According to Massachusetts’ Division of Capital Asset Management, a worker sustained serious leg and arm injuries in the Salem construction accident at the Ruane Judicial Center site last summer because a contractor used the wrong kind of screws on a limestone panel. The 500-pound panel ended up falling four feet to the ground, where it broken into piece, some of which struck Stoneham worker Vincent Leahy. Lighthouse Masonry Inc. of New Bedford is the company that allegedly used the wrong screws.
The state says that the zinc-coated screws were the “direct cause” of why the fell and were not what was “specified in the design of the fastener system.” Simpson Gumpertz & Hegerm, the national forensic engineering company that conducted the investigation into the Massachusetts work accident, also found “similarly failed fasteners” when it removed other panels. The probe concluded that the “adhesive anchor from the stone that fell” was improperly installed in a hole that hadn’t been correctly cleaned.”
Beginning January 9, 2011, the masonry company is barred from bidding on public building projects for a year. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has slapped Lighthouse Masonry with three “serious citations” over the Salem construction accident. OSHA also cited Daniel O’Connell’s Sons, which is the company that manages the construction project.
Salem Construction Accidents
Proving liability in a construction site can be challenging-especially when there are so many parties involved. This is why it is important that you worker with a Boston construction accident law firm that understands the different kinds of Massachusetts job site accidents that can occur and knows how to determine who should be held liable. Crane accidents, excavation accidents, welding accidents, electrical shock, fall accidents, on-site explosions, and accidents involving falling debris, are just some of the many types of construction accidents that can cause serious injury. An injured worker may have grounds for filing a Massachusetts workers’ compensation claim, in addition to third party lawsuits.
Wrong screw caused courthouse accident in Salem, The Salem News, January 5, 2011
Court project worker hurt as 500 pounds of rock fall, Gloucester Times, June 15, 2010
Related Web Resources:
OSHA
Ruane Judicial Center, Mass.gov