engines pumping water.” Moffett ordered firefighters out of the building at one point, when a brick wall, which was weakened by fire, water and explosions, began to bow. Firefighters from McCutchanville, Paradise, Scott, Knight and German township fire departments turned out to fight the fire, Moffett said, and the Ohio Township Fire Department from Warrick County provided manpower. “Those firefighters did great,” said Dudley Campbell. Debbie Kinney agreed. “These people are all volunteers,” she said. “It’s just amazing to see them turn out and give their all like this.” The Campbells were scheduled to deliver their cargo to Bristol-Myers Squibb this morning. “Now, we’ll be here until I get all the paperwork wrapped up,” said Dudley Campbell. “Then, I’ll call Mobile, get another load, and get back on the road.”
Local carnival worker dies from fall
(Published Monday, July 02, 2001 11:48:52 AM CDT) Gazette Staff
A Janesville man injured while working on a carnival ride June 24 has died. Walter T. Canterbury, 27, of 1208 Beloit Ave., died Saturday at University Hospital in Madison, according to the Dane County coroner’s office. Canterbury had been in critical condition at the hospital after he fell from a carnival ride he was working on in Bert Deans Park in the village of Dane in Dane County. The cause of death was listed as anoxic brain injury due to a fall. Canterbury was working for Colonel’s Rides of Janesville, which was supplying carnival rides at a firefighters’ festival. An aunt said a memorial service was tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Canterbury’s grandfather’s grave in Edgerton, but that information could not be confirmed.
Railroad worker loses leg after accident; 32-year-old Pekin man was trying to apply hand brake to free-rolling car
July 2, 2001, By SARAH OKESON of the Journal Star
PEKIN – A Pekin man who had been working at a local railroad for only three days lost his left leg Sunday after a railroad car ran over him. Steven Peak, 32, 1918 Saint Clair Drive, whose leg was amputated above the knee, was listed in critical condition at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. Doctors did not try to reattach his leg. Officials said Peak was being trained as a switchman at Peoria & Pekin Union Railroad Co. and was trying to set a hand brake to stop the car, a routine task that railroad employees do every day. “No telling how many times a day they do that,” said John Freedman, the general manager of the railroad. “Why he fell off the rail car I have no idea. If someone has proper footing and a secure handhold it shouldn’t happen.” Peak was injured about 9:30 a.m. at the tracks near Front and Fayette streets, police said. He was taken to Pekin Hospital and then transferred to St. Francis. Freedman said railway workers were switching railroad cars and let one car roll free to a designated track where Peak was supposed to apply a hand brake to stop it. He was standing on the car about five feet above the ground when he fell. Freedman said there are no indications that drugs or alcohol were involved. The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating the accident. The Peoria & Pekin Railroad Co. was established about 1880 and has about 100 employees. It serves the industries in Peoria, East Peoria, Creve Coeur and Pekin. The accident Sunday was the second serious railroad accident in Pekin in less than seven months. On Dec. 16, 11-year-old Michael Buley and his 7-year-old brother, Christopher, had been playing on a train when Michael decided to jump off. Somehow, his glove got caught and he hit a snowbank, forcing him under the train. The wheels sliced off his legs near his groin.
O’Hare worker killed in runway fall
By Joseph Sjostrom, Tribune staff reporter; July 6, 2001
An air cargo company worker fell to his death late Thursday from the cargo door of an airplane parked at O’Hare International Airport, according to police. Syed Hussain, 38, of the 100 block of East Belden Avenue in suburban Elmhurst, was stepping out of a Federal Express cargo jet just as a wheeled staircase was being moved away from the aircraft, said Thomas Donegan, a Chicago police spokesman. Hussain missed the staircase and fell about 20 feet to the pavement below, Donagan said. Hussain was taken to Lutheran General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 11 p.m., Donegan said.
Truck backs over worker, police say
By River parishes bureau
THIBODAUX — A garbage truck crewman was killed Friday morning when the truck backed over him, police Detective Mark Dennis said. Jonnathan E. Jones, 24, of Houma fell from the Solid Waste Disposal Inc. truck as it was backing up shortly before 7 a.m. on Gen. Nicholls Street in Thibodaux, Dennis said. The driver of the truck, unaware Jones had fallen, continued backing up and rolled over him. Jones, who had been employed by the disposal company for a month and a half, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Lafourche Parish Corner’s Office. The driver, whose name was not made public, has worked in the disposal industry for about five years, Dennis said.
Worker killed in fall down elevator shaft
Saturday, July 7, 2001, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
A construction worker died yesterday after falling down an elevator shaft. The accident happened about 2 p.m. at a construction site at 2801 Western Ave., near Clay Street, the Seattle Fire Department reported. Spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick said the woman, who fell about 40 feet, was taken to Harborview Medical Center but did not survive her injuries. The accident will be investigated by the state Department of Labor and Industries. It was the third recent construction fatality in the area. On Thursday, a 52-year-old man was killed at a development in Auburn when he lost control of the asphalt roller he was driving. He was thrown from the piece of heavy equipment, which then ran over him. On June 27, a construction worker was killed when an 80-foot elm tree he was transplanting at Children’s Hospital fell and crushed the cab of his crane.
Worker hurt after passenger gangway at international airport collapses
sun-sentinel.com, Posted July 10 2001, 10:47 AM EDT
FORT LAUDERDALE — A worker received minor injuries Tuesday morning after a passenger gangway collapsed at Gate S-9 at the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, Broward Fire Rescue said. The workman, who was not immediately identified, was taken to Broward General Medical Center complaining of neck and back pains shortly after the 8:58 a.m. accident. Broward Fire Rescue spokesman Todd LeDuc said the jet bridge, or gangway, that collapsed connects the terminal to arriving and departing airplanes and allows passengers to board or disembark. The gangway was not in use by an airline, LeDuc said, but was being worked on by a contractor’s crew. It was not immediately known what caused the gangway to shift, but LeDuc said, the bridge gave way and tilted to the ground, twisting as it fell on its side. When the collapse was complete the gangway was “nose down on the plane side and precariously attached on the terminal side,” Le Duc said. OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, was called in to investigate the collapse.
Man falls to death from water tower
FAYETTEVILLE — A construction worker who was working inside a water storage tower in Fayette County died Monday after slipping and falling 120 feet. The man, whose name was not immediately released, apparently fell while working on scaffolding, said Capt. Pete Nelms, a spokesman for the Fayette County Fire and Emergency Medical Service. Nelms said an emergency medical crew answered the 911 call around 10:40 a.m. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, he said. Authorities are trying to determine what caused the man to fall. Investigators from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration also are looking into the accident. Associated Press This article published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Tuesday, July 10, 2001.
