Workplace Injuries

• Death at Rainier Vista Construction Site Underscores Risks

  Michael Myers | September 17, 2008 2:36 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Earlier this month a construction worker, Steven Dale Slee, was injured while working in a trench at a Rainier Vista construction project.  Seattle firefighters took Slee to Harborview Medical...

• Jobsite Injuries--Don't Overlook the Third Party Claim

  Michael Myers | January 14, 2008 5:25 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  You get hurt at work. You file a workers compensation claim. But that shouldn't be the end of the story. Workers compensations claims yield significantly less money for injured workers than third-party personal injury claims. A good example appeared in the paper recently. Rolondo Dudley, 32, suffered a compound fracture on his right leg during a construction accident this past Friday. Dudley...

• Injured Workers and Third-Party Elections

  Michael Myers | September 16, 2008 11:21 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  I read a story in the Seattle Times this morning.  It reported that a man was burned and other injured when equipment made contact with a high-voltage power line.  The two men were painting a...

• 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...

• Worker Killed When Trench Collapses

  Michael Myers | March 10, 2007 10:07 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Seattle firefighters worked for over two hours before they were able to extract the construction worker. Unfortunately, the worker did not survive his injuries. The construction acccident happened in White Center. Construction accidents are unfortunately common. Construction workers have rights under RCW Title 51 (the workers compensation law). But they also have rights under personal...

• 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 Related Injuries Increasing

  Michael Myers | October 22, 2007 9:57 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A 21-year old man from Bellevue was hit and killed by a dump truck Friday. The Bellevue man was attempting to cross Northeast 36th Street at the same time that the dump truck was turning onto Northeast 36th Street. At this time the police do not believe that the driver was at fault in this accident. With all the construction going on around Seattle injuries to both construction workers and even...

• Construction Accident Kills Tenino Man

  Mark McLean | August 23, 2007 3:53 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A 28 year old Tenino man died last week when he slipped at an Olympia construction site, hit his head on a backhoe and fell 15 feet into a ditch. The construction site was operated by Olson Brothers Excavating, Inc. This was the second construction-related death in a week in Thurston County. Washington's Industrial Insurance Act allows for fault-free "worker's compensation" benefits to...

• 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...

• Worker Dies After Being Crushed by Lift

  Mark McLean | June 25, 2007 9:20 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A worker died after being crushed by a hydraulic lift in a Georgetown neighborhood recycling plant last week. Longtime SeaDruNar employee John Colombini, 46, died from head injuries he suffered when a hydraulic lift collapsed on his head, a spokesman for the King County Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday.Colombini was repairing a lift attached to a truck cab used to haul waste containers...