The Lombardi Law Firm Blog

Dozer Operator Killed While On-the-Job

Did the Sioux City Sewer Pipe Workers Receive Confined Space Training?

Construction site photographs of the utility pole may be necessary to prove the case or why it fell over when struck by the Bobcat

In what can only be described as a tragedy, a construction worker today was killed after a utility pole was knocked over striking and killing him. The utility pole was backed into by a fellow worker operating a Bobcat with a bucket on it. The worker that died was 32 years-old and his fellow worker was 57. The accident occurred at 10:15 a.m., just south of S.W. 26^th Street and Watrous Avenue in Des Moines. The younger man was pronounced dead at the hospital.

There are several interesting legal points to this story. First, the younger man leaves two young children behind. Hopefully this young man’s employer had workers’ compensation coverage that will pay these children benefits through college or at least through high school (age 18). It’s not unusual that smaller contractors don’t have coverage; that’s not legal, but lawyers see it often in the construction industry.

Second, the dependents of this young man would have a claim for the workers’ compensation benefits and also may have a claim against the owner of the pole. The Des Moines Register article includes a reference to a spokesperson from MidAmerican Energy Co who said the pole was not one of theirs and did not carry electrical lines. Mediacom said they commonly rent poles and Qwest hadn’t yet commented. So who owned that pole? This pole is interesting in that it was caused to fall down when the Bobcat backed into it; a scenario unlikely to normally happen. It should take a lot of pressure to cause a utility pole to fall down. Normally they snap. And that’s the rub, as I like to say, of this case investigation.  Why did it fall down so easily?

Which leads me to the third and final point; the case investigation to preserve valuable evidence. I remember driving towards Des Moines on Grand Avenue one day many years ago when I noticed a pole that had been struck by a car. The power company had a truck on location and was in the process of setting up to take the pole down and set it father away from the street. A client lived at that location so I pulled in to talk with him; he was standing on the sidewalk watching. Immediately I took out a camera and began taking photographs, which later were sent to the attorney representing the man whose legs were apparently pinned between the pole and a car bumper in the accident. Had I not taken photographs the pole would have been removed taking with it any chance of knowing what it looked like. It’s important to gather and preserve the key evidence in the case; in this case the pole. Someone needs to take photographs of the pole and the accident investigation site. Whoever is in charge of the dependent children needs to hire someone to get in there and photograph the location before the owner removes and destroys the pole. How that pole was seated in the ground may be a very important fact and pictures a sometimes worth a thousand words.

Owners don’t sit around waiting for injured people to complete their investigation. Owners need to get busy cleaning up the mess to make sure someone else isn’t injured or killed. Justice waits for no one.

So act, don’t sit around wondering. If you know Andrew Clark’s guardian tell them to get some legal advice and quickly; their future may depend upon it.  

Iowa's Personal Injury Accident News

A crane collapsed at the construction site of the new federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids. There were 50 to 60 workers on the site. The crane was reported to be operated by workers from Dawes Rigging and Crane Rental from Wisconsin. The news report last night on Channel 5 indicated it fell because it was on uneven ground. That can’t be true nor should it matter. There are legs that if set properly allow a crane to be set up most any grade. Fact of the matter is it probably wasn’t set up right in the first place. Wish as you will for forgiveness but stupidity is a close relative of negligence. KWWL story. KCCI.

Remember the bulldozer that slipped off it’s jacks killing the operator?

Bulldozer slips off jacks and kills operator

...using a crane to life the bulldozer, however it was too late and Mr. O’Shaughnessy was pronounced dead at the scene. Workplace accidents happen every day and most are avoidable; could this accident have been avoided? Hopefully, if he's married she is covered under a workers' compensation policy of insurance. That should pay her a lifetime benef...

from *InjuryBoard Des Moines* | *Des Moines* Iowa Personal Injury Attorney - Nov 2, 2009 1:50 PM

Bulldozer slips off jacks and kills operator, widow's benefits at stake

...using a crane to life the bulldozer, however it was too late and Mr. O’Shaughnessy was pronounced dead at the scene. Workplace accidents happen every day and most are avoidable; could this accident have been avoided?Hopefully, if he's married she is covered under a workers' compensation policy of insurance. That should pay her a lifetime benefit...

from The Verdict Blawg - Nov 2, 2009 9:12 AM

KWWL reports on a two-vehicle car accident south of Garrison in Benton County. The news report is slim on facts. It’s reported to be at the location of 63rd Street and 19th Avenue. One person died, although we don’t know who.