CSEA: Rules violated in worker’s death
Tuesday, July 10, 2001, By Chris Iven
The State University College at Oswego could have prevented the accidental death of one of its janitors in May, according to the union that represents some of the college’s workers. A state investigation, however, found no violations of workplace rules in the death of Daniel Haskins, 62, fatally injured at a metal disposal pit at the city of Oswego transfer station May 21. Haskins and another employee were trying to unload a half-ton printing press owned by the school. Haskins was in the bed of the truck when he slipped fell more than 10 feet into the pit, according to police. The printing press then fell on top of him, crushing his upper body. He died three days later. Since his death, Haskins’ union, the Civil Service Employees Association, has been investigating the accident. John Bieger, an occupational safety and health specialist for CSEA, issued his report Monday. According to Bieger, the college violated state and federal workplace rules by not protecting Haskins from a fall hazard of greater than 4 feet. An arm of the state Labor Department’s Public Employees Safety and Health also investigated the accident. The agency, which enforces the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s standards for public employees, found no violations. “There is no OSHA standard for the particular task they were doing,” said Betsy McCormack, speaking for the department. The 4-foot standard, she said, does not apply.
St. Peter Roofer Killed In Fall
Worker, 21, Was Working On City’s New Community Center
ST. PETER, Minn., 3:05 p.m. CDT July 11, 2001 — A roofer is dead after falling from the new St. Peter Community Center. Simon Lee Audette, 21, of St. Peter fell an estimated 18 to 20 feet from one portion of the building’s roof to another. Police were called to the worksite around 8 a.m. Tuesday and administered first aid. Audette was pronounced dead at a Mankato hospital. He was employed by Kato Roofing. The accident was reported to OSHA. The new community center is a replacement for a building destroyed in the 1998 tornado that hit St. Peter.
Lake Butler Hospital reattaches nearly amputated fingers
An Orange Park man was transferred to Lake Butler Hospital/Hand Surgery Center (LBH/HSC) to undergo emergency surgery to reattach two fingers nearly amputated while doing yard work on Sunday, June 24. Richard Perlberg, 41, tripped and fell while trimming hedges at his home, severely lacerating the third and fourth fingers of his left hand. “My fingers were hanging by the skin,” Perlberg said. The Orange Park Fire/Rescue transported Perlberg to a Jacksonville hospital were amputation was recommended. Perlberg and his wife did not want the finger amputated; they wanted an attempt to be made to reattach them. “No way,” said Tammy Perlberg, Perlberg’s wife. “My father amputated two digits with a lawnmower, they were placed on ice and reimplanted. If it could be done for him, it could be done for my husband.” Perlberg was transferred to LBH/HSC by ground ambulance after being referred to the Union County facility by the physician staff in Jacksonville. Upon arrival Dr. Owen Osborne, hand and plastic surgeon at LBH/HSC, evaluated the fingers to determine the severity of the injury. Skin and tendons held the fingers on, and the joint of the third finger was completely cut through, according to Dr. Osborne. Perlberg was immediately taken to the operating room were he underwent a nine-hour surgery, in which Dr. Osborne repaired lacerated nerves, blood vessels, tendons, ligaments and bones. The injury occurred in an area of the fingers sometimes known as “no man’s land” due to the difficulties with post-surgical scarring resulting in stiffness. Perlberg remained a patient in the hospital for three days following surgery to receive antibiotics and post operative care. “The staff made be feel totally welcome,” said Perlberg. “Everyone was very friendly and obviously really cared about me.” Perlberg makes follow up visits with Dr. Osborne at his office in Lake Butler. In one to two weeks he will begin intensive therapy that will continue for up to three months. The therapy is structured to overcome stiffness and help in regaining the functioning of the fingers. “It will be several months before we know the full outcome of the surgery, but at this time I am very please with Richard’s progress,” Dr. Osborne said.
UPDATE, Marshall Company fined in worker’s death
Associated Press
MARSHALL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry has cited KHC Construction Inc. for two violations and penalized the company $25,000 in the death of a worker at the MERIT Training Center site. David Fuchs, 33, of Fulda, fell about 45 feet and died April 17 while working on a tower for the MERIT Training Center in Marshall’s Industrial Park. The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Division alleges Fuchs was not protected from falling by either a personal fall system that met legal requirements or a guard rail system along all open sides and ends of platforms. The citation notice said a guard rail system or personal fall arrest system would have prevented Fuchs from hitting the ground. The division also alleged that Fuchs was not trained by a qualified person to recognize hazards associated with working from scaffolds and scaffold fall protection requirements. Division spokesman James Honerman said KHC Construction received a citation notice of the violations July 9.
Stairs face probe after deadly fall from plane
By Ted Gregory, Tribune staff reporter, July 14, 2001
Less than a week after a Federal Express employee was killed falling from the bay door of a company plane unloading at O’Hare International Airport, safety officials have inspected portable staircases at the air freight company’s Memphis hub. Officials from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration, acting on a complaint filed with the federal OSHA, inspected the staircases late Wednesday and early Thursday, Tennessee OSHA officials confirmed. The inspections occurred six days after the death of Syed Hussain, 38, a materials handler from Elmhurst. Hussain, a four-year employee recently recognized by the company for outstanding work, was stepping out of a plane about 10 p.m. July 5 as a co-worker was towing away the stairs, Chicago police said. Hussain fell 25 feet and was pronounced dead about an hour later at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. FedEx spokeswoman Sandra Munoz said the company is investigating the incident. Since Hussain’s death, “we’ve reinforced with all employees the importance of adhering to our company’s polices and procedures” in using the stairs, Munoz said. Tennessee OSHA spokeswoman Nikki Horner said the results of its inspection are expected in “three to five weeks.” Tennessee is one of 21 states with responsibility for the OSHA safety program, although it is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. “Right now, our investigation is still ongoing until we have a complete report,” Horner said. The inspectors responded to a complaint filed by the FedEx Pilots Association in May. Horner said the inspections at the Memphis hub were delayed by discussions between the Tennessee OSHA and the pilots about whether the inspections should be conducted, and how and when they should be done. The association contends that the staircases for years have been prone to freezing in cold weather and shifting to unsafe positions during loading and unloading. The federal OSHA made a similar inspection of portable stairs at the FedEx facility in Philadelphia this spring. “The list of injuries is pretty long and it’s been an ongoing complaint for as far back as you can find guys in the company,” said association spokesman Kevin Scheiterlein. He added that pilots and other employees have suffered knee problems, back problems, ankle problems and wrenched elbows because the portable devices can leave an unsafe gap between the bottom of the door and the top step. Munoz said “all previous complaints brought to FedEx’s attention have been addressed.”
Worker hurt in fall at Westminster-Canterbury
The Virginian-Pilot, July 14, 2001
VIRGINIA BEACH — A construction worker was in a hospital Friday evening after falling 50 feet while working on a new wing of the Westminster-Canterbury retirement community. Yolanda Davis, 41, of Hampton was walking Friday morning on scaffolding on the seventh floor when planks broke, said Ed Brazle, Emergency Medical Services spokesman. Davis fell to the second floor on a pile of bricks and wood. She was found conscious and alert at the expansion project, located at 3100 Shore Drive. She was taken to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, where she was in serious condition, hospital spokeswoman Tina Fries said. Davis was working for a masonry contractor, Brazle said.
