North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

A North Carolina construction worker died on December 2 after he was struck by a tool that fell from the 11th Floor in an elevator shaft located in the Wachovia tower. Jonathan Beatty, an elevator installer employed by Thyssenkrupp Elevator Corp., was 24. The work accident that caused his death is the third accident to occur at the Wachovia construction site, located at Tryon and Stonewall, within a month.

On November 10, steel beams dropped from a crane, smashing into windows before hitting the ground. Shards of glass fell toward motorists and pedestrians below. No one was injured in this second construction accident.

On November 4, Leslie Hopper sustained damage to her property when glass from the Wachovia construction site fell onto her vehicle, flattening her tires, breaking her windshield, and damaging her sunroof. Hopper and her daughter were headed out of town when the accident happened. Hopper has expressed frustration that the construction company didn’t do more to ensure motorist and pedestrian safety.

North Carolina Construction Accidents
Construction accidents can result in serious injuries for construction workers and others, such as pedestrians and motorists passing by the site, and other parties that may be on or around the work premise. For the year ending in September 2008, 18 construction-related fatalities occurred in North Carolina.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers do not have to report a work accident unless three or more people end up in the hospital or one person is killed. An OSHA investigation usually takes at least four weeks. During this time, OSHA employees will inspect the accident scene, gather evidence, and interview witnesses to determine the cause of the work accident and find out whether any safety standards were violated.

Wachovia tower incident provides window into worksite rules, Creative Loafing, December 9, 2008

Job at tower gave worker new hope for his dream, Charlotte.com, December 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Wachovia Condominium Tower, Emporis.com

Continue reading "Charlotte Construction Worker’s Death is Third Work Accident Involving Wachovia Project in a Month" »

A construction worker sustained critical injuries in North Carolina on Saturday after falling from a more than five story height. The work accident occurred at future site of the luxury Vue Condominiums located in uptown Charlotte.

Fall Accidents at Work:
15% of disabling work injuries are a result of fall accidents, slip accidents, and trip accidents. Some 5,100 workers died in fall accidents in 1999.

Kinds of Falls:

Elevated Falls:These happen less often but result in more serious injuries.

Examples of Elevated Falls:
• Falls from the higher levels of a construction project
• Falls from ladders
• Falls from motor vehicles
• Falls from construction equipment, such as cranes and loading docks

Same-Level Falls: These happen more often but result in less severe injuries.

Examples of Same-Level Falls:
• Slip and fall accidents
• Trip and fall accidents
• Step and fall accidents

It is important that construction companies provide workers with the proper safety clothing and gear and that the correct safety procedures are followed on the site. Failure to implement safety measures can lead to catastrophic injuries. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says that fall accidents are a leading accidental cause of construction accident deaths.

Worker Critically Injured in 5-Story Fall, Charlotte Observer, October 5, 2008

Man Falls from Uptown Construction Site, WSOCTV.com, October 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Preventing Injuries from Slips, Trips and Falls, CDC.gov

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Continue reading "North Carolina Worker Sustains Life-Threatening Injuries After Fall At Charlotte Construction Site" »

The deadly New York crane collapse that left seven people dead and 10 others injured has brought the issue of crane safety to attention—especially in Charlotte, North Carolina where a number of cranes are in operation.

Heade Southeast, Inc. operates 20 cranes in Center City Charlotte alone, not to mention another 20 cranes in the rest of the region. Some cranes can carry weight as heavy as 40,000 pounds.

The North Carolina Department of Labor says that there have been four deaths involving cranes in North Carolina since 2004. Dennis Kenna, Heade Southeast President, cites human error or disregard of the manufacturer’s safety recommendations as causes for crane accidents.

Recent North Carolina construction-related crane accidents:

November 2006: No one was injured when a crane collapsed at a construction site at Caldwell and Third Streets.

May 2006: A construction worker suffered a broken arm, neck, and legs when he was struck by a big concrete bucket that fell from a crane.

August 2004: A construction worker died at 'Steel Fab' in West Charlotte when a large steel beam crushed him.

May 2004: A construction worker died in Statesville after a crane hit him.

In New York on Monday, rescue workers pulled three more bodies from the rubble of Saturday’s catastrophic crane collapse--bringing the death toll to seven. The three victims are construction workers Clifford Canzona and Santino Gallino and Florida resident Odin Torres.

Torres is the only fatality that was not a construction workers. She was visiting her friend John Gallego in a nearby town home at the time of the collapse. The town home was destroyed by the crane. As of Tuesday, Gallego was in critical condition after being pulled from below 30 feet of rubble.

The crane had fallen when a 5 ½-ton steel collar, which workers had been installing around the crane, brook loose. The falling collar hit another collar, which destabilized the crane. The crane then smashed into the building on East 51st street and then the townhouse.

If you have been injured in a North Carolina or South Carolina construction accident, you should contact our personal injury law firm for your free consultation.

Death toll in New York crane collapse rises to 7, Los Angeles Times, March 18, 2008

Crane safety questioned after incident, News14.com, March 17, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Crane Accidents

Continue reading "Deadly New York Crane Accident Highlights Safety Issues As Multiple Cranes Operate in Charlotte, North Carolina" »

In North Carolina, A construction worker was injured in Raleigh on Monday after falling down an elevator shaft while working on the RBC Plaza site. The man was in a big metal basket and being lowered down the shaft with a crane when he fell some 14 feet from the 21st floor of the high-rise construction structure. The patient was treated at WakeMed.

The injured man broke his ankle and ribs. A Hardin construction worker says that this is the first serious injury sustained by a construction worker since the construction project began in October.

Unfortunately, construction accidents have been known to occur frequently to construction workers because of the nature of their job. Crane accidents, exposure to hazardous substances, electric shock, explosions, welding accidents, defective or faulty equipment or machinery, falling from great heights, and getting hit by heavy falling or moving objects are some of the common kinds of construction injuries that occur.

Construction accidents can lead to serious injuries, such as broken bones, serious burns, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, permanent disabilities, loss of limbs, and death. Due to the seriousness of some construction injuries and the nature of construction work, an injured person may find themselves permanently unable to work.

Workers’ Compensation benefits, which provides injury and death compensation for employees injured or killed on the job, prevent an employee for being able to sue an employer for injuries sustained on the job. However, the presence of workers’ compensation benefits does not mean that you shouldn’t contact a personal injury if you have been injured on the job in North Carolina or South Carolina.

Your workers’ compensation lawyer can make sure you are getting the maximum amount of benefits that you qualify for and that you receive your compensation as soon as possible. Your attorney can deal with the company’s insurance company to make sure that your rights are protected.

Your personal injury lawyer can also investigate your construction accident to determine whether a third party can be held liable for your injuries. The manufacturers of defective construction equipment or machinery or companies associated with the construction project are just a few third parties who could be held liable with a personal injury or wrongful death claim or lawsuit.

Fall injures worker at RBC Plaza, Newsobserver.com, October 16, 2007

Construction worker hurt in fall in Raleigh, ABC11.com, October 15, 2007

Related Web Resources:

North Carolina Statutes and Rules, Workerscompensation.com

RBC Plaza

Continue reading "North Carolina Construction Worker Falls Down Elevator Shaft In Raleigh " »