Massachusetts Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

OSHA will investigate the site of a construction accident in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The accident occurred on a Thursday morning a few weeks ago when the ground gave way around Christopher Coppin, trapping the 34-year-old man for several hours. An estimated 100 rescuers from over a dozen departments rushed to the scene of the accident.

Family and neighbors watched as rescue crews worked to free Coppin before rain complicated the situation further. An on-looker commented that “I’ve been on several construction sites where bad accidents have happened. This is by far one of the most tragic ones I’ve ever witnessed.”

Fortunately, crews were able to clear the debris and move Coppin to a gurney in about four hours. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was listed in satisfactory condition.

In Southboro, Massachusetts, two workers with serious burns were transported to the hospital after an electrical explosion at an abandoned cold storage building last week. The two men were working in the basement and caused the explosion when they cut a live wire that they believed had been disconnected.

Fire officials did not release the names of the injured workers, but an electrical worker was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester and a demolition worker was taken to MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham. Their burns were not considered life-threatening. Four workers in other parts of the building (which is owned by Equity Industrial Partners Inc. of Needham) where the explosion occurred were not injured.

Fire engines from Framingham, Marlboro, and Northboro responded to the 911 call. National Grid cut off power to the building. Fire officials said they believe the explosion was accidental. An inspector from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was sent to investigate the building.

In light of recent crane accidents around the country, crane safety has been a top concern for city officials across the country. Federal investigators from OSHA descended on a Houston oil refinery over the weekend to examine the site of a crane accident that took four workers’ lives and injured seven others. The 30-story-tall crane, which was capable of lifting up to 1 million pounds, had collapsed last Friday around 1:20 pm.

The Louisiana-based crane company Deep South Crane & Rigging released the names of the four dead workers. They were identified as: Marion “Scooter” Hubert Odom III, 41; John D. Henry, 33; Daniel “DJ” Lee Johnson, 30; and Rocky Dale Strength, 30. Two severely injured workers were sent to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center Hospital for treatment. Five other injured workers had already been released following treatment.

One lawsuit stemming from the collapse has already been filed in a Harris County state district court on behalf of Grant Pasek, who was injured after jumping from an elevated bucked. Pasek’s attorney told the Houston Chronicle that the temporary restraining to preserve the scene and evidence relating to the crane accident.

A 15-year-old boy was injured while helping his uncle on a residential construction project in Northborough, Massachusetts earlier this month. The uncle was identified as Stephen MacDonald of Natick and the company in question is Stephen MacDonald Construction, Inc. The names of the teen and his 16-year-old brother, who was also helping, have not been released to the press.

The two teens were moving lumber when the younger brother fell through a hole in the first floor, landing face-first in the basement. The injured teen flew by emergency helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. Despite his injuries from the construction accident, emergency personnel say the boy was alert and conscious when they arrived.

According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) spokesperson Ted Fitzgerald, both OSHA and the Wage and Hourly Division of the U.S. Department of Labor are investigating the incident. The Wage and Hourly Division is determining whether child labor laws were violated. Several job are classified as too dangerous for young teens and the Department’s website lists “construction or repair jobs” as a potentially hazardous job.

On Sunday, July 6 a 38-year-old man suffered severe injuries after being pinned by an 8,800-pound machine at the Osram Sylvania plant in Exeter, New Hampshire. The machine, which is used to make light bulb equipment, fell onto the man’s lower half.

Several people called 911 and rescue teams called in additional people and equipment to help. Two sets of high pressure air bags and cribbing were needed to free the man. A helicopter from Boston MedFlight transported the victim to a Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital, where he is receiving care for leg and other injuries.

The man’s name and the full extent of his injuries remain unknown.

In response to a string of fatal crane accidents in New York City, city officials in Boston and around the country are cracking down on crane safety. Boston residents may remember the crane accident that occurred during the Big Dig in 1999. The injured worker settled for $8 million.

Though Boston building inspectors are already required to complete a 10-hour course about scaffolding and hoist safety, city officials say they hope to be even more cautious about crane safety in the future. Already state regulators in Massachusetts are working on a year-long initiative to make licensing requirements for crane operators even more difficult to improve safety. They are considering a proposal that would mandate a field test every two years so that operators can demonstrate their ability to operate the dangerous machinery.

Though OSHA claims that crane safety is a high priority, Boston’s 7News discovered that there has only been one tower inspection in almost three years, because the organization doesn’t routinely inspect cranes unless there has been an accident or complaint.

On a construction site at 5 Wall Street in Burlington, Massachusetts, an elevated section of cement collapsed, injuring five construction workers just before noon on Friday, June 20. According to Assistant Burlington fire Chief Steven Yetman, the section was about 15 to 18 feet above the ground and measured 10 feet by 80 feet in length.

The construction workers sustained back, head, neck, and arm injuries. Burlington and Rescue units transported the workers by ambulance to Lahey Clinic. The names of the injured workers have not been released.

Located at the intersection of Route 128 and Route 3, the building where the accident occurred has six floors and will be certified as a LEED project by the U.S. Green Building Council. The cause of the construction site accident is unknown, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) plans to investigate.