Worker remains critical after five story fall
By Kevin Krause, Staff Writer, Posted July 14 2001
Boca Raton – A 22-year-old construction worker remained in critical condition Friday, a day after falling five stories down a hotel elevator shaft he was working on, police said. Miguel Sánchez, a Mexican native living in West Palm Beach, was working on the elevator shaft on the sixth floor of the Boca Raton Resort & Club, 493 E. Camino Real, at the time of the accident, reports show. A co-worker told police he heard a noise about 4:18 p.m., and Sánchez suddenly was gone. “He advised me that he knew at that moment the male fell down the shaft area,” an officer wrote in his report. Sánchez failed to tie off his safety harness while he was working, the police report said. The construction foreman said he put a platform on the sixth floor but that he told Sánchez not to use it because it needed to be supported for safety, the report said. The foreman told police the platform shouldn’t have fallen unless the victim stepped on it. Police found the platform at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Sánchez had a broken leg and was unconscious. He was flown to Delray Medical Center on Thursday, and his condition had not improved as of Friday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Fall proves fatal for water tower cleaner
By Jessie Halladay, Daily Press, Published: Friday, July 13, 2001
SMITHFIELD – A 45-year-old man died Thursday after he fell more than 40 feet while cleaning the inside of the Smithfield water tower on South Church Street. The victim, whose name was not released, and several other workers were inside the huge water tank standing on a platform at the base of the bowl when the 2:10 p.m. accident happened. The man fell into the tower’s hollow stem and plunged about halfway down before landing on another platform. Rescue squad workers and firefighters from Smithfield and Carrollton rigged up a pulley system. It took about 30 minutes to lower the man the remaining 50 feet to the ground in a rescue basket. He was taken by Nightingale helicopter to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he died. The tower is just behind the Isle of Wight Rescue station. One of the man’s co-workers ran over to get help after the fall. The victim was part of a contracted crew from Utility Service Co. in Madison, N.C. The company has a three-year contract with Smithfield to take care of the maintenance on all the town’s water towers. The work was part of routine cleaning and maintenance, said Bill Hopkins, Smithfield’s planning, zoning and development director.
Construction worker treated for injury after fall
WEST BARNSTABLE – A worker at a new home construction site at 500 Maple St. was hurt yesterday when he fell 12 feet from a deck into a cellar hole. According to fire officials, Derek Olson, 27, of West Dennis, was taken to Cape Cod Hospital by West Barnstable rescue personnel at approximately 2:30 p.m. He was treated and released.
Worker killed in fall from hall roof
David Damron, Sentinel Staff Writer, Posted July 21, 2001
A construction worker fell 60 feet to his death Friday when his safety equipment failed to break his fall from the roof of the Orange County Convention Center expansion. At about 10:30 a.m. Scott Clontz, 36, was working on the 972,000-square-foot exhibit hall roof for the $748 million expansion, officials said. The Ocala man was wearing a harness connected to a cable, held up by a crane-like arm. The harness and cable are designed to protect workers who fall, an Orange County sheriff’s official said. “But something caused the cable device to snap,” sheriff’s spokesman Jim Solomons said. “It’s just a really sad deal.” Clontz fell to the ground and stopped breathing. He was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead at 11:17 a.m. Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials were called in to investigate the incident. An official in OSHA’s Tampa office said he didn’t expect to have any findings from the investigation for at least a few weeks. Clontz worked for Hunt Clark Joint Ventures, Solomons said. The convention expansion is the largest public project in Central Florida’s history. No other fatal injuries have occurred on the job site, said Joe Boyd, the center’s spokesman. It’s set to open in May 2003.
Penske crewman listed in fair condition
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive, July 23, 2001, 1:33 PM EDT (1733 GMT)
CONCORD, N.H. – Derek White, 38, a general mechanic for Penske Racing’s No. 12 Mobil 1 Ford driven by Jeremy Mayfield was listed in fair condition Monday afternoon as he recuperated in Concord Hospital. White, of Richfield, N.C., was injured Sunday evening at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon following the NASCAR Winston Cup New England 300 after he fell from the team transporter’s lift gate while helping to load the race car. A team release Monday afternoon said White had suffered injuries including a “fractured left scapula, fractured left clavicle, fractured rib, skull fracture and sub-arachnoid hemorrhage.” At 7:25 p.m. ET Sunday NASCAR spokesperson Danielle Humphrey said White had been admitted to Concord Hospital and that he was “awake and alert, speaking and moving his toes.” Humphrey also announced he suffered a two-and-a-half-inch cut above his left ear. On Sunday, Jasper Motorsports crew chief Ryan Pemberton sprinted about 150 yards to the infield care center to summon an ambulance after the accident, which occurred just after 5:30 p.m. After being brought by ambulance to the infield care center White was airlifted by helicopter to Concord Hospital, about a 15-mile drive from the track. White, who has worked for the team since December 2000, apparently fell from about eight feet above the pavement while about half a dozen crewmen helped load Mayfield’s car that finished 39th in the race. The 12 team’s truck driver, Rodney Pickler, said he did not know how White fell, but that the gate was fully raised to load the car.
Construction worker killed
KEITH PHUCAS, Times Herald Staff
TREDYFFRIN — A laborer was killed Monday morning in a Route 202 work zone after a truck backed over him. According to a report from township police, shortly before 11 a.m., R. “Bobby” Boyle of the 1900 block of East Clarence Street, Philadelphia, was crushed under the wheels of a truck that he was directing through a partitioned section of the work area at Routes 202 and 252. “He was at the rear directing (the truck), and he slipped and fell under the wheels of a cement truck,” said Administrative Sgt. Joseph Carbo. Carbo said the victim was standing in a narrow gauntlet bordered by waist-high walls inside the work area as the truck was backing up. Boyle worked for Glasgow Construction Co. The company is working under a contract with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to make major improvements on 202 between Old Eagle School Road and North Valley Road. At the site of the accident, Glasgow is widening the highway’s northbound lanes as part of the $250 million highway project. The federal office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident along with police and PennDOT. Carbo said OSHA was notified about an hour after the accident and a representative was on-site Monday. “We are extremely saddened by this tragic accident,” said Gene Blaum, PennDOT’s spokesman. “The project has had an exemplary safety record.”
Worker killed after falling between 2 boats in harbor
Monday, July 30, 2001
JERSEY CITY — A barge worker was killed Sunday after he fell between two boats in New York Harbor and was crushed, authorities said. Walter Romanoski, 45, of Northport, N.Y., was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, where he died of his injuries about 5 p.m., a hospital spokesman said. Jersey City police Sgt. Edgar Martinez said the accident occurred when the barge Romanoski was working on unexpectedly shifted. Romanoski fell between the barge and a tugboat named Barker Boys, owned by Barker Aggregates of Queens. The barges were moored at the Clairemont Terminal, between Liberty Island and the Bayonne docks. Brewer said two boats from the Coast Guard station at Staten Island responded to the call. The Coast Guard was investigating.