In a single vehicle roll-over accident the driver died while three passengers were injured on U.S. Highway 34 east of Fairfield near Osage Avenue. The woman was from Indiana; Margarita Ortiz Romero (37) and her passengers were a 7-year-old Daniela Ortiz, Edgar (2) and Lucelia Caperon (42) were all taken to either the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics or the Jefferson County Hospital. The roll-over occurred around 9:30 at night.

Council Bluffs, Iowa – A resident of CB was killed his motorcycle is reported to have struck a Honda Civic. The reports are that Eric Jacobsen (29) was struck at around 6:45 p.m. when the Civic’s driver failed to yield at a stop sign and she attempted a left turn off of Old Railroad Highway onto 205th Street. The driver said she didn’t see the motorcycle coming. Well how long did you look before pulling out? Did you come to a complete stop? How hard did you look? “I didn’t see it coming.”, isn’t a good enough reason to excuse the driver of negligence.  Plain and simply you have a duty to see what is clearly there. In this instance it cost the motorcycle driver his life.

Hardin County, Iowa – A 16-year-old boy driving on a country road southeast of Union lost control while rounding a curve killing the 17-year-old passenger. (Leo Barten) Another passenger Austin Smitheman, 16, was also injured. A driver has a duty to maintain control and to drive at a speed to be able to maintain control. If you’re at the wheel it’s your duty to drive under control.

Story County, Iowa – An intersection collision at 620th Avenue and 315th Street occurred at around 6:40 p.m. between a pickup truck being driven by Jacob Thompson of Maxwell and a Mazda being driven by Jose Martinez-Alvarez of Marshalltown. A passenger in the Alvarez vehicle, Salvator Hernandez Yepez of Marshalltown was ejected and pronounce dead at the scene. There were several other passengers and all were taken to Mary Greely Medical Center in Ames.  Intersection collisions are pretty common when it’s location is either uncontrolled or out in the county.

Construction Site Safety: Fall Arrest and Fall Protection Gear Save Lives

Yet another confined space work accident!

Glaring sun blinds driver, hits and kills flagman

Another flagman at an I-80 accident narrowly escapes being hit

Construction Site Trench Collapses - Lack of Support

Building Collapses in Rockwell City, Iowa

Was it the wind that caused this construction site wall to collapse and injure the worker?

Another Collapsed Construction Site Ditch Death, This One in Texas

Newton, Iowa Construction Site Wall Collapse Injures Three Workers

Three construction workers were injured on a job site in Newton, Iowa as a wall collapsed and causing the scaffolding to do the same. KCCI news reporters watched a videotape taken by a security camera from across the street at Dave’s Wholesale. The security camera footage shows the collapse, to what degree isn’t known or disclosed. The men worked for Boucher Masonry Co. from Boone, Iowa. IOSH is investigating the incident.

Illinois Highway Construction Worker Backed Over

A highway construction worker was struck and killed in Morrison, Illinois. The worker was identified by the Quad City Times as Michael S. Holloway, 44 or Rock Falls, Illinois. The worker killed was working as the flagger. He was run over by a dump truck backing up. The dump truck driver is 75 years old.

This is a situation I’ve blogged on several times on The Verdict. Just today we posted on older drivers and how old is too old to be driving.

Hit and Run that kills Bicyclist spurs debate on the impact of age on driving privileges

In other posts I’ve talked about road construction worker safety and traffic risks.

The Verdict, Construction Site Accidents

Highway Workers are at risk of being killed while repairing the nations roads - be careful

And in other posts I’ve discussed backing-up accidents that kill workers and pedestrians.

Truck Accident Prevention: Garbage truck backing over woman may be an accident but it is preventable.

Construction Accidents - Backing up and rear warning devices.

Safety should never go on break.

