Georgia Personal Injury Law Blog : Atlanta Georgia Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Jason R. Schultz Law Firm : Wrongful Death, Malpractice, Car Accidents : Georgia

As an Atlanta construction accident lawyer, I know that trench collapse accidents are some of the most preventable ones in a construction zone. On Thursday evening, a worker was killed in a trench collapse at a construction site in Atlanta.

According to the AJC, the sewer trench was being constructed for a Habitat for Humanity home.  The collapse occurred at around 4pm when the man fell into the 9-foot trench. Atlanta Fire and Rescue personnel, who rushed to the scene, said they removed about 32 cubic yards of dirt from the trench, and each cubic yard weighed about 3,000 pounds. The unidentified worker's body was recovered about 4 hours after the collapse. Another worker also fell in, but was rescued immediately.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials who investigated will determine whether all appropriate safety procedures were followed. However, according to emergency rescue crews, no trench shoring was done. Trench shoring is done to reinforce trench walls, using steel or wood. Shoring strengthens the sides of the trench, preventing walls from caving in.  According to rescue crews at the scene of this accident, a trench collapse at the site was a very real possibility due to recent rains.

In all likelihood, trench shoring may have prevented this kind of collapse. Trench shoring is increasingly the standard at sites in Georgia and around the country. Unfortunately, there are still companies that scrimp on what they see as an additional expense, but could mean the difference between life and death for a worker during a collapse. Based upon the preliminary investigation, this appears to have been a preventable tragedy, and the family of this worker should consult with an Atlanta construction accident lawyer to understand their rights.

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A construction worker was killed last week in a trench collapse accident in Cartersville in Bartow County. James Hilbish was killed on February 4^th when a trench collapsed during sewer line installation.

The trench was 30 feet deep and ran along 25 to 30 feet beneath the roadway. The accident occurred at noon, and Hilbish presumably died almost instantly, but his body was recovered after more than three hours of rescue operations. Trench rescues are inherently risky, and it took the combined efforts of firefighters from Cobb, Bartow, Calhoun and Gordon counties to mount a rescue effort. As is normal in a situation like this, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)officials have launched an investigation into the construction accident

Construction workers who work in trenches or other forms of excavated sites work in some of the most dangerous conditions on a construction work site. There is always the risk of a cave in or the risk of electrocution from touching exposed power lines that run underground. There can be suffocations in these confined spaces, as well as the risk of inhalation of toxic underground fumes. However, these scenarios can be avoided if employers make efforts to keep trench work conditions as safe as possible. Soil that has been excavated from the trench must not be piled too high and too close to the opening of the trench. It can cause the walls of the trench to become weak and cave in, pouring tons of soil on workers in the trench. The use of tools in the trench can create vibrations that may be strong enough to trigger a deadly cave in. For a worker trapped under mounds of soil, death is often the result because rescue operations are difficult to undertake.

Georgia Construction Accident Lawyers

A construction site is one of the deadliest workplaces in the US, accounting for a large number of workplace fatalities.  Strict OSHA regulations have reduced the incidence of these accidents to some extent, but employers continue to scrimp on safety measures to the detriment of worker safety.  When injuries or fatalities occur, survivors or victims' families can claim compensation not only from the employer, but also any other parties that may have been responsible for the unsafe conditions that resulted in the accident.  If you have been injured in a construction accident, contact a Georgia construction accident lawyer at my office to discuss your options for compensation.  

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Federal investigators continued to look for clues over the weekend into the construction accident  at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens that killed at least one worker, and injured several others. The accident occurred when a canopy was being laid in preparation of a new pedestrian bridge at the park.

The accident occurred on Friday morning when workers were busy pouring concrete on the much vaunted four-storey high "canopy walk" that was under construction. As the concrete was being poured, the canopy suddenly collapsed, sending workers plunging at least 40 meters below. At least 18 of the workers sustained injuries in the accident, and had to be rushed to the hospital. One worker, a 66-year-old man was killed in the accident.

The bridge, upon completion, was supposed to be the only one of its kind in the country, and construction was being overseen by Hardin Construction, the project contractor. As the probe continues, we have been seeing reports of a record of fatal accidents involving workers not only at previous Hardin Construction projects, but also at the concrete company that was involved in the accident. A Hardin worker died due to suffocation in 2001 when his head got stuck between a platform and a ceiling. A worker at the concrete company, Pioneer Concrete Pumping Service Inc., was killed in 1991 after a truck malfunction during construction work. Records show that the two companies have been cited several times by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and have only had to pay a few thousand dollars in fines as a result. OSHA has already sent its compliance officers to the scene of the Atlanta bridge collapse.

We're still waiting for more details to emerge out of the Atlanta bridge collapse, but it definitely appears like there was negligence on the part of more than one company involved in the construction of the bridge.

Liability for Construction Accidents
 

Any worker who is injured on a construction accident is entitled to Worker's Compensation from his employer. Besides this, he can also use the help of a construction accident lawyer  to bring a civil liability lawsuit against third parties that were involved in the accident. These parties can include manufacturers of equipment that contributed to the accident, the company that was involved in the oversight of the construction work, architects and engineers who may have been responsible for any design flaws, and others. Workers' Compensation, in many cases may not be sufficient to cover all aspects of an injured worker's recovery and rehabilitation, and a personal injury lawsuit can help obtain the maximum compensation possible from all sources.

If you have been injured in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens construction accident, contact an experienced Atlanta construction accident lawyer  for a free evaluation of your case.

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