Jacksonville construction accidents and across the country are down. The U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the national rates of fatal work injuries are down, including in Florida. Preliminary data released for The National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries showed that 5,071 work injury fatalities were reported in the United States in 2008 — down from 5,657 work deaths reported in 2007.
Florida work related deaths declined from 363 in 2007 to 290 in 2008. Of those deaths,
107 were due to transportation accidents
56 were caused by assaults and violent acts
41 resulted from “contact with objects and equipment”
Fall accidents caused 39 deaths
Exposure to harmful substances or environments caused 38 workers to perish
6 workers died in fires or explosions
Nationally, construction accidents causing death declined by 20 percent, in the private construction sector, and fatal falls were down. However rates of workplace suicides rose by 28% (though workplace homicides decreased), and fatal workplace injuries in the forestry, farming, and fishing industries also saw an increase. The BLS will release the final statistics in April 2010.
If you or a loved one have been the victim of a Jacksonville construction accident please call the Law Offices of Henry Gare at (904) 387-6101.
Archive for the ‘Construction Accidents’ Category
Jacksonville Construction Accidents down
Sunday, October 4th, 2009Subcontractors sued in Jacksonville Construction Accident
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
In addition to the Jacksonville wrongful death lawsuit a complaint has been filed for delayed construction and cost in the collapse of a parking garage. The owners of a downtown Jacksonville condominium project stalled by the fatal collapse of a parking garage 13 months ago have sued six subcontractors for at least $36 million in damages.
Lawyers for Berkman Plaza 2 filed the lawsuit last week, accusing each subcontractor of negligence by failing to safely and properly execute its portion of the contract.
Each also is accused of violating the Florida building code.
The lawsuit says the combined negligence resulted in the six-story parking garage’s December 2007 collapse, which killed worker Willie Edwards III, 26, a single father of two.
Berkman’s lawyers say the collapse has delayed construction and cost the company at least $36 million in increased design, construction and financing costs, lost revenue, damage to public relations and other property damage.
Former Jacksonville construction superintendent says he warned of potential disaster
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
A former construction superintendent at the collapsed Berkman Plaza 2 parking garage said he told his bosses about safety concerns involving the support cables months before the deadly Jacksonville construction accident.
Superintendent, Greg Roberts, said a key project engineer warned Choate Construction that support cables designed to strengthen a beam holding up the garage were “not going to work.”
Willie Edwards III, was killed when the building collapsed Dec. 6 while construction crews poured concrete for the sixth story.
Roberts, who left the project when he was asked to resign in July 2007, said he contacted attorneys representing Edwards’ family “so that everything would come out” about events preceding the collapse.
Choate Construction Co., the company Roberts worked for, said last month that the collapse was caused by design problems that had nothing to do with Choate employees. The company said in a news release that it had hired two forensic engineering firms to analyze the collapse, and both found no wrongdoing by Choate.
Hope for Jacksonville accident victims with chronic pain
Saturday, October 4th, 2008
Unfortunately many of my Jacksonville automobile accident clients have had to undergo surgery to have an obtrusive spinal cord stimulator placed in their backs. Adam Hammond, a former member of the U.S. Army’s “Golden Knights” Parachute Team, has become the first recipient of the Eon Mini—the world’s smallest spinal cord stimulator. After suffering a broken femur, a shattered pelvis and a severed spine in an epic parachute fail a few years ago, it seemed that Hammond would be condemned to a life of severe chronic pain. Doctors hoped that implanting the new Eon Mini would offer a solution by delivering repeated mild electrical impulses to the spinal cord. So far, Hammond claims that the device offers “significant pain relief” and that he was able to “walk twice as far” as he could previously.
Spinal cord simulators are nothing new, but the size of the Eon Mini combined with the fact that it is easily recharged make it a viable solution for people with severe back problems or other chronic conditions caused by automobile accidents and serious falls.