Peosta, Iowa trench collapse (Zimmerman) is why construction workers need to protect themselves

I’ve written before about trench safety and how to avoid trench collapses. It’s obvious to me that some employers just don’t practice trench safety or trench collapse prevention. That means the workers need to be aware of how to stay safe while digging or being in a trench.

It’s being reported about a construction worker digging at a construction site in Peosta, Iowa that needed to be rescued after being buried up to his neck in soft dirt that collapsed onto him. His name is Adam Zimmerman of Monticello, Iowa. The crew he was working with was digging a trench to install geothermal heating system at a house. He was working for Kraus Plumbing and Heating of Monticello, Iowa.  The dug him out and took him to the hospital in Dubuque.

Workers need to know how to protect themselves and if you say no to get into a trench and you employers fires you call IOSH and a lawyer. They can’t ask you to do something that could kill you when they are guilty of violating the safety laws of this state. That’s called retaliation and it too is illegal.

Here is the list of articles previously posted dealing with trench safety.

1.                  Construction Safety - Trench Collapse | Lombardi Law Firm

Jul 11, 2008 ... Marion, IL worksite saw the untimely deaths of two construction workers this past March when a trench caved in and buried the two men under ...
www.lombardilaw.com/.../construction-safety-trench-collapse.cfm - Cached - Similar -

2.                  Construction Site Safety - A trench box would have saved the ...

Bartow County, Georgia – The construction site in Bartow County off I-75 exit 296 experienced a trench collapse; then a worker fell 20 feet and was buried. ...
www.lombardilaw.com/.../construction-site-safety-a-trench-box-would-have-saved-the-georgian-tunnel-worker.cfm - Cached - Similar -

3.                  Trench Collapses On Pittsburgh Man | Lombardi Law Firm

Trench Collapses On Pittsburgh Man as he visits someone in the apartments. - 515-222-1110 - Three Fountains Office Park 4200 Corporate Drive, Suite 112 West ...
www.lombardilaw.com/.../trench-collapses-on-pittsburgh-man.cfm - Cached - Similar -

4.                  Workers Safety: Trench Collapses on builder worker | Lombardi Law Firm

Workers Safety: Trench Collapses on builder worker - 515-222-1110 - Three Fountains Office Park 4200 Corporate Drive, Suite 112 West Des Moines, IA 50266.
www.lombardilaw.com/.../workers-safety-trench-collapses-on-builder-worker.cfm - Cached - Similar -

5.                  Construction Worker Safety: Trench collapse and rescue operations ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWpk7bZvvcs. Construction Worker Safety: Trench collapse and rescue operations - new sewer line, worker dies. ...
www.lombardilaw.com/.../construction-worker-safety-trench-collapse-and-rescue-operations-new-sewer-line.cfm - Cached - Similar -

6.                  Construction Worker Safety: Trench collapse and rescue operations ...

In this video clip you will how many rescue workers it takes to save the life of one construction worker trapped in a cave-in or collapsed trench.
www.lombardilaw.com/.../construction-worker-safety-trench-collapse-and-rescue-operations-to-avoid-death-of-the-injured-w.cfm - Cached - Similar -

7.                  News | Lombardi Law Firm

He was able to climb out of the trench but took only a few steps before collapsing and died at the scene. The employee of Simmons Co., of Pittsboro was ...
www.lombardilaw.com/news.cfm?page=4&catid=-1 - Cached - Similar -

8.                  Construction Site Accidents | Central Iowa Accident Attorney ...

A construction worker was crushed to death when a trench collapsed in Brooklyn. .... Construction Site Safety – Trench boxes stop collapsing trenches from ...
www.lombardilaw.com/.../construction-site-accidents2.cfm - Cached - Similar -

9.                  Construction Site Safety – Trench boxes stop collapsing trenches ...

At Lombardi Law we make it a point to blog about the issues that affect those who are effected by accidents. Call us for a FREE evaluation of your case ...
www.lombardilaw.com/.../construction-site-safety-trench-boxes-stop-collapsing-trenches-from-trapping-workers.cfm - Cached - Similar -

10.              The Lombardi Law Firm Blog | Lombardi Law Firm

Construction Site Safety - A trench box would have saved the Georgian tunnel ... So why are the rules for safety not followed when it involves trench work? ...

