Arizona Construction Accident Lawyer Blog

It looks like there's a problem with LUST in Arizona. Not the kind of “lust” associated with politicians under fire from the media investigating affairs that may have impacted state budgets. This LUST is an industrial problem. Why? Here, LUST stands for “leaking underground storage tanks.”

A recent July 10 article in the Phoenix New Times online indicates that the US federal Environmental Protection Agency has released over $3 million to help the state manage these kinds of chemical leaks. That adds up to a lot of liability, not just for homeowners whose water supplies may be compromised, but also for all of those people who work near these installations or help to clean up the results.

A startling visual in this article illustrates just how many Arizona facilities include leaking underground storage tanks and what that may mean for the cash-strapped state. Reports indicate that the state’s budget may be unable to handle the costs of dealing with these decaying installations, even with the E.P.A. donation.

Continue reading " Leaky Installations in Arizona: The E.P.A. Pitches In " »

News reports like this one from AZCentral.com, an online source for Arizona news, show that the National Weather Service issued an “excessive heat watch” for Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12. Even night temperatures stayed high, in the mid-80s.

Public officials know that high temperatures like these are silent killers. Every summer, thousands die across the nation from exposure to high temperatures and inadequate relief. Many of these are elderly citizens, and many others are out in the heat and sun for too long. In addition, law enforcement officials are on watch during heat waves, as high temperatures tend to boost crime rates.

The issue of a heat advisory is all well and good for those shuttered away from the sun in air-conditioned homes and offices, but what about those who need to labor out in the AZ heat? Too often, the laborers who contend with Arizona temperatures lack adequate protection in the form of periodic respite, protective gear or other safety standards. A combination of dehydration, solar exposure and physical labor in heated environments can cause a variety of life-threatening conditions. Are employers paying attention? If not, they can be contributing to a large roster of companies and businesses suffering from illness rates due to heat or sun exposure.

Continue reading " National Weather Service Issues Alert: Temps Top 113 in AZ " »

Those looking at the level of risk in the field of construction may often not be thinking about outdoor situations. There is a large potential risk in trenching and excavating operations, whether they are being done at a construction operation in Arizona or anywhere else in the U.S. When workers suffer injuries in avoidable accidents during excavating or related activities, construction accident lawyers must work to establish responsibility and show how lax safety standards resulted in unfortunate situations.

One of the more extreme recent cases of fatal accidents from slipshod excavation practices comes from a July 8 Detroit Free Press report that indicates a construction firm is facing possible litigation and fines resulting from a fatal sinkhole accident that killed a 36-year-old worker on July 7.

The report indicates that prior to the construction accident death, the company in question was already under investigation by the State of Michigan’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which delivered 11 citations after a March inspection of operations. One citation involved a lack of qualified personnel inspecting trenches; another addressed possibly improper sloping of trenches.

The Detroit Free Press story also indicates officials in the state of Michigan are working to ascertain what was to blame for the July incident. These kinds of accidents, which happen all across the country, are often scrutinized by professional injury and worker’s compensation lawyers and officials to determine the cause of an unfortunate, often tragic event. Each state has its own methods and agencies for looking into liability from unsafe business practices, whether in excavating, digging or any other construction field where cutting corners can have disastrous consequences.

Continue reading " Fatal Sinkhole Accident Feeds Probe of Excavating Firm " »

For those looking at the real situation on Arizona construction accident prevention and safety, National Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a “Pocket Guide to Overall Warehouse Safety” that yields some helpful tips about how to prevent Arizona construction accident situations in any industrial facility, including the warehouse.

A statistic by the OSHA identifies over 7,000 warehouses across the country, which by its estimates employ over 145,000 workers. For the safety of Arizona warehouse environments and those across the country, the Arizona chapter has posted this OSHA resource including a “top 10” list of hazards and solutions that warehouse workers and other involved parties can pay attention to for improved safety in the workplace. The first and foremost safety condition identified is in the use of forklifts, where the guide offers over a dozen detailed points on training solutions that will bring down the rates of warehouse work accidents in Arizona.

Other categories of hazard relates to the way buildings are constructed, with hallways, exits and other features being part of a comprehensive safety strategy.

Other hazards include belts and other moving equipment that may present dangers to untrained workers, where specific Arizona warehouse accidents involved workers or their clothing being caught in moving parts that could not be easily shut off.

Continue reading " Arizona Trade Society Provides Warehouse Safety Guide Online " »

When workers in the state of Arizona sustain injuries in the course of heavy and demanding work, skilled Arizona construction accident attorneys have to spring to the rescue to find the relevant details with sometimes difficult research processes. Now, lawyers in the state of Arizona, as well as those scattered across the U.S., may be able to have a helping hand. According to new reports from sources like IBWire, there’s a project underway by legal site LegalView.com to consolidate information about construction accident cases, applicable case law and more.