Worker missing after falling from crane
MOUNT PLEASANT (AP) – Authorities planned to continue to search the waters of the Wando River for a subcontractor who fell from a crane at the Wando Port Terminal here. Juan Sanchez, 28, of Moncks Corner, fell from a boom into the river Wednesday. Crews dropped a line from the crane arm to determine where he landed. Tides and currents complicated the search, and as the day wore on, divers, helicopters and rescue boats widened the search area. A spokesman for the State Ports Authority says power to other cranes and equipment was shut down in order to prevent it from interfering with sonar being used in the search. The search was suspended about 5 p.m. and was expected to resume early Thursday. Sanchez worked for Palmetto Industrial Services, a subcontractor for Konecranes, a Finland-based crane company, Ports Authority spokesman Byron Miller said. The authority recently hired Konecranes to replace rails on the cranes’ arms. Crane operators sit in small cabins that move along these rails as they pick up and lower containers from ships. Sanchez reportedly was wearing a harness when he fell. The accident is under investigation.
Two hurt when scaffolding collapses
WOOD RIVER — Two men were injured while repairing a towboat engine Thursday morning at the Mike’s Marine Service dock on the Amoco Cutoff, just off Illinois Route 3. Capt. Steve Alexander of the Wood River Fire Department said the victims, Kenneth Kissel of St. Louis and Russell Watson of Cottage Hills, were above the engine on some scaffolding when part of it apparently slipped or failed. “They fell about 12 to 15 feet into the engine hold,” Alexander said. “One guy landed on the other guy. Both of them were ambulatory when we got there. One guy was still in the pit, but he had moved from where he had originally fallen. The other guy was on the main deck.” Alexander said firefighters rescued the man in the engine hold, then took the men off the boat and across the tow using backboards and a Stokes basket to keep them stable. Both men were taken to Saint Anthony’s Health Center by Alton Memorial Ambulance. “The injuries didn’t appear to be serious, but they complained of back and neck pain,” Alexander said. The call came in at 10:24 a.m., just two minutes after another call was received from nearby Envirotech Park, where workers putting in a sewer line had accidentally cut into a natural gas line. Firefighters said no one was injured, but some people working at the business park were evacuated as a precautionary measure. Wood River Fire Chief Guy Williams said the accident at Mike’s was the fourth emergency call to the riverfront that the fire department has had in the past month.
UPDATE, Worker’s body found in river
Friday, June 1, 2001
After a two-day search involving more than 30 divers, rescue workers found the body of a Moncks Corner contractor who fell off a State Ports Authority crane Wednesday. Divers found the body of Juan Sanchez, 28, Thursday afternoon in the Wando River below the crane from which he fell. Witnesses said Sanchez stepped onto a temporary platform on the crane’s arm to do some welding when the platform gave way. He fell about 130 feet into the river. An autopsy will be done today, said Susan Chewning, Charleston County coroner. Sanchez was employed by Palmetto Industrial Construction Co. The SPA set up a fund for his wife and children. Donations can be made at any First Federal branch or sent to First Federal in care of Jeannie Sanchez, P.O. Box 118068, Charleston, S.C. 29423.
Garbage collector dies in accident
The 24-year-old city worker slips off a truck and is dragged for several yards.
By Deanna Boyd, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH – A 24-year-old city garbage collector was killed Tuesday morning when he slipped off a garbage truck and was dragged under the tires for several yards, police said. Kristopher Ridge of Fort Worth was pronounced dead at the scene. Ridge and another man were collecting garbage in the Rolling Hills neighborhood when the accident occurred about 7:20 a.m. near of Sarah Jane Lane and Ray Alvin Drive. Lt. David Burgess said Ridge was jumping through an opening in the truck’s side where trash is placed when he slipped and fell under the moving truck, becoming trapped by the truck’s rear wheels. The truck driver, unaware of what happened, continued north in the 4800 block of Ray Alvin Drive about 20 yards before a resident who saw the accident flagged him down, Burgess said. Firefighters used inflatable bags to lift the truck and free Ridge’s body. Pat Svacina, a city spokesman, said Ridge had worked with the city about 18 months. Svacina said he was not aware of reports that Ridge had jumped through the opening in the truck before the accident, but he said that the area is not designed to be used as a passageway. The truck was taken out of service after the accident, and another crew continued pickup in the area, Svacina said. Ridge was part of the city’s solid waste division, which collects garbage in about 20 percent of the city. A private firm, Waste Management, is contracted by the city to collect the other 80 percent.
Worker in fall identified
By STEVE LIEBERMAN AND BLAIR CRADDOCK, THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: June 06, 2001)
The 38-year-old construction worker who fell to his death from a roof was identified yesterday as David Fuentes, who was working to raise enough money to take his wife and 2-year-old son back home to El Salvador. Fuentes fell about 14 feet through a skylight, which was covered with a sheet of vinyl, while rebuilding the flat roof and installing 12 new skylights with another worker Monday at a house on River Road in Grand View. South Nyack-Grand View police ruled Fuentes’ death accidental, but the incident is still being investigated by the U.S. Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Tarrytown. Fuentes worked for Lance Petrik, who was injured with two of his workers in December 1999 when a 8,000-pound construction machine toppled over along a steep incline behind two River Road houses. One of the workers recovered from head injuries but eventually was deported by the federal government. Petrik, a licensed general contractor in Rockland since October 1999, did not return a telephone call seeking comment about Monday’s fall. Because Fuentes died on a construction site, OSHA must investigate the circumstances surrounding his fall and the overall working conditions, said Diana Cortez, an OSHA supervisor in Tarrytown. OSHA inspectors plan to interview Petrik, who was not at the site, and other employees of his company, Cortez said. She said there are no OSHA records showing the agency ever reviewed an accident involving Petrik’s company. Fuentes came to Rockland six or seven years ago, working first in landscaping before Petrik hired him to do construction work about a year ago, his wife, Natalia, said yesterday at the couple’s apartment on Elysian Avenue in South Nyack. He was being paid $10 a hour, she said in Spanish. Fuentes came to work in the United States to help support his mother, sister and sister’s son in El Salvador, Natalia Fuentes said. She said she met her husband in El Salvador, but they did not become a couple until after she came to Rockland to work about three years ago. Natalia Fuentes said her husband had hoped to move back home to El Salvador, with her and their two-year-old son, in a few more years. Sigfredo Mejia, Natalia’s brother-in-law, said Fuentes had dreamed of returning to El Salvador and to farm life. He grew up on a farm. “He wanted to go back and have his house there with his wife and his child,” Mejia said. “Here, one works hard, and there’s not much opportunity for enjoyment. The idea is to build a house and improve one’s life a little there. He wanted to buy a cow. “One proposes, and God disposes,” Mejia said. Fuentes and his family attended St. John’s Church on River Road in Piermont. The Catholic church’s congregation is both English- and Spanish-speaking. He and his wife had their son baptized at the church. “They come to our church, they would come from Nyack on the bus, and many times I would drive them home,” Sister Cecilia La Pietra said. “They were at Mass on Sunday, so that was the last time I saw him. They’re a very beautiful family. … He was so sweet with his little boy. He was so happy when that little boy was going to be born, just thrilled.” The church is hoping to raise the more than $2,000 needed to ship Fuentes’ body back to El Salvador, where he was born in Santa Ana. “It’s a lot of money to do that,” La Pietra said. “We’re trying to help the family out with this.” There will be a wake at the church from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, followed by a Mass at 8 p.m. Hannemann Funeral Home in Nyack is handling the arrangements. Those interested in making contributions may call the church at 359-0078. Checks may be made out to St. John’s Outreach Ministry. Mejia, who also worked for Petrik, said he was told by other workers that Fuentes stepped onto the covered-up skylight, thinking it was solid underneath. South Nyack-Grand View Police Chief Alan Colsey said Fuentes and another Petrik employee were replacing the 11th of 12 skylights when Fuentes fell. Colsey said a vinyl curtain covered the hole. “Whether or not he thought that secure or whether he unintentionally stepped through it or just lost his footing, we don’t know,” Colsey said. “Everything at this point appears to indicate a tragic accident.” Detective Robert Van Cura of the South Nyack-Grand View police said Petrik, like other contractors and landscapers across the county, tends to hire Central Americans. “A lot of the guys he hires tend to continue working for him on a regular basis,” Van Cura said. “It seems bad luck is following him.” Fuentes was remembered as a hard-working, friendly man. “He was a good guy,” said Francois Boutin, the Fuentes’ landlord. “Everybody around here knows him. He used to do yardwork for people, too. He was a happy guy, who liked to play and kid with people.”