WORKER SAFETY: Saw kickback can cause serious injury and death, like this Wisconsin worker

In a freak accident WEAU 13 News reports on a terrible accident involving a trench worker. In this incident being investigated by OSHA, 33-year-old Eugene Hakes, Jr., of Cadott was working for A-1 Excavating on a job site using a saw, it kicked back cutting his throat and causing his death. He was working in a trench cutting pipe, using a gas powered cut-saw to saw through a water main while putting in a new pump stations for the City of New Richmond in Wisconsin.

See Saw Blade Kickback, What Causes Kickback? DeKalb Saw and Tool.

Know your tools, don't be foolish or in a hurry.

How To Avoid Saw Kickback

Chainsaw Safety

Chainsaw Kickbacks

This worker's family, wife and children, should still be entitled to workers' compensation benefits. If you need help finding a lawyer in Wisconsin, contact the Lombardi Law Firm, we will gladly assist you.

Construction Site Safety - Crushed worker dies from a lack of the right safety culture

A 28-year old construction worker was crushed and killed while attempting to change a piece of equipment on the job in Prior Lake.  OSHA is inspecting.

The man, whose name was not released, was trying to change the bucket on a skid loader around 2:30 p.m. when he somehow got pinned between the bucket and the cab of the machine, according to the Scott County Sheriff's Office. He was working at Applied Ecological Services Inc. in the 21000 block of Mushtown Road.

There is no time-out from employing the right safety rules at the job site. Construction work is extremely unforgiving and dangerous.

 "Four" Safety - Implement OSHA's Four-Step Safety Program – requires a culture of safety.

Construction Site Safety - Crushed worker dies from a lack of the right safety culture

A 28-year old construction worker was crushed and killed while attempting to change a piece of equipment on the job in Prior Lake.  OSHA is inspecting. Iowa has had many of these types of crush injuries. Not so often about the head but to the arms, fingers, hands, feet and legs.

The man, whose name was not released, was trying to change the bucket on a skid loader around 2:30 p.m. when he somehow got pinned between the bucket and the cab of the machine, according to the Scott County Sheriff's Office. He was working at Applied Ecological Services Inc. in the 21000 block of Mushtown Road.

There is no time-out from employing the right safety rules at the job site. Construction work is extremely unforgiving and dangerous.

 "Four" Safety - Implement OSHA's Four-Step Safety Program – requires a culture of safety.

Construction Site Safety: Being your own contractor can be a tough way to save money.

Disgruntled drywaller kills over how much he was to be paid

In front of co-workers a drywaller shot and killed the homeowner following a dispute as to how much he was to be paid. The homeowner was only 43-years of age. The Jackson County, Missouri man then held up in his pick-up truck and held police off for several hours while negotiations ensued. It’s unclear what they were negotiating but the man asked to speak to his family and was thrown a phone.

Building a house and acting as your own contractor can be very difficult. Vendors in the construction trade will often times underbid the project to get the job hoping they can later increase the amount charged for worked added by the homeowner-contractor or latent defects that cause additional work. It’s frustrating to deal with these issues and with angry vendors. Everyone senses they are being played and in the end tempers can flare. Using a written contract is a one way of resolving disputes. All contracts should be bid and all bids should include a break down of time and materials along with a firm completion date.

Getting so mad that violence erupts is never the answer.

Construction Site Safety - A trench box would have saved the Georgian tunnel worker

Bartow County, Georgia – The construction site in Bartow County off I-75 exit 296 experienced a trench collapse; then a worker fell 20 feet and was buried. Firefighters worked furiously to save the man’s life, but couldn’t get to him. The job was making way for a new sewer line. The incident was thirty feet down and forty feet under the roadway, where the man was trapped.

This isn’t rocket science, its dirt work. You follow the safety rules and no one gets hurt, you don’t and someone can die. It’s really that simple. So why are the rules for safety not followed when it involves trench work?

Follow the link to see the video with Stacy Elgin reporting for Fox 5 News.

While we are talking about tunnels and how easily they can collapse let me draw your attention to tunnels in the Middle East. While researching this story I ran across a truly fascinating story about underground tunnels as a way to survive. There is an entire commercial enterprise on digging, running goods through and in owning the underground tunneling system in the Palestinian territories.

