Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyer - Workplace Injuries

Injury, Death When Boom Lift Falls In Kansas City Crane Accident

Brett Emison — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:27:22 GMT

The Kansas City Star reported that one man was killed and another critically injured when a boom lift or crane toppled over this afternoon at the site of Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.

A construction accident at the future home of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts killed one man and critically injured a second this afternoon.

A portable boom lift with a basket on top toppled over about 1:45 p.m. just north of the building under construction at 16th Street and Broadway. Both workers were in the basket before it plummeted about 50 feet to the pavement, said Kyle McQuiston with J.E. Dunn Construction Co.

The workers apparently fell from the basket on the way down, police said.

The injured workers were taken to area hospitals. One died at the hospital, Kansas City police said. The other was conscious in serious condition this afternoon, police said.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of these workers. Construction workers rely on their equipment to protect them and no worker should be forced to face the danger of falling to their death.

One has to ask -- why do these crane accidents keep happening? There was a crane collapse in Westin, Missouri just last year. In that collapse, one worker was killed and three other workers were injured. There have been similar crane and boom lift accidents in Oklahoma City, in Florida, and in Philadelphia.

In my work, I see far too many deaths from crane accidents and lift accidents. Each of these deaths or injuries was easily and tragically preventable.

In a recent case we handled, a repairman was working on a similar type crane/boom lift. The repairman extended the boom to test his repair and the crane suddenly tipped over, crushing and killing him. Why don't these manufacturers implement simple safety measures to prevent tragedies like this from happening?

Instead of fixing the problems, these cranes and lifts are often designed without adequate safety protections. For example, in our recent case, the crane was not equipped with a device that prevented the boom from being extended without the outriggers being firmly locked in place. Many other cranes had a safety device that would have prevented the accident, but the crane manufacturer decided it was wasn't worth the cost.

The news report was unclear as to the cause of the crane accident at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. But is makes you wonder. Could the boom extend without the outriggers deployed to stabilize the crane? Was the crane situated on uneven ground? Was the lift maintained correctly? Did the hydraulics fail? Remarkably, none of the other co-workers saw the crane tip over. Why?

You can learn more about dangeorus and defect products -- including cranes and lifts -- at our safety blog or at our web site.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Emison

Worker Dies At Taum Sauk Construction Site

Chrissie Cole — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:36:00 GMT

A female laborer with Ozark Constructors died in a construction accident Tuesday while working on a concrete placement at the Taum Sauk reservoir in southeast Missouri.

She was flown to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where she later died from the serious injuries she sustained. Her name has not been released.

The cause of the accident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The investigation can take up to six months to complete.

The AmerenUE reservoir, located in Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park in Reynolds County, is being rebuilt after the utility’s hydroelectric plant breached in 2005, spilling 1.3 billion gallons of water through the state park, injuring the park superintendent and his family, destroying the park and damaging the East Fork of the Black River and the lower Taum Sauk Reservoir.

In 2007, Ameren agreed to pay the state of Missouri nearly $180 million to rebuild in the aftermath of the state’s worst man-made disaster.

The company denied further comment pending an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Construction Worker Dies at Fort Bliss

Shannon Weidemann — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:46:09 GMT

A construction worker on a job site at Fort Bliss in Texas was killed on Friday. The construction accident involved a C.F. Jordan employee and not a member of the military. The victim was hit by a concrete block.

Fort Bliss firefighters responded to the incident, which happened about 9:30 a.m. at a construction site on Biggs Army Airfield. The victim was a 45-year-old man who had been with the company for more than 10 years.

The victim's name has not been released and there are no further details on why the accident happened. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as base officials, will be investigating the accident.

If you would like to learn more about construction accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Workplace Injuries information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Texas Man Dies in Accident at Work

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:45:32 GMT

A 28-year-old man from Bartlett died of injuries he sustained at the TECO-Westinghouse Motor Co. manufacturing plant in Round Rock, Texas. The firefighters that responded to the scene treated him for a chest and abdomen injury. The workplace injury happened last week Monday.

Round Rock firefighters said they received a call from TECO-Westinghouse about 1:45 p.m. When they arrived, they found Bice unconscious. They performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and used a defibrillator until paramedics arrived.
TECO-Westinghouse, a manufacturer of electric motors and generators, referred questions to Austin attorney Wayne Meissner. He would not answer questions about the incident.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the accident.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Workplace Injuries and Discrimination.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Risk of Work Injury Higher in Overweight

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 25 May 2007 13:24:19 GMT

A new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology has shown that more overweight and obese people are involved in workplace injuries than others. Researchers based the study on Body Mass Index (BMI) calculations.