Man dies after 20-foot fall from roof
By Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat
The owner of a Midway roofing company fell to his death Thursday morning while working on a roof north of Havana. William Gavin Johnson Jr., 52, and some employees were working on the roof of a Coastal Lumber Co. building on U.S. 27 when the accident occurred, said Maj. Ed Spooner of the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office. “He stepped back on a skylight and fell through the roof 20 to 25 feet to a concrete floor,” Spooner said. Johnson sustained head and internal injuries and was taken by helicopter to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where he later died, Spooner said. Johnson fell into a puddle of wood preservative that contained a minute amount of arsenic, and after the accident he was placed into an enclosed medical bag as a precaution, Spooner said. Exposure to arsenic can be poisonous. The morgue at TMH, where the body was held, was closed temporarily for decontamination, according to Steve Marks, division chief for the Tallahassee Fire Department. A decontamination station was set up in a hospital parking lot for hospital and emergency workers who had had contact with the body, Marks said. Spooner said neither the accident nor the wood preservative posed an environmental threat to the public. Officials from Coastal could not be reached for comment.
2 hurt in construction accidents
By Kristen M. Schmidt, Daily Times Staff Writer
OCEAN CITY – For the second time in two months, a construction worker doing renovations of City Hall was injured while working on an exterior wall. Paul Abbott, 48, of Ocean Pines, suffered head and leg injuries when loose bricks fell on him, according to resort police. Abbott was removing an electrical panel from the wall when the accident happened at about 10 a.m. He was taken by state police helicopter to Peninsula Regional Medical Center, then transferred to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. In early May, a construction worker was injured when he fell from a temporary wall at City Hall, now undergoing a roughly $2.5 million renovation. The man also was taken by helicopter to PRMC but did not have life-threatening injuries. Town officials said the 84-year-old building needs repairs to the roof, floor and heating system. The accidents were just two of several that have occurred on the Lower Shore this spring – including one Friday in Ocean Pines where a man was run over by a construction vehicle. Keith Purnell, age unknown, was working on the driveway of a new home on Edgewood Drive when a co-worker accidentally backed over him with a Bobcat, according to Ocean Pines police. Purnell, who was conscious and talking to emergency workers while being treated at the scene, was flown to PRMC. On May 12, a man laying pipe at a water treatment facility at Tyson Foods’ Berlin plant was trapped for nine hours in a trench, which was covered with a 46-ton excavator. Also in May, a construction worker at the Dogtel Hotel in West Ocean City was killed when a load of steel fencing shifted and pinned him in a truck.
Construction worker rescued after fall at Lauderdale high-rise
A construction worker slipped and fell from sixth-floor scaffolding at a Stiles Co. construction site on the 400 block of East Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale Monday afternoon. The workman fell only 6 feet but was trapped by construction debris. Fire Rescue had to use the construction crane to lift the fallen worker out of the debris and lower him to the ground. The worker, who was not immediately identified, was taken to Broward General Medical Center and was reported in good condition later in the day.
Welder hurt in 45-foot fall at downtown project site
By Melody McDonald, Star-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH – A 35-year-old welder was seriously injured Tuesday afternoon when he fell face first about 45 feet from the framework at the Fort Worth Convention Center construction site, officials said. The man, whose name was not released, was working at the site in the 1300 block of Houston Street when he stepped on unstable framework and fell, Fort Worth firefighter Steven Walker said. “It gave and the whole thing just came down,” Walker said. When emergency workers arrived just after 2 p.m., the man was responsive and talking, Walker said. He appeared to have several broken bones and had numerous bruises on his back and chest, but his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Walker said. “It was a miracle,” Walker said. “That is the only way to put it – a miracle.” The man was taken to Harris Methodist Fort Worth hospital. Staff members would not release information about his condition Tuesday night. Kirk Slaughter, public events director for the city of Fort Worth, said he was told about the accident late Tuesday afternoon but had no details. He referred questions to Ralph Cook of Dallas-based Austin Commercial, program manager for the project. Cook said he expected inspectors from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to be at the site today. He said the welder’s fall was the only accident “of any significance” on the project. Staff writer Ginger Richardson contributed to this report. Melody McDonald, (817) 390-7386
Worker recovering from rebar accident
By Sarah Huntley, News Staff Writer
A 26-year-old construction worker skewered in the head by a 4-foot steel bar remained shook up but was upgraded to fair condition this morning after nearly four hours of grueling surgery. As Duane Reynolds continued to recover at the Medical Center of Aurora, the doctors who treated the Canon City man marveled over his survival and the apparent lack of more devastating trauma. “He is exceedingly lucky,” said James Denton, the hospital’s medical director of trauma services. “Obviously, his fall caused enough force to force this thing through the bones of his skull. It didn’t penetrate his brain, and that could easily have happened.” Reynolds was rushed to the Aurora hospital at about 10:50 a.m. Wednesday after he fell 12 feet from a ladder while working on the roof of a new warehouse at 350 Norfolk St. A steel rod, or rebar, that was reinforcing a chunk of concrete pierced his right eye and exited his left cheekbone, just below his ear. Aurora firefighters freed Reynolds from the rod with a hacksaw, but the patient, who was conscious throughout the half-hour extrication, still had a 2-foot section through his head when he arrived at the emergency room. A team of surgeons removed the rod, sliding it back through Reynold’s eye, during his operation. Shortly before noon, doctors removed a patch covering Reynolds’ eye and discovered more good news. “His eye was saved and so was his eyesight. He is able to see,” said hospital spokeswoman Beverly Husted-Petry. Earlier in the day, Denton and his colleagues praised emergency workers for their quick and skilled response. “They really handled this expeditiously,” trauma surgeon Bill Pfeifer said. “Everything seemed to work exactly as it is supposed to.” But Lt. Rory Chetelat, Aurora fire spokesman, said the rescuers were simply doing their job. “This kind of event, while it was a bit dramatic, is what we train for,” said Lt. Rory Chetelat, spokesman for the Aurora Fire Department. “Basically, our biggest concern (in these cases) is not making the situation any worse.” Reynolds himself also made a difference, his doctors said. “This was obviously a very traumatic experience, and for him to maintain his composure while all this is going on around him and be cooperative with his care is not only admirable, but unusual,” Denton said. Officials with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration were continuing to investigate the incident Thursday. “At this point, we are still under the belief that he was working on a ladder and that the ladder somehow fell over,” said Ray Nellor, of OSHA’s Englewood office. Nellor was planning to meet with Reynolds’ employer, Williams and Williams Construction of Pueblo, and co-workers to determine whether the ladder was properly secured. He said he knew of no previous citations at that job site or others staffed by the Pueblo company. The construction accident was the second serious one in as many days. On Tuesday, Antonio Lopez was injured when a brick and concrete wall collapsed on him during demolition work at the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center. The 24-year-old remained in critical condition at Denver Health Medical Center. Reynolds’ doctors said they are surprised there are not more accidents, given the level of construction in the area. Nonetheless, they urged workers to use caution. “Be careful,” Pfeifer said. ” Just very simply, be careful. This is a very dangerous job.” Gas leak sends 30 workers to hospitals Thirty workers had to be taken to area hospitals Thursday morning after a cylinder carrying chlorine gas began leaking at a Medley warehouse. Roman Bas of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue explained what happened. “There was a one-ton cylinder of chlorine gas. Basically, a plug popped out while it was in transport causing a leak. We immediately responded with our hazardous materials crew, as well as other Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Units. We had about 15 units here on the scene. We had approximately 30 individuals that we had to transport to local area hospitals. The scene is under control at this time and the cylinder as we understand … has been plugged,” he said. None of the injuries are believed to be serious, and most people will likely be released later Thursday, with some staying overnight at the hospital. Traffic in parts of Medley was a mess Thursday morning, as at least one street was shutdown. “We are still in the process of a cleanup and in this particular area, there are going to be several streets which are going to be closed, in particular 93rd Street.
