New York Legal Authority
No matter how long you work in the construction industry, no matter how much experience you may have, a construction accident can still cost you your life. While a track record of safety violations may be fair warning that a contractor is attempting to save money by cutting corners, a company with a perfect safety record is no guarantee of your safety. Sadly, as they say about stock, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”
A family is morning the loss of a man killed in a construction accident during the demolition of an old industrial site in preparation of the construction of new ballpark. Both the subcontractor and the contractor for the site had had no safety violations in the last five years.
In a situation that is very similar to many demolition sites throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and the rest of New York City’s boroughs, a derelict factory was being demolished to clear the way for new construction.
From photos taken at the site, it appears a 30 x 10 section of a floor or wall broke away from the main building and tipped over on the excavator the man was operating. He was described as having 30 years of experience in the construction and demolition business and was operating the largest excavator in the site.
His brother stated he had spoken with the man the day before the accident and he had indicated that it was a “tough job” because of the size and thickness of the walls. It took rescues crews five hours to recover his body from the wreckage.
Minnesota OSHA investigators were looking into the causes of the fatal accident to determine if any safety violations may have been contributory factors. The conditions at the worksite were “treacherous” and may slow the investigation.
Source: Star Tribune, “Falling concrete kills worker at new St. Paul ballpark site,” Nicole Norfleet and Paul Walsh
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Excavator operator killed in demolition site collapse
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