South Florida Injury Attorney Blog

A cement truck struck and injured a flagman just outside a construction site. When the flagman sued the driver and the subcontractor that employed him, a battle began over the apportionment of fault among the plaintiff, the general contractor, and various subcontractors. The trial court ruled that the defendant subcontractor was not entitled to an apportionment of fault, as its contract appeared to make it solely responsible for worker safety. The Fourth District Court of Appeals disagreed in Continental Florida Materials, Inc. v. Kusherman, reversing the trial court’s ruling and remanding the case so the court could apportion fault among the various contractors.

The accident occurred when a concrete truck hit a flagman while driving in reverse, knocking him to the ground and running over his legs. The construction foreman, who was employed by the general contractor, had instructed the truck driver to exit the construction site, which the driver had to do in reverse. The foreman was not formally responsible for directing traffic within the site, but the general contractor was responsible for controlling street traffic around the site. The plaintiff was the only flagman directing traffic at the time, and he claimed that he was turned away from the truck and did not hear a backup indicator. By the time he saw the truck, the plaintiff claimed it was three to four feet away and he did not have time to avoid being hit.

Continue reading "Florida Appellate Court Rules on Apportionment of Fault in Construction Injury Lawsuit" »

(Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale, FL) A 39-year-old construction worker was recovering in the hospital Thursday after falling down an elevator shaft, according to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.

He was extricated, stabilized and taken to Broward General Medical Center. The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, he said.

As a Fort Lauderdale Attorney practicing worker's compensation law for the past 10 years in South Florida, I have represented numerous families who have been victims of this type of personal injury. I would advise the family of the injured worker to keep all record of his injury in the form of pictures of his immediate injury with timeline showing his recovery; pictures of the job site and the exact location where the injury occurred; request a copy the accident report from the first responders whether it be the Fire Rescue or the Fort Lauderdale Police; also seeing that worker was taken to Broward General Hospital, his family should request copies of his medical reports should be kept, as this will assist his legal counsel in filing a strong worker's compensation claim should he decide to.

Should your or a loved one be a victim of personal injury accident requiring worker's compensation you should immediately seek legal counsel to ensure you get the compensation you deserve. Contact any of our offices located in : Fort Lauderdale, Weston; Coral Springs; Aventura; Pembroke Pines or Silver Lakes for your free consultation via telephone 954 431 8100 or 305 624 9186 or online.

Continue reading "Construction job injury" »

Another interesting story was the workplace injury to a man who fell at his jobsite in Davie Florida.

As I recall the worker received his injuries when he was repairing a hole in the roof of a building that was recently damaged by fire. Paramedics was called to the scene as the worker was unconscious briefly, he was transported to Broward General where he was kept for observation.

Once he was released he was advised to seek legal counsel to ensure his rights were recognized and he received proper compensation for his medical bills and lass of wages due to his injury. Apparently he was entitled to workers compensation benefits from his employer. There was an accident report filed by his supervisor as there would have been investigations to ensure that it was not negligence or failure to adhere to the safety standards as mandated by both OSHA and the federal Occupational Safety and health Administration for the city of Davie.

The worker’s attorney was experienced in this type of accident and filed a claim on his behalf, to which he was successful. Always contact an experienced South Florida Personal Injury Attorney who will look into a third party claim, which is usually filed against an entity or a person other than the victim’s employer, whose negligence may have caused the workplace accident, your personal injury attorney should have a strong and successful track record in handling these third party claims, as he will be able to help this worker in securing the compensation they deserve.

Should you or a loved one be injured at the workplace you should consult an experienced attorney in workplace injury and premises liability to ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve. Contact us online or at 954 431 8100 or 305 624 9186 for your FREE consultation.

With the economy slowly picking back up we see construction sites hiring workers and this can only mean injuries on jobsites are evident. Recently a 30yr old man Mr. Ramos received injuries after falling from the roof of a home at a jobsite in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His company sent him out to a neighborhood to do roof repairs to a couple homes. Mr. Ramos was doing minor repairs to a roof which from the recent rains was leaking, and, not realizing the extent of the damage fell through the roof. Paramedics were called to the scene as he was said to be unconscious briefly, and the owner of the home was uncertain as to the extent of his injuries. Mr. Ramos regained consciousness but was taken to Broward General where he was kept under observation.

As a Fort Lauderdale attorney I have worked on numerous cases like this and Mr. Ramos will no doubt be entitled to workers compensation benefits from his employer. Once he has filed claim for Worker’s compensation his employer will have investigations done to ensure there was no negligence on the worker’s behalf and ensure that there was no failure to adhere to the safety standards as mandated by both OSHA and the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the city of Fort Lauderdale. The worker in turn should keep all records: the incident report and all medical bills etc which he will have to present to his attorney once he has filed claim for injury.

Should you or a loved one find yourself in a situation like Mr. Ramos, please contact an experienced Personal Injury Attorney who will look into a third party claim, which is usually filed against an entity or a person other than the victim’s employer, whose negligence may have caused the workplace accident, your personal injury attorney should have a strong and successful track record in handling these third party claims, as he will be able to help this worker in securing the compensation they deserve. Contact us at 954 431 8100 or 305 614 9186 to set up a FREE consultation to discuss your legal options.

A construction worker died hours after a crane collapsed at a seawall project in Lighthouse Point, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported June 17. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident that killed Albert “Tiger” Phillips, a 43-year-old father of three. A representative from OSHA’s Fort Lauderdale office declined to comment on the matter, but told the Sun-Sentinel that this is the third workplace death of 2009 for Broward County.