The goal of the site as reported will be to get all of the necessary information in front of injured workers and their families to allow for quicker processing of claims from construction accident cases and to help those impacted get the resources they need to continue forward with a claim. The organization cites a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics number that estimates over 1,000 construction accident cases per year from 2007 data. Planners realize that all too often, families do not have access to the right information while pursuing the case that ends in lost wages, medical bills and more costs for a loved one negatively affected by an unfortunate construction accident or similar event.

Sometimes, these situations are nearly unavoidable, but often, they result from a lack of safeguards, hurrying to end projects, cutting corners to save money or any number of other eventualities that can promote dangerous work environments where workers can eventually bear the brunt of negligent or irresponsible policy. When the accident occurs, construction accident lawyers and their staff sift through all of the evidence to find the parties responsible for conditions leading up to construction accident. This is even more difficult when the worker status is made more complicated by outsourcing, temporary hiring or even under-the-table hiring, which is in itself a violation of federal tax code.

Continue reading " Online Legal Info Provider Plans New “Construction Accident Guide” " »

In Arizona and across the country, workers suffer terrible injuries that could leave them disabled for the rest of their lives, often in avoidable accidents. These accidents often occur because of the negligence of an employer, a vendor, contractor or another party. When a family is dependent on the wages of a worker, a small accident can have a very big effect. When the injury is extensive, or results in a fatality, the tragedy is apparent.

Even those who work in comparatively stable, state-funded municipal departments can be the victims of an Arizona fatal construction accident. This is clear from reports elsewhere in the U.S., like this one on a recent accident affecting two municipal workers at a sewer plant construction site. Reports indicate a large amount of wet concrete “spilled” onto two men, killing one and injuring the other. Though the report showed that several public agencies are looking into the matter, it did not present evidence that established responsibility. The report does show that the probable cause of the accident was a concrete form that “gave way,” allowing the wet concrete to fall.

Establishing responsibility for these kinds of cases in the state of Arizona or anywhere else can be difficult. Arizona construction accident lawyers use thorough, tested research methods to get to the bottom of which business party is responsible for specific training objectives for every task done on the job. This can be complicated due to the contracting that goes on between municipalities and outside firms and even in the private sector.

Continue reading " Sewer Plant Concrete Spill Kills 1, Injures 1 " »

Airport construction workers across the Southwest from Arizona to Nevada, California or Colorado all face the unfortunate prospect of dealing with the failure of large safety installations, resulting in significant workplace danger. Arizona construction accident lawyers and those in adjacent states work to investigate the serious lack of safeguards in high-traffic construction areas such as new airport building sites, where the failure to implement reasonable processes can lead to disastrous situations.

As an example of what can go wrong, a Las Vegas Sun article refers to a June 23 incident in which five steelworkers were injured. According to the story, the accident occurred at the $2.4-billion Terminal 3 Project at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. The workers were constructing a rebar cage that was to be a structural component of a subterranean roadway bridge in front of the new terminal. The structure fell, trapping five workers inside for over 30 minutes. Other workers, with the assistance of a local fire crew, lifted the cage with a crane and cut the rebar, eventually extricating the workers. One worker sustained a punctured lung and a broken hip; others suffered less extensive injuries.

The failure of this structural component illustrates the care needed to construct metal frames to hold elements of infrastructure in place. In this case, the rebar cage was 6 feet in diameter and approximately 70 feet long. A completed cage of this type typically weighs 30,000 lbs. When industrial safeguards fail, it’s up to investigators and, often times, construction accident lawyers, to identify who is responsible. Workers injured in these kinds of incidents in Arizona routinely seek out skilled Arizona construction accident lawyers who help with fact-finding, case law precedent and other research to recover the high costs of injury, including medical bills and lost wages so that families can focus on helping an injured worker to recover from an airport construction accident.

Continue reading " Airport Construction Accident Injures Five " »

Arizona construction accident attorneys often help injured workers who suffer terrible injuries that could leave them disabled for the rest of their lives. We find very often that these unfortunate situations are caused because of the negligence of another party. These workers, who suffer major injuries on the job, undergo tremendous financial hardship because they are unable to work for long periods of time and more often than not, the injured worker is the sole breadwinner for his family.

These injured construction workers and their families depend heavily on Arizona workers compensation as a source of restitution after an Arizona on-the-job accident. However, a skilled Phoenix construction accident lawyer will be able to analyze all aspects of a case and determine the negligent parties. A claim against a third party could be worth a lot more than workers comp.

Construction accident injuries can be devastating just as in the case of this worker whose legs were crushed by heavy machinery during roadwork, according to this news report. The worker was apparently run over by a transfer machine, which transfers asphalt dumped by trucks into a paving machine that puts it on the road. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident.