Power pole falls, injuring 3
Tuesday, June 19, 2001, By Steve Gunn, CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
Three men working for Consumers Energy, including a Grand Haven man, were injured Monday when a pole they were working on in Holton Township fell to the ground. All three men were transported to area hospitals, according to a Muskegon County Sheriff’s Department report. One man remained hospitalized, and none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. The accident occurred around 2 p.m. Monday when the men were building a power line on property along the 3300 block of Dagen Road near Sweeter Road. At least one of the men was apparently on the pole when it fell, but it was not known this morning whether the other two were on the pole or the ground. One of the men injured in the accident was Doug Pellegrom, 35, of 13486 Greenbriar in Grand Haven. He was apparently on the pole when the mishap occurred and fell about 35 feet, according to a spokesman for Hackley Hospital. He was treated and released for minor injuries. Also transported to Hackley Hospital was Conrado Ortiz, 52, of Albion, who was listed in stable condition this morning after being shocked by electricity. A third victim, Eugene Alfaro, 41, of Holland, was treated and released from Mercy Hospital with minor injuries. The nature of his injuries, or what caused them, was not known this morning. Tim Pietryga, a spokesman for Consumers Energy, said the utility would not release information about the victims or what might have caused the pole to fall. It was unclear this morning whether the workers were employees of Consumers or contractors.
UPDATE, Impaled worker leaves hospital
AURORA- The construction worker hurt when a steel bar impaled his skull was released Tuesday from the Medical Center of Aurora, hospital officials said. Duane Reynolds, 26, of Canon City was injured one week ago when he fell 12 feet off a ladder. The steel rod entered his right eye socket and came out his left cheek just below his ear. Reynolds underwent four hours of surgery. Doctors saved his sight.
3 hurt in scaffolding fall at a Cambridge work site
By Jennifer Medina, Globe Correspondent, 6/21/2001
CAMBRIDGE – Three construction workers were hurt yesterday, one of them seriously, when they fell from third-floor scaffolding on a parking garage near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, officials said. Also yesterday, next door to the parking garage site, a construction worker suffered a fractured shoulder when a steel beam struck him as it was being lifted with a crane, according to Cambridge fire officials. The workers on the scaffolding fell 40 feet, and cinderblocks they had been laying on the exterior of a six-story building then toppled onto them, said a deputy chief for the Cambridge Fire Department, Michael Morrissey. The workers, whose names were not released, were taken at 11 a.m. to Massachusetts General Hospital, Morrissey said. The workers may have piled too much onto the scaffold, said a construction worker on the job. ”It looks like they just overloaded it,” said the worker, who did not wish to be identified. Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are investigating whether the proper amount of weight was placed on the scaffolding, said an OSHA spokesman, John Chavez. The parking garage is one of five buildings in a $750-million construction project near Landsdowne and Pacific streets. Forrest City, a Cleveland-based developer, is leasing 27 acres from MIT to build biotechnology research facilities and a 175-unit housing complex, said company spokesman Jay Kiely. The men were working for the Milton-based D.J. Construction Co., but Julian Crane & Equipment Co. in Watertown owns the scaffolding. Neither company would comment or say who built the scaffolding. D.J. Construction was cited 10 times for safety violations from 1986 to 1994, according to OSHA records. Twelve violations were for scaffolding problems, according to the records. The main contractor on the project, William A. Berry & Son in Danvers, said in a statement yesterday: ”Clearly our main priority is the safety and concern of our employees.” In 1999, there were four fatal falls from scaffolding in Massachusetts, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This story ran on page B3 of the Boston Globe on 6/21/2001.
UPDATE, Tuesday fall victim still in hospital
VIRGINIA GRANTIER, Bismarck Tribune
A 66-year-old man who fell off a scaffolding Tuesday evening was still in the hospital Thursday in serious condition at St. Alexius Medical Center’s intensive care unit. The man was working with his son on scaffolding in the 1700 block of Highway 83 when he fell, according to a Burleigh County sheriff’s report. No other details about the incident were available.
Construction worker dies after head injury
Monday, June 25, 2001
A 22-year-old construction worker who fell 20 feet from scaffolding at the Great Southern Shopping Center on Friday morning has died. Raul Morales Diaz, whose address was unavailable yesterday, was working at a construction site at a vacant storefront when he fell on his head. He was taken to Grant Medical Center, where he died shortly before midnight Saturday, a nursing supervisor said.
Two Toronto companies fined for health and safety violations
TORONTO, June 26 /CNW/ – Excell Employment Tempro Inc., a Toronto employment agency, was fined $50,000, and Olympic Coaters Inc., a Toronto industrial plating company, which used Excell’s services, was fined $60,000 on June 22, 2001 for one violation each of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that resulted in serious chemical burns to a worker. On Feb. 12, 2000, a worker was in the process of taking a bag of nickel anodes (nickel pieces) from another worker to add to the centre of a plating tank when he fell off a wooden board into a hot chemical solution in the tank below. The wooden board had been placed over the solution to enable access to parts of the tank where the nickel pieces were being placed. The worker fell into the chemical solution. He suffered third degree burns. The accident occurred at Olympic Coaters Inc.’s plant on Humberline Drive in Toronto. The worker had been sent by Excell Employment Tempro Inc. to work at Olympic Coaters. Excell Employment Tempro Inc. pleaded guilty to failing, as an employer, to provide information, instruction and supervision to the worker regarding the dangers in the use of and precautions to be followed while using chemicals that the worker would be exposed to when working at the workplace where he was placed at, contrary to Section 25(2)(a) of the act. Olympic Coaters Inc. pleaded guilty to failing, as an employer, to take every reasonable precaution for the protection of a worker by ensuring that the worker was protected from falling into a plating tank and by providing him with a safe work surface from which to add nickel to the plating tank, contrary to Section 25(2)(h) of the act. The fines were imposed by Justice of the Peace Suzanne Haddad of the Ontario Court of Justice at Old City Hall in Toronto.