BMI is a measure of body fat based on an adult's height and weight. It is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. According to the CDC, a BMI below 18.5 is considered underweight, 18.5 to 24.9 is normal; 25 to 29.9 is overweight and over 30 is obese. Of the 7,690 workers included in the study, 29 percent were injured at least once between January 2, 2002, and December 31, 2004. Approximately 85 percent of the injured workers were classified as overweight or obese.

It is not known if supporting employees to lose weight will reduce the amount of worksite injuries. Worksite injuries mean lost time and loss of safety ratings to businesses.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Dupont Records 60 Years Without Lost Time

Shannon Weidemann — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:24:54 GMT

A Stow, Ohio Dupont Performance Elastomers plant has gone 60 years without an OSHA recordable workplace injury. This is a huge milestone to achieve.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the comparable
recordable injury rate for workers in the synthetic rubber industry was 2.9
cases per 100 workers in 2005. If the Akron site's performance had been at
the industry average, there would have been 64 injuries over a 60 year
period.
"As a technology laboratory focused on applications development, our
employees operate equipment comparable to that which our customers have at
their manufacturing operations," said Don Germano, Akron site manager. "The
potential for injury is definitely present, and given these challenges,
this milestone represents an enduring commitment to safe behavior and
operating discipline."

Dupont Performance Elastomers is a subsidary of Dupont. Starting in 1946 they have gone 4.4 million hours with no lost time.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Problems With Texas' Workers Comp System

Staff Writer — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 09:12:22 GMT

A story from Dalas-Ft.Worth's WFAA-TV details the problems of Texas' workers compensation system through the eyes of two injured workers, Robert Frederick and Frankie Dutcher. Frederick suffers from a back injury he sustained while working as an auto mechanic four years ago, while Dutcher suffers from serious side-effects of exposure to hamful chemicals while working as a power-line repairman in 1996.

Both men's hopes are pinned on sweeping reforms adopted by the Texas Legislature last year. Lawmakers abolished the old workers' comp commission and handed over operations to the Texas Department of Insurance.
"This is a new agency with a new approach, with a new culture," said Albert Betts, the state's Commissioner of Workers' Compensation. "We're still, for all intents and purposes, in the baby stages of getting up and running."

Read the full workers' compensation article.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Denial of Workers' Compensation Benefits

Staff Writer — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 15:03:27 GMT

Recently, the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of workers' compensation benefits to an employee who had a pre-existing condition that he argued was aggravated by a work-related incident. The administrative law judge that heard the case determined that the work-related incident did not cause the underlying problem, and the condition was related to a pre-existing injury and thus was not compensable.

The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the administrative determination in Smith v. Donco Construction. Clearly, since the legislative changes took place in late 2005 there has been a shift in the interpretation of the law which is less favorable for the injured workers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Lawsuit Filed Challenging Worksite Injury Laws

Staff Writer — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 15:14:29 GMT

On November 30, 2005 a lawsuit was filed by the Mo. Alliance for Retired Americans, et al. against the Missouri Dept. of Labor and Industrial Relations and Division of Workers' Compensation, Case No. 05AC-CC01114 in the Cirucit Court of Cole County, Missouri. The lawsuit seeks a ruling by the Court regarding the Constitutionality of the new workers' compensation law.

This matter is scheduled for hearing on February 6, 2006. It will be interesting to see if the sweeping reform made by the Republican controlled legislature will remain in effect. Personally, I believe that the reform was overreaching and should be struck down. Clearly, based on the sweeping tort reform made by the Republicans after they gained control of the legislature and the executive branch was repayment to big business and the insurance companies for their contributions. Some of the changes that were made may have been needed; however, the vast majority of changes were solely for the benefit big business and not based on rational legal principles.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Court Order Entered in Worksite Injury Cases

Staff Writer — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 14:56:05 GMT

In August of 2005 new legislation took effect which impacted the area of Missouri's workers compensation laws. The new law contained drafting errors which called into question whether or not injured workers would be covered by workers compensation insurance.

Liberty Mutual (a workers compensation insurer) filed a declaratory judgment action seeking an order from the Circuit Court of Cole County, Missouri declaring that the new legislation's drafting error did not invalidate the law. The lawsuit also wanted the Court to find that the subseqently amended legislation which was entered for the purpose of correcting the prior clerical mistake also covered those injured workers between August 28, 2005 and December 14, 2005. On January 6, 2006 the judge granted the insurer's request, and found that the workers' compensation law was effective August 28 through December 14, 2005 and applied to all cases (except those exclusively covered by federal law).

The effect of this ruling means that the exclusive remedy for injured workers seeking compensation against their employer for a work related accident will be via the workers' compensation laws. Had this ruling not been entered then the injured employee might have had a common law claim against their employer for your more traditional tort theories, such as negligence, premises liability, etc.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer