South Florida Injury Attorney Blog

A construction worker was in critical condition after he was pinned under the wheels of a dump truck for nearly an hour, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported April 21. The accident happened late on the night of April 20, when the victim, Airsteed Bell, was moving cones in South Federal Highway to allow trucks into a formerly blocked-off lane. Dump truck driver Alexis Martin backed up the truck, running over Bell and pinning him under the wheels of the truck until rescue workers could free him. He said he could not see Bell. Both the police and inspectors from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating.

As a South Florida construction accident attorney, I took special notice of this story because OSHA got involved so quickly. The story doesn’t give enough details for us to say for sure, but the interest of these federal regulators suggests that they think good safety practices may not have been in use at the site. If any workplace fails to meet its basic safety requirements under federal or state safety regulations, victims of serious workplace accidents may sue that employer for the cost of their injuries, the wages they lost and compensation for their injuries, pain and suffering.

Many workplaces in the United States are subject to OSHA’s occupational safety laws, but construction sites come under special scrutiny because they have one of the highest accident rates of any industry. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13 out of every 10,000 construction workers were killed on the job in 2006. Because of the nature of construction work, workers were most commonly hurt or killed by falls; being struck by or against a heavy object; and contact with machinery. But over all industries, transportation accidents are by far the most common killer of workers. According to 2007 numbers from the Bureau, transportation incidents accounted for 42% of worker deaths that year, and another 25% were highway incidents.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury or death on the job, you should speak to Cohn, Smith & Cohn as soon as possible. Our Fort Lauderdale construction accident lawyers help clients throughout South Florida who have lost a loved one or been seriously injured because someone else chose not to follow required safety rules at work. We can help people who need help getting or keeping fair workers’ compensation payments, as well as those who would like to file a Hialeah construction accident lawsuit in addition to or instead of claiming workers’ comp. And we offer free consultations, so you risk nothing by speaking to us about your situation.

To set up a free, confidential consultation with Cohn, Smith & Cohn, please contact us online today or call our main Hollywood office at (954) 431-8100.