Construction workers put their lives at risk every day and it is the responsibility of construction companies and managers to ensure that those workers are safe. If there is any kind of lapse in following safety guidelines and laws, the consequences can be tragic, as exemplified in a recent construction accident that occurred in the Bronx.
An industrial cooling unit was in the process of being lifted by crane at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital. The unit, which was sitting on a flatbed, had been leased to the hospital. Employees from the company that leased the unit were on site at the construction site. Workers from a towing company were also at the site, employed to transport the cooling unit to its new location.
A witness at the scene described hearing a large snap and then feeling the earth shake. The cooling unit had fallen off of the flatbed and onto a worker at the site, killing him. Witnesses said the man had no chance to get out of the way.
Here is a case where taking proper precautions could have saved the life of this man. If the supervisors at the site had taken the time to verify that the cooling unit was secured to the flatbed, this man might have been able to avoid his fate. Regardless of which company is at fault for this fatal construction site accident, an important lesson is to be learned here. Failing to follow rules of safety can result in serious injury and death.
Source: New York Daily News, “Giant AC crushes, kills man outside Bronx-Lebanon Hospital,” Rocco Parascandola, Denis Slattery and Stephen Rex Brown, Dec. 4, 2012