Local carnival worker ‘critical’ after fall
(Published Tuesday, June 26, 2001 11:36:47 AM CDT), Gazette Staff
A carnival worker from Janesville remained critical condition today at University Hospital in Madison after he fell from a ride he was disassembling in the village of Dane on Sunday. Walter Canterbury, 27, was seriously injured when he fell about 15 feet from a chair plane ride. He was taking down rides in Bert Deans Park after the firemen’s picnic. Canterbury works for Colonel’s Rides in Janesville. The company has no address or phone number in the Janesville area and could not be reached for comment. Canterbury’s number and address also are not listed. Canterbury hit several parts of the ride and sustained head and neck injuries.
Worker killed in fall
At approximately 8:30 a.m. Monday, a contract worker at the Cintas Uniform Corp. in East Huntingdon Township lost his life. Francis Wayne Savoie, 54, of Opelousas, La., was working on scaffolding in the rear of the Cintas building when he fell rearward, approximately 13 feet to the ground, according to state police at Greensburg. Savoie struck his head on the asphalt parking lot and died as a result of his injuries. Investigations into the incident are under way by the U.S. Occupation Safety and Health Administration. Savoie was among three men working on the scaffold at the rear of the building when he fell. They were not Cintas employees, but outside contractors hired to install tanks at the facility, which is located in the Westmoreland Technology Park. Trooper Tom Spallone, spokesman for Greensburg state police, said that Savoie walked off the scaffold shortly before the accident. Acting coroner Skip Rusiewicz said Savoie died of head injuries. He was pronounced dead at 9:15 a.m., meaning his death was instantaneous upon impact. It was reported Savoie may have lost his balance just before falling.
MIRACLE WORKER IS OK AFTER BRIDGE FALL
By ZACH HABERMAN and MARIA MALAVE
May 8, 2001 — A worker lost his footing and fell off the Williamsburg Bridge yesterday, plunging 150 feet into the East River – but miraculously didn’t even break a bone. Officials marveled that father of three Dennis Blinn, 37, survived the plunge. “He was not breathing at all when they got to him,” said Fire Department spokesman Jerard Allas of Blinn, who was listed in stable condition. “By the time they got to Bellevue [Hospital], this guy, who was not breathing and fell 150 feet, was verbally active, telling our guys that he was cold,” he said. “At a height like that, water has the consistency of cement. He’s a lucky man. He should have played the Lotto today.” Blinn’s pregnant wife, Lisa, said he’s in “a lot of pain” but knows just how lucky he is. “He tells me that his family flashed before him as he was coming down. I’m very grateful there was a guardian angel looking out for him,” she said. Blinn’s brother-in-law, Bob Judge, briefly spoke to him at the hospital. “He told me that it seemed like it took forever before he hit the water,” Judge said. “He feels he’s a very lucky man to be alive.” Lady Luck was at Blinn’s side when he went into the water not far from a docked barge. The people on board scooped him up. Cops in a passing squad car hailed an Emergency Medical Service ambulance. Medics went onto the barge to treat Blinn, who was then in respiratory arrest. They quickly revived him and took him to the hospital. Blinn, who was working for a contractor, Regional Scaffolding, had been helping repair the roadway.
Worker injured in 30 foot fall at new Central School
By Al Turco
STONEHAM, MA – Patrick Riggs, 44, of Athol is in serious condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston today after falling 30 feet from a construction scaffolding inside the new Central School gym on Monday afternoon. Riggs works for R and G Ironworks of Athol as a welder. He was working with a crew constructing the interior of the new Central School gym on Central Street when he fell. According to Stoneham Police at the scene, Riggs’ safety harness was not attached to the static safety line. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident. According to Stoneham Firefighters, blood was coming out of Riggs’ ears, but he was conscious. Captain Douglas Griffin said that Riggs’ right arm got caught in the scaffolding on his way down, severely injuring the hand and arm. Riggs also injured his head and legs. Stoneham Fire called Boston Med Flight. Action Ambulance transported Riggs around the school to the upper Pomeworth baseball field. The helicopter landed on the ballfield and rushed Riggs to Beth Israel. The hospital would only describe his condition as “serious.”
Construction Worker Falls 30 Feet in SF
San Francisco police say a construction worker fell 30 feet while working at 3000 Third St. today. The worker fell from the third to the second story of the building at about 11 a.m. An ambulance was called to the site, but details about the worker’s condition were not immediately available. Dateline: Mon May 14 11:48:44 PDT 2001
OSHA investigates fatal fall
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death of a steelworker at a Reston construction site. Fairfax County police said Julio Orellano-Garcia, 26, of 6089 Argyle Drive in Culmore, was laying metal flooring on the sixth floor of a building under construction at 1910 Oracle Way shortly after noon Saturday when he fell through a hole that he was pulling the last piece of metal flooring over. Orellano-Garcia fell three stories was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. STAFF REPORT
Cable worker dead after fall from bucket truck
A 42-year-old television cable lineman fell to his death Wednesday while he was working atop a bucket truck in Warren. Bryan Bohnsack, Warren Chief of Police said that the lineman, a resident of Fulton, about 10 a.m. fell approximately 20 feet from the raised bucket at the intersection of Galena Ave. and Bellevue St., on Warren’s east side. WARREN – “The victim’s name is being withheld pending notification of his family,” Bohnsack said. “He has a Fulton residence address, but many of his family live out of state.” Jo Daviess County Coroner, Bill Miller, pronounced the worker dead at the scene. “The investigation is still in the initial stages,” Bohnsack said. “An unconfirmed report by a witness to the accident said the bucket apparently was moving when it struck an overhead telephone wire, knocking the victim out of the bucket.” It has not been determined if a safety harness was in place. A second lineman was believed to be in the bucket at the time of the accident, but was not injured. The workers are employed by cable television provider, Mediacom, Inc., of Chillicothe. Assisting the Warren Police Department were the Jo Daviess County Sheriff’s office, the Warren Ambulance and Fire Department, the Illinois State Police Crime Scene, and Leamon’s Ambulance. “The Illinois State Police technicians are routinely called in to take accurate photos and a description of the accident scene,” Bohnsack said. “There was no evidence of foul play.” The investigation of the accident is continuing, and the name of the victim and further details will be released Thursday morning by Coroner Miller.
