Richard Korman/ENR Maria Leo, right, mother of crane operator Donald Leo, who died in the 2008 tower crane accident, and attorney Bernadette Panzella, criticize acquittal of crane owner James Lomma outside Manhattan courtroom. Richard Korman/ENR James Lomma, left, leaving the defense table minutes after his acquittal in state court in Manhattan on manslaughter charges. Related Links: Acquittals in Ground Zero Fire Trial Acquitted Master Rigger Seeks Return of License Lomma Employee Plea Deal 2010 Tudor Van Hampton Blog on Lomma Case In six terse sentences following two months of testimony and technical detail, a state court judge in Manhattan cleared
Related Links: Results of AGC safety survey DOT Secretary LaHood's blog on work zone safety More than two-thirds of highway contractors responding to a new Associated General Contractors of America survey say that motor vehicles crashed into their work zones over the past 12 months and almost one-fifth reported construction-worker fatalities in those accidents.AGC released the survey on April 23, near the start of National Work Zone Awareness Week, a joint industry-government effort to put a spotlight on the dangers on highway job sites and reduce fatalities and injuries.There has been progress. According to U.S. Dept. of Transportation statistics, there
Related Links: Building Sequence Probed at Cincinnati Casino Collapse Six contractors building Cincinnati's $400-million Horseshoe Casino did not take steps to ensure the building was stable before pouring a concrete floor atop the steel-framed structure, according to U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations issued earlier this month. The probe calls into question the roles, responsibilities and inspection procedures of the trades working on the project.The building is a straightforward design, with beam-to-column double connections. "I think the lesson to be learned is that every structure is unique, and every structure needs new consideration for safety," says Jeffrey L. Garrett,
Photo by the New York Times/Hiroko Masuike Collapse of crane's lattice boom killed laborer and injured three others at site of subway line extension on Manhattan's West Side. Photo by N.Y. Daily News Investigators are looking at frayed cable and broken wire strands on the crane's hoist system for clues to the accident's cause. Investigators looking into the latest deadly crane collapse on a New York City construction site say a failure of the crane's hoist system is the likely cause of the accident, which left one dead and three others injured. But the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the state agency
Related Links: TV News Report One Day After Lightning Strike on the Revel Project TV News Report on the Day of the Lightning Strike at the Revel Two workers injured last September by a lighting strike while building an Atlantic City casino resort, and the widow of a third worker who was killed, filed a lawsuit April 4 against contractors and others involved with the project.Dennis Lamond and Joe Forcinito, the workers, and Carmen Bradley, the widow of Bryan Bradley, filed a lawsuit in state court in Atlantic City against Tishman Construction Corp. and Network Construction Co., Pleasantville, N.J.Network Construction
AP Photo Project in New York City where latest crane collapse killed a worker. Related Links: Former Regulator Testifies in N.Y. Crane Criminal Trial Lawyers Trade Contradictory Facts as N.Y. Crane Collapse Criminal Trial Restarts The crane that collapsed on the site of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s No. 7 line subway extension project in New York City had passed its most recent inspection in January and was set for another one this week, a source close to the project has told ENR.The collapse, which occurred April 3 shortly before 7:30 p.m. and killed one worker, was called a “freak accident”
Courtesy of Wilhammer Industries Harness is part of a new line of fall-arrest equipment. Tragedy sparked a new idea about safety for Max Wilhammer, who creates customized fall-protection harnesses including some that provide longer protection for dangling construction workers who have fallen and been saved by their harnesses.Hanging in a harness after a fall for more than five minutes in an upright posture, with legs relaxed straight beneath the body, can cause serious injury or death, according to Occupational Safety and Health magazine. Wilhammer says that severe injury is possible after eight to 12 minutes. Others have put the time
Dana Lowe, a 53-year-old subcontractor for steel erector CSE Inc., based in Williston, Vt., died on March 14 in a crane-related accident at a Hanover Inn hotel construction site in Hanover, N.H.Lowe was injured on the afternoon of March 13 when a crane hook hit the aerial lift he was working on, causing it to topple over, according to a statement by Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone. "Lowe landed on the concrete deck of a portion of new construction," he stated.The New Hampshire Medical Examiner's Office listed the cause of death as blunt-force trauma to the head. The case is
The Gatlinburg, Tenn., wastewater treatment plant has had a third worker fatality in less than a year after an earthen wall collapse killed a demolition worker Feb. 23The identity of the victim was confirmed as Michael “Mike” Eugene Wells, 58, of Candler, N.C., an employee of Roberson Inc. of Enka, N.C. The confirmation was from Brad Searson, an Asheville, N.C., attorney who has been hired by Marjorie Mae Wells, the worker’s widow.Wells “was struck from behind with dirt and rock and received fatal wounds,” according to a statement issued by the City of Gatlinburg after the incident. He was removed
AP/Wideworld Casino floor collapsed as workers were pouring concrete, injuring 13 people. Investigators looking into the cause of a non-fatal construction collapse of a casino floor in Cincinnati in late January and a casino garage deck in Cleveland in late December are searching for common clues, while contractors have added quality controls for extra safety.The developer of both casinos, a joint venture between Rock Gaming LLC and Caesars Entertainment Inc., insists the accidents are not linked. "These are two different construction management companies, two different contractors, two different sites, two different areas," Steve Rosenthal, manager of the $400-million, 354,000-sq-ft Horseshoe
RSS
