Workplace Injuries

• Rules for Cranes Come Under Review

  Michael Myers | December 17, 2006 12:01 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A series of crane accidents in the Seattle area has highlighted the national decision to review the rules for crane erection and operation. Crane accidents have killed an injured construction workers and bystanders around the nation in recent months. These accidents have lead to safety reviews. The reviews have resulted in fines and illustrated the safety risks posed by cranes that do not...

• Crane Safety Is Major Construction Site Issue in 2006

  Michael Myers | December 13, 2006 6:38 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Recent inspections have disclosed cracks, loose welds and sheared bolts in cranes at construction sites in Bellevue and Redmond. Experts say needed maintenance and inspections have been neglected. Specifically, contractors aren't having their cranes inspected while they are on the ground in pieces. That may be due to a shortage of cranes, crane operators and crane erectors caused by a...

• Construction Worker Dies at Spokane Wastewater Treatment Plant

  Michael Myers | December 13, 2006 6:06 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A large beam struck and killed a 26-year-old construction worker Tuesday at Spokane's wastewater treatment plant. The victim, Tizoc Gayton, lived in Post Falls, Idaho and worked for Garco Construction Inc.Mr. Gayton was removing shoring when a horizontal beam that was being removed fell on him.Constructions has been stopped while the accident is investigated by the state Department of Labor &...

• Fall At Rig Injurs Worker

  Michael Myers | August 15, 2006 9:23 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Chase Anderson was working about 20 feet above the sub floor on the EnCana drilling rig when he fell about 11 p.m. Friday night. He was transported to Kadlec, and then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He suffered four, six inch gashes down to the skull. After testing, it was found he had abdominal bleeding and a fracture C-5 vertebrate. He also broke the tips off C-6 and C-7....

• Six Pipeline Workers Nearly Electrocuted

  Michael Myers | August 07, 2006 7:52 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Six pipeline workers were nearly electrocuted Thursday when their construction equipment either touched or got too close to high-voltage power lines.The accident happened east of Arlington underneath the Bonneville Power Administration's 230,000-volt Snohomish-to-Murray line.Arlington Fire Department Chief Jim Renkin said the workers were unloading sections of gas pipeline when the accident...

• Abuses Reported at Alan Ritchey Plant

  Michael Myers | June 05, 2006 5:18 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  The Seattle PI ran an interesting story about the Alan Ritchey plant in Auburn, Washington. The story appears at the following link: Playing By The Rules Brings Trouble. Alan Ritchey is a fascinating company. In addition to running an MTESC center in Auburn, it engages in a number of other businesses. More about the MTESC center can be found at the following link: ARI MTESC. Alan Ritchey...

• Construction Site Accidents Governed by Detailed Safety Rules

  Michael Myers | June 03, 2006 9:10 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Traffic accidents are governed by a detailed set of rules (the "Rules of the Road") contained in the Revised Code of Washington. Slip and fall accidents are usually governed by common sense and what an ordinary person would consider "reasonable". Construction site accidents are governed by a very detailed and comprehensive set of rules in the Washington Administrative Code (the "WAC"). The...

• Ferry Workers Entitled to $8 Million in Back Pay

  Michael Myers | January 20, 2006 3:49 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Pierce County Superior Court Judge Rosanne Buckner recently ruled that the Washington Department of Transportation must give back pay to ferry workers who were forced to work overtime without pay during the last four and a half years. The workers are part of a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of ferry engineers and oilers. The employees had not previously been paid for safety training...

• Whitewater Engineering Corp. Pardoned

  Michael Myers | January 01, 2006 8:16 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Whitewater Engineering Corp., a Bellingham company convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the death of one of its workers, received a pardon from (former) Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski just before he left office. The employee killed was working on a $15 million hydroelectric project in a valley outside Cordova. He was on a backhoe when snow slid off a 2,000-foot slope and buried him....

• Construction Worker Killed, Another Injured, When Wall Falls

  Michael Myers | December 29, 2005 9:25 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Construction workers in Federal Way were using a forklift to set a wooden wall into its foundation Friday morning when a cable snapped, dropping the wall onto two workers, killing one and injuring the other.A 41-year-old Renton man broke his leg and was taken to St. Francis Hospital, Hwang said. The other workers were able to scramble out of the way. The Department of Labor and Industries...