Phillips was helping to build a seawall on the North Grand Canal June 16 when a crane collapsed onto his legs, pinning him to the ground. Co-workers pulled the crane off, and Phillips flashed them a thumbs-up sign as he left in an ambulance, suggesting he was okay. But a few hours later, the Sun-Sentinel reported, he was dead of unspecified injuries. Work was cancelled at the site June 17 in his honor.

As a Pompano Beach construction accident lawyer, I know that construction sites, with their heavy machinery and equipment, are some of the most dangerous civilian workplaces in America. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13 out of 100,000 construction workers died on the job in 2006; the most common accidents were falls or being struck by or against objects. Federal and state laws are supposed to help prevent accidents by setting safety standards for construction sites -- but due to carelessness or cost-cutting, those standards are too often ignored. The result can be death or permanent disability for workers who happened to be standing in the wrong place.

Victims of construction accidents, and their loved ones, still have rights. People who have suffered serious injuries or lost a loved one in a construction accident may hold the responsible parties legally liable for their actions with a Fort Lauderdale construction accident lawsuit. A lawsuit can help victims who are facing huge medical bills and other accident-related costs, right at a time when they are unable to work or have lost an income. It can also compensate victims for their non-financial but very real injuries, including a physical injury, pain, emotional trauma, and any permanent disability or wrongful death that results.

Continue reading "Broward County Construction Accident Claims Life of Coconut Creek Man" »

A 67-year-old construction worker was killed instantly in an accident involving a concrete pump, Miami’s CBS 4 reported April 27. The unnamed man was apparently working on the ground early on Monday on a new mixed-use development in Kendall, across from the Dadeland Mall. The telescoping arm attached to a concrete pump truck somehow detached from the truck and fell on him. He was killed instantly, according to the article. A supervisor at the concrete company, C&C Concrete, said he was not sure what went wrong, but Miami-Dade police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will both investigate.

I’m sad to say that this is the second South Florida construction accident I have read about in a week. The week before, a Broward County worker died when a dump truck driver backed over him as he removed cones from the highway where he was working. As I wrote then, construction work has one of the highest injury and fatality rates of any occupational category, according to the federal Department of Labor Statistics. And despite the many safety rules construction sites must follow, being struck by a heavy object is the second most common fatal construction accident, after falls from a height. Other major killers at construction sites include electrocution and accidents with heavy equipment.

Under federal law and many state laws, construction companies must follow basic workplace safety rules to prevent these serious accidents. But some companies and workers choose not to follow these laws, simply because not doing so is cheaper. In making that choice, these companies are consciously and explicitly putting their profits ahead of worker safety. If this failure to follow the rules later results in a serious accident, the hurt workers or their loved ones have the right to hold that company legally and financially responsible for the results of its choice. A Pembroke Pines construction accident lawsuit can help them recover compensation for their injuries or the loss of a loved one, as well as for pain, suffering and the costs of medical care and lost wages caused by the accident.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury in a Florida construction accident, you should speak to our firm, Cohn, Smith & Cohn, as soon as possible. Our Weston construction accident attorneys have more than 25 years of experience representing victims of very serious injuries at construction sites and due to work-related car and truck accidents. Even if you are collecting workers’ compensation, we may be able to help. To learn more at a free, confidential consultation, please contact our firm online or call us today at (954) 431-8100.

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.

A teenager helping his father work at a construction site was killed Jan. 11 when a trench unexpectedly collapsed around him, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported. Danilo Riccardi Sr. was part of a construction crew installing concrete culverts at a church, where he brought his three sons, ages 12 to 14, to help out. When he needed water to mix cement, he sent the eldest, Danilo Riccardi Jr., to get some water. But when the younger Riccardi went to the eight-to-ten-foot trench to scoop up some standing water (there was no running water at the site), the walls of the trench collapsed and buried him in a quicksand-like mud. A large rescue crew dug the teenager out but was unable to revive him.

As a spokesman for the Charlotte County sheriff's office said in the article, this situation is a tragedy. My heart goes out to the Riccardi family. But as a South Florida construction accident attorney, I wonder what the Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation will conclude about the accident. OSHA rules do not apply to non-employees, but construction companies still must take reasonable care not to harm non-employees that visit construction sites. That includes employees of other contractors, passers-by and visitors like the three teenagers. Of course, everyone is still responsible for taking reasonable care around dangerous situations.

Falls are the most common fatal accident at construction sites nationwide, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor. (And construction work is consistently one of the deadliest job categories in the United States.) For that reason, OSHA safety rules require that employers provide fall protection (such as a guardrail or a net) in any situation with a potential fall of six feet or greater, as well as a fall of any height into dangerous equipment. There are many similar safety regulations addressing other hazards, and employers may also be required to train employees on good safety practices.

When employers fail to meet these basic legal duties, workers and others can be killed in a Florida construction accident. And when that happens, victims' families have the right to sue the construction companies responsible, unless workers' compensation payments are available. In a Florida wrongful death lawsuit, families can recover medical costs, funeral bills, lost income and other costs related to the accident, as well as compensation for the sudden and irrevocable loss of the loved one's care, companionship and love. If you have lost someone to carelessness and you are considering pursuing a claim, Cohn, Smith & Cohn can help. To set up a free consultation with our attorneys, please contact us today.