The seattletimes.com website reported in an article on February 19, 2009 that an ironworker was crushed to death at a construction site on the Microsoft Redmond campus at 4480 154th Place Northeast, off 156th Avenue Northeast. According to witness reports, the ironworker was attempting to set a rebar formation that had just been cut from a crane into cement when it fell onto him. The iron worker was tied to the rebar formation when a support gave way underneath him. An ironworker who was helping guide the rebar escaped unscathed.
Jim Boye, Redmond police spokesman, said, “The crane operator is devastated. He witnessed the whole thing.”
CPR attempts, as well as the use of a defibrillator, were all useless, and the ironworker was pronounced dead at the scene.
Work at the construction site has come to a standstill while the Washington work related death is investigated.
Construction sites are dangerous by nature; however, there are certain factors that increase that inherent hazard. One of the leading causes of construction related deaths is being struck by objects. About 75 percent of struck by fatalities involve heavy equipment used in construction work such as trucks or cranes. According to Department of Labor statistics, the number of workers fatally struck by a vehicle was at a seven-year high in 1998.
When workers are standing or working beneath cranes or scaffolds, they risk being hit by falling objects. There is also danger from flying objects when activities such as pushing, pulling, drilling, prying or the use of power tools cause objects to become airborne. Injuries can range from minor cuts to concussions, blindness or death. Such injuries may be prevented or minimized by using safety equipment such as hard hats and storing and using equipment appropriately.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a construction site accident in Washington, The Bernard Law Group can assist you. The Bernard Law Group is an aggressive and experienced Seattle personal injury law firm devoted exclusively to representing injury and accident victims. They have been successful in obtaining millions of dollars for our clients in a number of settlements and trial verdicts.