Construction Accidents

November 20, 2009

Kirk Bernard’s Tips on How to Protect Yourself from Typical Construction Site Injuries

As a construction accident attorney, Kirk Bernard is aware that when working on a construction site in the state of Washington, there are steps you can take to protect yourself from a construction site injury. Being aware of your surroundings and potential danger is the first step to avoid suffering an injury in a Seattle construction accident.

Make sure you wear appropriate personal protective equipment. Don’t, for example, show up at a construction site wearing thin-soled shoes. Nails could easily penetrate your shoes. Always wear a hard hat in designated areas. Tools could fall on your head, you could fall from a ladder or you could fall from a roof. Protect your head from potential head and brain injuries.

For more information regarding how you can help protect yourself against construction accident injuries, read the entire article.

November 20, 2009

Kirk Bernard Discusses Aftermath of Construction Wrongful Death Accidents in Washington

By Kirk Bernard

The death of a loved one can have a devastating impact on surviving family members. During this time of grief, it’s difficult to think of anything else except the loss of that special person.

But after the grieving ends, what is there to do about the ones who caused the death? Did the construction site employers, contractors and/or subcontractors fail to provide a safe environment for the loved one? Did that failure cause the accident that led to the death of the loved one?

Wrongful death can arise as a result of construction site accidents in Seattle. Wrongful death occurs when a person’s reckless or negligent actions result in the death of another. Wrongful death attorney Kirk Bernard knows that in order to win a wrongful death lawsuit, the following must be proven: defendant had a duty to the decedent; defendant breached that duty; death was caused by defendant’s breach of that duty; and the survivors have suffered damages as a result of the loss and death of the decedent.

November 6, 2009

Kirk Bernard Reveals 9 Common Causes of Construction Accidents

By Kirk Bernard

Taking into account that there are multiple reasons why a construction accident may occur, a recent Ezines article by Kirk Bernard reveals the 9 most common causes of these often catastrophic incidents. In discussing the most frequently seen events that lead to a construction accident, Seattle personal injury attorney Kirk Bernard addresses how negligence leading to serious injuries on a construction site may involve misuse of equipment and tools, unsafe work areas, and failure to use protective gear.

The article is a means to help keep construction companies and workers aware of common accidents and injuries that they can avoid by maintaining a safe working environment and adhering to proper regulations and procedures. To learn more about the 9 most common causes of construction accidents and how they can be prevented, please refer to the full article.

March 31, 2009

Microsoft’s Redmond Campus Construction Accident Kills Worker

By Kirk Bernard

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.
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September 18, 2008

Construction Worker Injured on the Job

By Kirk Bernard

While working in a trench Tuesday afternoon, a construction worker was hit in the back of the head with a cable in a construction accident in Lake Stevens.

Though his injuries were not considered life threatening, crews rescued the man from the trench and took him to the hospital. The injured man works for Plats Plus Inc., a Marysville construction company.

At about 1:30pm, the man was injured while working with a crew installing sewer extensions along 81st Avenue NE near Highway 204 west of Lake Stevens. Company spokesman Paul Nolan said that while working inside a concrete box, a cable splice broke and hit him in the back of the head.
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November 7, 2007

Contruction Worker Killed in Fall

By Kirk Bernard

A 60 foot fall from a crane killed a construction worker in Seattle on Monday.

Helen Fitzpatrick, Seattle Fire Department Spokesperson, stated that the man, a tower crane operator, fell to the concrete below while he was climbing down the crane’s ladder. The Seattle Construction accident happened at approximately 8:30am.

The construction site is near the intersection of 3rd Avenue and Bell Street. Firefighters responded to the fatal construction accident and transported the man to Harborview Medical Center. He