“Since Israel imposed its siege on Gaza after Hamas won democratic legislative elections in January 2006, the number of Palestinians tied to some segment of the tunnel industry has grown in direct proportion to the increasing lack of availability of raw materials and basic necessities, including food, fuel and medicine. Palestinian sources estimate that some 6,000 people are employed as diggers in the hundreds of tunnels crisscrossing the Gaza-Egyptian border.

But tunnels are not the romantic passageways portrayed in Hollywood films about World War II or Vietnam. You can die simply upon entering one—as a result of the tunnel collapsing, of suffocation from the tear gas lobbed in by Egyptian authorities, or from electrocution caused by the willy-nilly wiring jerry-rigged to provide lighting and ventilation. You can die simply by getting lost in the maze, or from breathing in the unstable sand. If you’re lucky, your body will be found and given a proper burial.

Like the toll houses of a bygone era, Gaza’s tunnels are owned by individuals who collect fees for their use. One such owner is Abu Khaled, a father of seven. Although he doesn’t dare traverse the 30- to 45-foot tunnel himself for fear it might collapse, Abu Khaled is among a growing number of tunnel entrepreneurs in the Philadelphia corridor, Rafah’s no-man’s-land between Gaza and Egypt. Others involved in the industry include diggers, runners, smugglers and merchants.

Tunnel owners earn $300 for each 100 pounds of goods smuggled in. (Smuggling animals for Gaza’s zoo can net up to $3,000 each!) With this revenue Abu Khaled supports 20 workers: diggers who do the dirty work, and runners who transport the goods. “

Hard to believe this can be the way people are living in this world. What is harder to believe is that the United States spent $28 Million coming up with a tunnel detection system. We can’t get contractors to spend the money for renting tunnel wall supports but we can spend $28 Million on equipment to locate them in the Middle East.

“Under pressure from Washington, Egypt recently escalated its efforts to shut down the tunnels, destroying scores in the past months and fast-tracking the acquisition and implementation of a new $28 million U.S.-made tunnel detection system. Israeli sources confirm that U.S. experts are working with the Egyptians to find and expose the tunnels along the Philadelphia corridor.

Providing the means for Gaza’s businesses to remain operating is a most lucrative form of smuggling. One tunnel owner who just a few months ago could afford nothing and used donkey carts for transportation now has enough money to afford luxury jeeps and merchandise for his wife.

The tunnels are not only used to supply Gazans with food, clothing, medicine, fuel and spare parts, however. They also make it possible to reunite families who have become separated when their non-Palestinian spouses find themselves prevented from reaching their husbands, wives or children as a result of the Israeli-imposed border closures. In desperation, they pay handsomely to be smuggled in or out of Gaza. One smuggler admits to having received $1,000 to reunite a European wife with her Palestinian husband and children living in Gaza.”

Is it only me or do other people see a failure of logic and sound economic policy in all of this?

Back to trench safety in America. Look at this video clip about trench safety. It will help you understand the concept.

Construction Safety - Excavator trench servicing and backfilling


OSHA has plenty of information available on trench and excavation safety.

Trenching and Excavation – by OSHA

Hazards and Solutions

The primary hazard of trenching and excavation is employee injury from collapse. Soil analysis is important in order to determine appropriate sloping, benching, and shoring. Additional hazards include working with heavy machinery; manual handling of materials; working in proximity to traffic; electrical hazards from overhead and underground power-lines; and underground utilities, such as natural gas. The following references aid in recognizing and controlling some of the hazards associated with trenching and excavation.

Special Emphasis: Trenching and Excavation. OSHA Directive CPL 02-00-069 [CPL 2.69], (1985, September 19). Establishes a National Emphasis Program (NEP) for the programmed safety inspection of trenching and excavation operations.

Working Outdoors in Warm Climates. OSHA Fact Sheet, (2005, September), 26 KB PDF, 2 pages.

OSHA offers a pamphlet on trench and excavation safety. Here are the warnings.

Protect Yourself

Trench Safety - OSHA 3197-04N-04

• Do not enter an unprotected trench!

• Trench collapses cause dozens of fatalities and hundreds of injuries each year.

• Trenches 5 feet deep or greater require a protective system.

• Trenches 20 feet deep or greater require that the protective system be designed by a registered professional engineer.

Protective Systems for Trenches

• Sloping protects workers by cutting back the trench wall at an angle inclined away from the excavation.

• Shoring protects workers by installing aluminum hydraulic or other types of supports to prevent soil movement.

• Shielding protects workers by using trench boxes or other types of supports to prevent soil cave-ins.

Competent Person OSHA standards require that trenches be inspected daily and as conditions change by a competent person prior to worker entry to ensure elimination of excavation hazards.

Safety Tips

• Inspect trenches at the start of each shift, following a rainstorm or after any other hazardous event.

• Test for low oxygen, hazardous fumes and toxic gases before entering a trench.

• Keep heavy equipment and excavation spoils at least two feet away from the trench edge.

• Provide stairways, ladders, ramps or other safe means of access in all trenches 4 feet or deeper.

Like I said it’s not rocket science. Construction workers, be smart, be safe and don’t risk your life for a boss and company that are too stupid and greedy to take the right safety measures. Know how to do the job the right way and if the boss or company asks you to do it wrong, call OSHA. If they fire you call a lawyer. Better to make the OSHA call then your wife calling the morgue.

Construction Site Safety - Crane operator from St. Louis County dies during disassembly

From the Lombardi Law Firm News...

A crane operator’s apprentice was killed in Maryland Heights as he was assisting the operator disassembling the crane. With his harness hooked into the crane’s cable he was pulled into the crane. The young man, Steve Michael Lillicrap was only 21 years-of-age. He was from St. Louis County. The work site was the Edward Jones north campus at Building B-1.

OSHA will inspect to determine the cause and how this could have been prevented. Here is a link and the sources for crane hazard evaluation that OSHA has available to those apprentices working with cranes.

To a crane operator, few experiences can be as frightening as when a crane becomes unbalanced while a load is being lifted or when the crane collapses under the weight of an excessive load. The following references aid in recognizing and evaluating hazards in the workplace.

       Working Outdoors in Warm Climates. OSHA Fact Sheet, (2005, September), 26 KB PDF, 2 pages.

       Key Switch Controlled Elevating and Rotating Aerial Lifts. OSHA Technical Information Bulletin (TIB), (2002, April 11). Also available as a 15 KB PDF, 3 pages. Informs users of aerial lifts that emergency rescue of employees on the lifts can be delayed.

       Crane or Derrick Suspended Personnel Platforms. OSHA Publication 3100, (2002). Also available as a 205 KB PDF, 46 pages.

       Construction Resource Manual: Table of Contents. OSHA. Includes links to various sections on crane and hoist safety.

       DOE-STD-1090-2004; Hoisting and Rigging Standard (Formerly Hoisting and Rigging Manual). US Department of Energy (DOE), (2004, June). Provides a table of contents to a reference document to be used by supervisors, line managers, safety personnel, equipment operators, and any other personnel responsible for safety of hoisting and rigging operations at DOE sites.

       Mobile Crane Inspection Guidelines for OSHA Compliance Officers. OSHA, (1994, June). Provides a generic, non-exhaustive overview of mobile crane inspection guidelines.

       Crane modifications. OSHA Hazard Information Bulletin (HIB), (1993, April 19). Discusses hazardous conditions created as a result of modifications for "auger piling" operations.

       Hoist Practices: Better safe than sorry. Industrial Distribution, (2001, October 23). Raises awareness of hoist safety issues and recommends safe work practices.

       Improper Support of an Elevator Car During Installation. OSHA Hazard Information Bulletin (HIB), (1995, June 22). OSHA investigated a fatality involving an elevator car sling and platform (these are also known as platforms, car frames and platforms, car slings, car frames, and safety planks) which was improperly supported during the erection and installation of a traction elevator.

       Crane Safety. US Department of Energy (DOE), Occupational Safety Observer, (1993, August). Discusses two separate incidents at DOE sites where cranes became unbalanced, as well as a related industrial incident in which a crane collapsed.

       Crane Safety for the Site Superintendent. OSHA, (1992), Video, 8 minutes. Links to a video that discusses some of the hazards and risks involved in crane operations and identifies information managers should be familiar with if cranes are operating on their site.