Continue reading " Worker's Legs Crushed by Heavy Construction Equipment " »

A number of Arizona construction accidents occur because of falling objects. This can be quite devastating because construction workers often deal with heavy materials, machinery and equipment. When an object of significant size or weight falls on a construction worker, he can suffer catastrophic or fatal injuries.

A recent report from the Arizona Republic shows how such a horrific construction site accident can occur. According to this news report, a construction worker was injured at a construction site near 24th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix when a heavy piece of granite fell on top of him as he was working on a new office building. The worker suffered injuries to his leg. Phoenix Fire Department officials said the piece of granite that fell weighed between 700 and 1,000 pounds.

The unfortunate fact is that these construction accidents that severely injure workers and sometimes even leave them with permanent disabilities could be prevented. These accidents occur because of someone's inattention or negligence. It could occur because a contractor or sub-contractor did not follow proper safety procedures or neglected to maintain a safe working environment. Experienced Arizona construction accident attorneys can help these accident victims and their families secure fair compensation for their injuries, damages and loss. Often, these workers and their families go through tremendous financial hardship during such hard times.

Continue reading " Phoenix Construction Site Accident Involving Fallen Granite Injures Worker " »

Arizona construction workers have the right to be protected from injury when they do their jobs. Unfortunately, it takes skilled Arizona construction accident attorneys to protect the legal rights of construction workers in Arizona because very often, employers do not provide a safe and secure environment for their employees. As a result, construction workers, who are already working a high-risk job, are putting their lives on the line everyday as they try to make a living.

This recent article gives the example of what can happen when proper safety procedures are not followed at a construction site or when someone is not paying attention to what they are doing. This is a report about a construction worker who was thrown from equipment on a bridge on to a passing vehicle. He was part of a construction crew working on the bridge and was preparing to inspect the structure with a boom truck. However, one of the safety poles used to support the vehicle was not properly lowered, causing it to shake violently.

The operator, who was on the back of the boom, was thrown from his perch and on top of a pickup truck that was crossing the bridge. The construction worker suffered serious injuries including a broken hip. Although the fact that the construction site accident occurred is unfortunate, it's indeed fortunate that this worker landed on top of the pickup truck instead of on the roadway where a fatal injury most likely would have resulted.

Continue reading " Construction Worker Thrown Off Equipment Seriously Injured " »

The Phoenix construction accident lawyers at the Arizona personal injury law firm Breyer Law Offices P.C. take worker safety very seriously and have helped construction accident victims and their families for many years. Their lawyers help accident survivors and their families hold those responsible for the accident accountable for their actions and dissuade them from making decisions that risk workers’ lives. They also help victims and their families receive the compensation they deserve to help with the steep costs of hospitalization and recovery.

According to an article, officials investigating a construction accident scene say that a worker was impaled on a thick piece of steel reinforcement bar recently while working at the construction site of a nine-story building. They say the accident occurred around 11 a.m. and that the worker was erecting a metal form for a concrete column when he fell 15 feet onto a 3-foot-tall steel rod. The steel rod entered the worker’s lower back and exited his abdomen. When emergency response personnel arrived, they had to cut the steel rod before loading the man into an ambulance with the bar still passing through him. This type of horrible construction accident fall will obviously have serious repercussions for this man and his family. Holding any responsible parties to their obligation to help out the person they injured – if another was at fault – is one of the primary goals of the personal injury compensation system.

Continue reading " Construction Worker Impaled on Steel Rod in Construction Accident " »

Arizona construction accidents occur all too frequently, and many victims and their families are pressured to sign documents that they do not fully understand while under duress. These documents can potentially limit their options for receiving compensation for their injuries or loss. That is why it is very important to contact an experienced Phoenix construction accident lawyer. The attorneys at the personal injury law firm, Breyer Law Offices P.C. can help construction accident victims and their families receive the compensation they deserve to offset medical costs and other accident-related expenses.

This report gives an account of a 63-year-old Phoenix man who was killed when he was driving his water tanker through a road construction zone. According to the report, the man was backing the truck on a dirt road near Interstate 17 when the tanker’s left tires somehow left the roadway and the truck plunged down an embankment. As the truck overturned, the driver was thrown from the cab of the truck and crushed when the truck rolled over him. The rolling water tanker truck came to rest approximately 20 feet below the dirt road.

The construction accident death in Arizona is still under investigation by law enforcement personnel, but they said that they do not believe the man was wearing his safety belt at the time of the accident. It is also unclear whether any safety measures were bypassed at the construction site that might have prevented this fatal accident.

Continue reading " Phoenix Man Crushed to Death in Construction Accident " »