Over the summer, many communities in and around Chicago undertake infrastructure and building projects. Due to decreased use from June to August, schools are often places that cities choose to work during this time. While some school building projects are simple refurbishments, others are full-scale new construction projects.
In the neighboring state of Wisconsin, a high school in a small community was recently undergoing some construction work. The construction company that was hired to do work at the high school, along with the community, suffered a terrible loss when one of the company’s employees was killed in a construction accident.
While details regarding the accident are sparse, it is clear that a 30-year-old man was killed when a crane fell and pinned him to the ground. Reports state that the man suffered head injuries and died at the scene. It also appears that the crane was bent and was damaged in the violent incident.
Crane accidents are very dangerous due to the large and heavy nature of the machinery. When they malfunction they can fall and damage anything in their paths. It can also be difficult for a person on the ground to tell if he will be affected by a falling crane because it can be hard to tell just where the mechanism will land.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating this construction worker accident to determine why the worker’s death occurred. It will look at any errors his employer made in training him to perform the work, any defects in the machinery he was using and many other factors that could have contributed to the accident. Depending upon its findings, OSHA could give the family of the deceased victim cause to file a wrongful death lawsuit for the damages suffered from the victim’s death.
Source: Channel3000.com, “30-year-old killed by broken crane at construction site, officials say,” June 20, 2014