       For additional information, see OSHA's Safety and Health Topics Pages on:

       Fall Protection

       Machine Guarding

       Scaffolding

OSHA and Crane, Hoist and Monorail Alliance

       Fact Sheet No. 1: Proper Inspection and Maintenance of Overhead Cranes and Hoists. 94 KB DOC^*, 1 page. Describes standards, reference manuals and safety tips for the application and operation of overhead material handling equipment.

       Fact Sheet No. 2: Hoists, Cranes and Pullers - Safety & Warning Labels and Test Certification. 89 KB DOC^*, 1 page. Identifies items that operators and inspectors need to know when purchasing, installing or using hoist, crane and puller equipment. 

       Safety Tips Sheet No. 1: Proper use of Hand Signals for cab-controlled cranes. 300 KB DOC^*, 1 page. Includes nine industry standard hand signals that are used for communication between the operator in the crane’s cab and the floor person.

       Safety Tips Sheet No. 2: Pre-operational equipment check of Cranes and Hoists. 82 KB DOC^*, 1 page. Includes a pre-operational equipment checklist for cranes and hoists.

       Safety Tips Sheet No. 3: Safe Lifting Practices. 87 KB DOC^*, 1 page. Describes safe lifting practices for moving loads of material.

       Safety Tips Sheet No. 4: Hoist Operation. 87 KB DOC^*, 1 page. Describes what an operator should and should not do while operating a hoist.

Construction Site Safety - Falling brick kills worker

A 31-year old construction worker from Boston was killed yesterday when a large piece of the foundation, described as a “2-foot piece of brick fell on him.” The site is in the Financial District at Russia Wharf at the corner of Congress Street and Atlantic Avenue. OSHA is inspecting.

Construction Site Safety - In the news, worker deaths on the rise.

Construction accidents resulting in death have been more numerous lately. It may be a result of safety rules being ignored due to tighter deadlines resulting from the economic conditions we find ourselves. It doesn't matter in what countries the workers work the risk of death, wrongful death or being killed are prevalent in this high risk profession. People who come into contact with construction sites and those supporting the construction trades are also at risk.

Plane crash - 6 workers died on their way to the Plutonic Power Corp's Toba Inlet hydro power plant in South Thormanby Island, British Columbia. One worker miraculously who was asleep awoke and walked away from the burning plane wreckage. This is the second Grumman Goose plane to crash in Canada this year. Reuters of Canada also reported on this construction crew plane crash.

Heavy equipment overturn - A Colorado heavy equipment operator was killed when the crane he was driving went into a small ravine and creek near the construction site. Nov. 18, 2008. A video is available.

Second floor collapse while pouring concrete - Two workers rescued from under the ruble of a hospital construction site in Meridian, Mississippi. There were 12 to 15 workers on the floor when it collapsed. No fatalities reported.

Balance lost while installing windows on the seventh floor fall kills worker - While installing windows on the seventh floor of the construction site the worker lost his balance and fell to his death.  

Road construction worker hit by passing dump truck - Five years ago this occurred in Vineland, New Jersey. The driver of the dump truck has never been found.

A LeMars, Iowa construction worker was killed with a steel beam fell on him -  A 21 year old Storm Lake, Iowa man was killed.  S & L Construction of Storm Lake is building for Center Fresh Egg. Iowa OSHA is inspecting. In Iowa they are called IOSH. The worker is Jose Gustavo Sivrian, originally from El Salvatore.  The accident is being investigated not only by OSHA but along with the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office.

Subway collapse in China kills 4 workers - when a 75 meter long section collapsed trapping the workers. This is the Railway Construction Group.

Landslide at the Johor Baru construction site - killed two Indonesian workers who were building a hospital with their crew.  There is no mention of whether the construction practices being used at the site contributed to the earth and dirt instability.

Wall collapse in New Delhi, Indian killed one and injured two construction workers - Allegations have been leveled against the owner over illegal construction of the first floor level.

Dismantling a crane lead to a guardrail being cut on a platform attached to a tower crane - This New York construction site mishap caused the death of one worker and cost the two crane operator $50,000.00 and suspended licenses.

