Arizona Construction Accident Lawyer Blog

The NBC affiliate KOMU TV channel 12 reported on December 8, 2008 that another construction accident has occurred at a local school. This was the second school construction site accident to occur within the last month. Luckily Keith Rush did not sustain life-threatening injuries. According to reports a heavy piece of machinery known as a skid loader operated by United HRB accidentally ran over and seriously injured Rush. Rush was immediately flown to University Hospital by helicopter. Both his legs were broken, he also suffered a broken femur, pelvis, and arm. The lucky part of the story is that Rush suffered no internal injuries.

Darin Ford, Centralia Superintendent said, “As bad as it was, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.”

Skid loaders are known in the construction industry as being heavy and difficult to drive as they can make zero radius, “pirouette” turns. When going backwards skid loader operators must concern themselves with the controls as well as checking continuously behind them.

Fred Roling, Construction Supervisor, said “Operators have told everybody they really can’t see very good, to stay outta their way.” Even without their colleague, United HRB workers continued to work on the job.

Just one month earlier, another work related accident at a nearby school construction site ended with the death of construction worker. Alan Hildebrand was killed in a scaffolding accident at the North Columbia Elementary School Site.

In the United States construction is a very large industry. It is also a high risk industry. It ranks third in the rate of injury caused deaths, following mining and agriculture. For Arizona construction workers, job site safety should always be a primary focus of all employers, general contractors, subcontractors, and citizens. Unfortunately, all too often construction workers are seriously injured or killed in construction accidents that could have been prevented. Also, after being seriously injured, constructions workers from Tucson to Flagstaff and throughout the Phoenix and Scottsdale areas - and all of Arizona - often fail to consider claims beyond workers compensation, even though those additional claims do a far better job of providing the much needed complete compensation of lost wages and other damages not allowed under workers compensation laws. If you have suffered a serious construction related injury in Phoenix contact Breyer Law Offices, P.C., a firm that takes pride in providing answers and guidance for those that do not know where to turn after construction injuries. Please call 602-978-6400 for a free consultation.

The NBC affiliate news channel 12 in central Arizona reported on December 8, 2008 that Casey Johansen is completely healthy and back to work at construction sites after nearly dying in a terrifying construction accident in Arizona over two years ago. Johansen recalls the date of August 8th, 2006 quite vividly. A building he was working on collapsed, trapping him under eight feet of debris for nearly eight hours. Although he survived the incident, his legs had to be amputated by doctors.

In a most inspirational story of unimaginable determination and hope Johansen would not allow the amputation to set his life back nor did it keep him from the thing he loved, construction. As a matter of fact Johansen can be found on construction sites almost every day as the co-owner of Valley Construction equipment. According to Johansen his business is very busy and he has even begun designing construction equipment.

Johansen attributes his remarkable recovery to his positive attitude, accepting his injuries and committing himself to making the best of it.

Johansen said, “I shouldn’t have survived, but I’m certainly glad that I did.”

Every year thousands of workers are killed or seriously injured on the job. This occurs even though many state and federal regulations, as well as industry standards, require employers to implement a wide variety of safety measures. We applaud the remarkable courage of Mr. Johansen. At the same time - making no comment on his particular incident - we would like to see the construction sites throughout Phoenix, Arizona and across the state kept as safe as possible to limit workers’ injury on the job. Sometimes, after a serious construction injury, workers’ compensation is the only available compensation. In other cases, a full personal injury claim after a construction accident can be pursued. Determining whether a case can go offer compensation to a seriously injured construction worker requires the analysis of a capable and knowledgeable attorney. For anyone with questions on their rights following a serious construction incident, feel free to contact Breyer Law Offices, P.C. in order to get an honest assessment of the rights available to you, and to determine whether pursuing such a claim is the “right fit” for you after a construction site accident. Please call 602-978-6400 for a free consultation.

The Arizona Republic reported on November 15, 2008 that due to financial reasons the 10-year contract allowing the Arizona Department of Transportation to hire Arizona Department of Public Safety officers along with their patrol vehicles was no longer in effect beginning that day. ADOT will now be using police officers from other agencies whenever they feel it is required. Some officials with the Highway Patrol union stated that the hiring of other agencies was what led to the creation of the contract with the DPS in the first place. Now they are concerned that the safety of construction workers and motorists might be jeopardized, leading to more Arizona construction site accidents.

John Ortolano, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 32, said, “You’ll have an officer not familiar with working on the state highway, not radioed in, not properly trained.”

According to the Federal Highway Administration the number of free work-site accidents grew by 40% during the years of 1997-2005, with more than 1,000 deaths in 2005 and more that 40,000 hurt. Nationally safety standards do not mandate the use of uniformed officers at work zones. Often times on Arizona highways, uniformed officers are used in construction areas with heavy traffic and fast speeds.

Doug Nintzel, an ADOT representative said, “The use of officers has always been a situation of going above and beyond the safety standards. It does help because motorists do tend to pay attention to a patrol car with its emergency lights on.” Nintzel also stated that the principal safety measures included utilizing barrier walls, signs, reflective barricades, and energy-absorbing vehicles. The original contract between ADOT and DPS stated “the primary importance is for the officer to position himself where he can be easily observed by the public.”

Continue reading " No More Highway Patrolmen Monitoring Arizona Freeway Construction Sites " »

The azfamily.com website reported on December 10, 2008 that yet another Phoenix construction site accident had occurred, apparently due to improper safety worksite measures being observed. According to authorities, an unidentified 23 year-old construction worker fell through a twenty-five foot hole in the vicinity of 19th Avenue and Happy Valley Road. According to Phoenix Fire Captain Courtney Jenkins the worker fell through a hole that had not been shored up. Upon arrival the fire department found the man conscious and able to talk. The construction worker was taken to a local hospital and was being treated for his injuries.

No matter how stringent the safety standards are regarding construction, all construction laborers are at risk every day while on the job. Workers' compensation does benefit the injured, but it does not sufficiently compensate employees who have been hurt on the job. Also, while workers compensation may be the only remedy in many construction injury cases, there are many construction site injuries that allow for legal compensation in addition to workers compensation.

In the United States construction is a very large industry. It is also a high risk industry. It ranks third in the rate of injury caused deaths, following mining and agriculture. For every 100,000 workers 15 die due to injury. Due to the extremely complicated nature of construction accidents, including issues like comparative fault, multiple layers of insurance coverage, and other complexities, it is recommended that an injured worker consult with an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as they are hurt to help determine the best course of care and legal action. It is important that construction workers injured in Phoenix, Arizona or Tucson, Arizona - or any construction workers’ injured throughout the State of Arizona - seek the advice of experienced lawyers to help determine all of their legal rights, in addition to making a workers’ compensation claim after being injured in a construction accident.

Alexis and Mark Breyer, “The Husband and Wife Law Team” - of Breyer Law Offices, P.C. have extensive knowledge and experience and are willing to answer the difficult questions that follow any serious injury. Not all construction workers that are injured have legal remedies beyond Arizona workman’s compensation, and bringing a claim is not right for every person or every family - but we it is highly recommended to at least get answers to the questions that arise and find out what remedies are available following a serious construction site injury. Please call 602-978-6400 for a free consultation or with any questions you have regarding an Arizona injury on a construction site.