Worker hurt after fall at Briley Parkway site
A construction worker fell onto Interstate 24 from a gap in an unfinished Briley Parkway overpass yesterday afternoon. He remains in critical, but stable condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said spokeswoman Jessica Pasley. Three co-workers also fell at the same time, but their falls were broken by a bluff about 10 feet below the overpass and were believed to be only mildly injured, said Officer J.W. Allen. The names of the construction workers were unavailable yesterday evening. A black construction hat and gloves and blood spatters 50 feet below the unfinished portion of Briley Parkway were the only signs of the 1 p.m. accident. The construction worker fell onto the interstate’s shoulder, and traffic was not affected by the accident.
Worker killed in accident at Premium Standard Farms
MILAN, Mo. (AP) — A sanitation worker died early Friday when he fell into a piece of heavy equipment at a Premium Standard Farms hog processing plant. A spokesman for Premium Standard said the death of Jose A. Hernandez was especially mystifying because safety equipment appeared to be in place. Hernandez, 58, of Milan, was rinsing a trim blender — which uses paddles to mix lean meat and fat for sausage — when the accident happened around 2:15 a.m., spokesman Charlie Arnot said. No one saw Hernandez fall in, Arnot said, but co-workers heard Hernandez’s cries for help and shut down the blender. Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene. The blender is cleaned with detergent and rinsed out every night, Arnot said. Power to the machine is shut down while a worker inside cleans it with detergent, and then the machine is powered back up during the rinsing process. Grates over the blender’s hopper are supposed to keep anyone from falling in. But Arnot said, “When he was discovered there, all of the safety grates were in place.” The plant remained closed Friday, but Arnot said it was expected to reopen on Saturday.
FATAL ACCIDENT SPARKS INQUIRY
By Staff report
OSWEGO – A fatal accident at the Oswego County Transfer Station Monday has prompted an investigation by the Civil Service Employee’s Association, union reps said Thursday. Daniel A. Haskins, 62, of 5350 state Route 104 East, Oswego, died Thursday morning from injuries he sustained after falling approximately 15 feet into the metal pit at the transfer station and being trapped by a machine that fell on top of him. Shortly after 8 a.m. Monday, Haskins – who was a maintenance worker at SUNY Oswego for nearly 20 years – and a fellow employee were trying to off-load a one-color printing press from the back of a truck when Haskins fell into the pit, according to reports. The machine reportedly fell on top of him. Emergency response personnel worked for approximately 15 to 20 minutes to free Haskins from the machine after the accident. He was transported by ambulance to Oswego Hospital in full cardiac arrest and was later airlifted to University Hospital. Oswego police said Haskins died Thursday morning at 5:20 a.m. Through interviews with those on the scene, the incident appears accidental. The Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s office is expected to conduct an autopsy to pinpoint the cause of death. Jim Moore, the CSEA Central Region president, said the union is investigating the incident to ensure that all proper safety precautions were being followed then the accident took place. “We are deeply saddened over this tragic incident and we’re going to conduct a full investigation into Mr. Haskins’ death to make sure that this type of thing never happens again,” Moore said. “On behalf of all his union brothers and sisters, our hearts go out to Daniel’s family and friends.” The state Department of Labor’s Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) division has been notified of the incident and the internal union investigation – which will be conducted by a CSEA occupational safety and health specialist – is expected to begin next week. Haskins was well-known on campus, according to a memorandum posted at SUNY Oswego. “He was a helper on the delivery truck, which got him all over campus in recent years, and he was very personable,” said Steve Ives, head custodian. “He did anything that he was asked to do.” The college’s commencement was always an important occasion for Haskins. “He was instrumental in graduation setup,” said Zona Pospesel, custodial supervisor. “He was always right there to give a hand.” The 140th commencement May 12 held special significance, both because it was to be his last – he was planning to retire in September – and because his daughter, Tracy Rombough, was graduating. “He stood at the bottom of the ramp and met her with a bouquet of flowers,” Ives said. Haskins was active in the community. He had been a member of the Volney Volunteer Fire Department. Pospesel said he took time to talk with the children in the day care center in Swetman Hall and with the elderly at St. Luke’s, where his wife works, and helped set up for programs at the Christian School, which one of his children attends. Danny was just an overall good Samaritan with a strong Catholic faith,” she said. He had served with the U.S. Army in Germany and later with the Army Reserves company in Oswego, from which he retired. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Posts No. 2320 and No. 5885. Before he joined the campus staff, he worked as a machine operator at Columbia Mills in Minetto for 12 years, among other jobs. Haskins is survived by his wife of 21 years – the former Carol Slight- six children, his mother, a sister, a brother and 15 grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Tuesday. (For a complete obituary, see Page 5A.) The college is issuing a statement to all faculty and staff on campus today to notify them of Haskins’ death. A collection is also being taken on campus for his family. An employee at the college since 1981, Haskins was reportedly planning to retire in September.
Carnival worker falls off ride, dies
LEBANON – A 20-year-old man died yesterday after he fell 30 feet off the carnival ride he was repairing. The man, whose name was not released by police yesterday, was doing work on a ride called ”Alakazam.” He was working at the Cumberland Valley Shows, a carnival at the outlet mall in Lebanon, said Sgt. Mike VanHook of the Lebanon Police Department. The man was not wearing safety equipment and was pronounced dead of head injuries at a local hospital. The carnival is run by Floyd & Baxter Amusement Company, a national traveling carnival company based in Lebanon. – Emily Heffter
Construction workers fall
Three men working at a new home fell and were hurt Thursday around 3 p.m. on Jefferson Street near Rocky Branch Elementary School. Two of the construction workers refused medical treatment. A third was briefly knocked unconscious and was taken by ambulance to River Falls Area Hospital, according to River Falls patrol officer Charles Golden. The three workers fell about 12 feet from the edge of a roof when scaffolding gave way. The single-story new house is one of several being built by Cudd Brothers Construction on the street just off Bartosh Lane. Police are now investigating the incident.
Workers Fall Off Construction Site, One Worker Flown To Hospital
CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich., 2:34 p.m. EDT May 31, 2001– Two construction workers were injured Thursday afternoon after a fall at a work site in Canton, according to police. The accident occurred at a new high school, being built on Joy Road between Beck and Canton Center roads. One worker was flown to a hospital, the other was transported by an EMS vehicle.
Man stable after accident at IP mill
From staff reports
The Natchez Democrat
Published Saturday, April 28, 2001 12:26 AM CDT
An employee at International Paper’s Natchez mill received injuries to his back and head after falling off a catwalk Thursday evening. Edward “Skeeter” Wilson, of Natchez, was transported to Jackson and was listed in stable condition in the SICU at University Medical Center. International Paper did not report the accident to the Adams County Sheriff’s Department and could not be reached for comment Friday. “It concerns us that we weren’t notified,” said Adams County Sheriff Tommy Ferrell. Ferrell said it is customary for all industrial accidents to be reported but he figured it was just an oversight probably related to the emergency of the situation. Often in these cases, industries tend to call law enforcement several days after the accident to investigate the site, he said. Since the accident was not reported, Ferrell could not speak specifically about the details but he said he did not believe the fall was anything but an accident. Commander Stan Owens, with the Natchez Fire Department, said firefighters were on standby at about 8 p.m. Thursday as Wilson was transported by helicopter to Jackson.