Hoisting materials and being under the load - This construction worker at a site in the town of San Pedro was killed when the pulley broke and the pallet of materials fell onto him. He was crushed by cement and tiles.  The investigation is pointing to defective nails used to secure the pulley to the fourth floor of the building under construction.

Exploding inert gas cylinders at a UK construction project kills one worker and injures another - "The blast at the Hertfordshire Data Centre on the Mundells Industrial Estate was described by fire officials as a "large scale incident," which investigators say was caused by a cylinder of argonite, (sic: perhaps aragonite) an inert gas used in data center fire suppression systems." Once ignited the cylinders became missiles firing and randomly flying about the site.

Lawrence, Massachusetts road construction site backing over accident kills a worker - at a highway paving project on I-495 a 31 year old worker was backed onto by a truck on the site. 

Equipment falling into trench as the ground under the excavator moving the heavy tank falls gave way or the equipment simply tipped over onto the worker burying him within the excavation.

Chula Vista construction worker killed by falling beam from crossbeam holding a wall - demolition work to make room for a new San Diego convention center.

Cab passenger driving past a construction area was killed by 200 foot high falling crane - Only 30 years of age and a promising life killed when the mast popped off and fell.  Follow the link to see photos of the construction area following the collapsed crane.  Also killed was a construction worker. Defective bolts could be the cause of the crane's mast coming off.

Repairing construction equipment kills worker when equipment pins him -  Grinding wheel of a large wood-chipping machine clogged, worker idles the engine, but didn't shut if off, worker in the repair process inadvertently engages lever that operates the chute, causing the chute to move and pinning the worker against a steel wall resulting in his suffocating to death.  The worker was 58 years of age.

Home under construction in Miami, collapsing concrete wall kills one worker and traps another for almost one hour.  Victim was 49-years-old.

U.S. Department of Labor indicates that in 2007 3.7 workers per one hundred thousand workers were killed. 

Construction Safety: Storm Lake Iowa construction worker killed by falling beam.

Construction Safety: Storm Lake Iowa construction worker killed by falling beam.

Construction worker killed by falling beam - Jose Gustavo Sivrian, was killed by a falling beam at the construction site of Fresh Egg Farms in Lemars, Iowa. Mr. Sivrian is a national of El Salvador, he was 21-years-old. IOSH and OSHA are investigating the incident that killed him. He worked for S & L Construction of Storm Lake, Iowa. The site is in Plymouth County, Iowa.

Injuries caused by falling beams are not new to construction sites. On November 10, 2008 at a construction site in Charlotte, North Carolina a crane dropped several steel beams from a bundle of steel near an uptown building under construction. The falling beams caused more than six windows to shatter as they fell and landed next to a school bus. .

The debris narrowly missed a school bus and seriously shook up the driver.

In 2006 a 42-year-old worker suffered a head injury and needed surgery when he was struck by a steel beam. That was a construction site to demolish a building. And on July 25, 2006 a similar incident occurred in Denver, Colorado when “two people were injured …. when braces that were holding a construction beam in place at a home north of Longmont gave way. The beam fell on the construction workers, critically injuring one of them.”

There are many more construction site incidents which seem to be increasing. Tomorrow we will explore several of these incidents from around the globe. Join us to see how recent construction site accidents are causing injury. If you know how others are getting injured and killed maybe you can stay away from being injured.

Construction Site Safety – Trench boxes stop collapsing trenches from trapping workers

On October 22, 2008 a 20-year-old man from Lenox, Mass. was working at a construction site occupying an excavated trench.  No trench box was being used and the 8 foot deep, 2 to 3 foot wide trench he was standing in collapsed onto him, burying him and causing him to suffocate to death. The side of the trench that caved in on him was sand and clay. The trench was designed to be where drain pipes would be laid for someone's home. Although the construction owner had a good safety record and cared very much for his workers, his caring mattered little when this 20-year-old died on that job site.

Question: So how could this tragedy have been avoided?  

Answer: A trench box.

A trench box would have prevented this accident. OSHA requires use of a trench box in this instance. Here is what 29 CFR 1926.652 states regarding protecting workers in excavations.

Simply put any employee working five feet or more below grade in an excavated area must be protected by a shielding system that prevents exactly what occurred in this case; a cave in that traps the construction worker.