One road construction worker was killed and another one was seriously injured while working on a highway project late last month. The deadly job site incident happened just before 6:30 p.m. in the Lake Lucerne district. This area is located near the intersection of State Road 408 and Interstate 4.
An incident report reflects how the workers involved were struck by a beam as it fell to the ground after it became dislodged from a downtown Orlando building. They were working on a concrete girder placement project at the time that the accident occurred.
The two men’s colleagues immediately jumped into action to tend to one of their hurt co-workers. They had already scooped him up and transported him to the hospital by the time that the paramedics arrived on the scene.
Their other crew member wasn’t as lucky, though. They soon realized that he was trapped underneath heavy piles of building debris. He died by the time firefighters and paramedics were able to reach him. The decedent has been identified as a 37-year-old male.
The construction company in charge of the project issued a statement following the incident. They highlighted how all work had been halted pending an investigation into what caused the incident. They noted they anticipated construction getting underway once again within a few days. Steel girder placement would likely resume long before the placement of the concrete girder that resulted in the workers’ injuries.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigators are in charge of the detrmining the cause of this latest incident. They previously investigated the four other fatalities that occurred since the 21-mile interstate project got underway. It’s unclear when they’ll publish their findings in this case.
Construction jobs can be dangerous because workers are must support building materials and may be operating poorly maintained machinery. Individuals who work in road construction are even more vulnerable to getting hurt because their employers use heavy industrial materials and large pieces of equipment to perform their work.
If you’ve been injured on the job in Florida or you’ve lost a loved one in a senseless incident, a workers’ compensation attorney may be able to help you seek justice. They can advise you of your rights to recover any your current and future medical expenses that you may have.