Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyer - Workplace Injuries

Disney Stunt Performer Dies From Head Injury

Chrissie Cole — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:42:00 GMT

The accidental death of a Walt Disney World stuntman has prompted a federal investigation by Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigatiors.

It was the third fatal incident at the park in less than two months. Disney said the deaths weren't related, and federal investigators were treating them as separate accidents.

Anislay Varbanov, 30, died Monday after sustaining a serious head injury during rehearsal for a show based on the character in the Indiana Jones “Raiders of the Lost Ark” series. Investigators are trying to piece together exactly what happened.

OSHA has six months to report its findings. While a local sheriff’s office launched its own investigation into the death. Disney is also investigating the situation.

Last week, Mark Prince, 47, died from head-injury complications sustained during a pirate show. And in July, Austin Wuennenberg, 21, was killed when another train backed into the monorail he was operating.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Construction Worker Falls 50 Feet To His Death

Chrissie Cole — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:01:00 GMT

A construction worker fell to his death at site of the new Convention Center in Downtown Indianapolis on Wednesday.

Stanley Roberts, 55, was operating a boom lift, a mobile basket crane, when it apparently jostled throwing him 50 feet. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Roberts was a worker for Harmon Steel of Indianapolis. It appears he was wearing a harness--but it wasn't attached to anything.

Indianapolis Metro police and IOSHA are investigating the accident.

Statement from Harmon Steel:

The Harmon Steel family wishes to express our sincere condolences to Mr. Roberts' family. Our sympathies are with his wife and the rest of his family and friends. Mr. Roberts was a valued employee and will be greatly missed.

Harmon Steel will continue to investigate the incident and work with IOSHA.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Construction Worker Dies in Drowning

Chrissie Cole — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 02:22:00 GMT

A Hartford City man, 51, died in a construction accident when he became stuck in a work hole full of water.

Indiana American Water Co. subcontracted Environmental Contractors Inc., where the man was an employee, to work at the site.

Two large holes were dug to access a large 12-inch water main, according to Wabash Police.

One of the holes, farthest from the street, had been dug so workers could insert a slab to cut off water to the hole closest the street, said authorities.

With the water shut off, Walls went down in the mostly dry hole closest to the street and cut out and removed a length of pipe, Honeycutt said. At the moment he reached down between the missing sections of pipe the water pressure in the first hole shoved the pipe against his arm, trapping him.

That hole rapidly filled up with water, not through the pipe, as the slab held. The hole filled with water flowing over the surface from the break at the slab.

Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration (IOSHA) are investigating what happened. An autopsy will be performed to confirm the worker drowned. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Jury Awards $48 Million To Worker Paralyzed In Mill Accident

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:12:00 GMT

An Indiana jury awarded $48 million in damages to a Westville man who was severely injured in a worksite injury at a region steel mill.

Anthony Arciniega, 42, fell from a ladder at ISG Burns Harbor — now ArcelorMittal — in November 2004. According to court documents, the ladder was covered with refractory concrete due to the negligence of Minteq International, a contractor at the mill.

Arciniega's attorney, Kenneth J. Allen, said an injured worker cannot directly sue his employer -- in this case the steel mill -- but he was able to sue Minteq because it's a third party. Allen said Arciniega will only be able to collect $24 million of the $48 million if the 50 percent fault attributed to the mill is upheld, but Allen will seek post-trial to have 100 percent of the fault attributed to Minteq so that his client can receive $48 million.

The settlement awarded to Arciniega, following a ten-day trial before Lake County Superior Court, is believed to be an Indiana record for paraplegia injury. Jurors determined half the damages should be paid by Minteq and half by the steel mill.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Father, Son Injured on Construction Site in Greenwood

Chrissie Cole — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:30:00 GMT

A construction accident on Tuesday, involving a man and his 15-year-old son is now under investigation by the state.

The accident occurred at a hotel construction site located near Interstate 65 and County Line Road in Greenwood, according to a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Labor.

The 15-year-old boy was on the job site with his father, 31, when both fell nearly 40 feet after the scaffolding they were standing on fell from a fork lift, police said.

They were both transported to Methodist Hospital for treatment. On Thursday, Greenwood Chief of Police Joe Pitcher said the father was listed in critical condition. The injuries suffered by the 15-year-old do not appear to be life-threatening.

The Department of Labor and several other state agencies were trying to determine why the 15-year-old was at the site, if he was working -- which would be illegal due to his age -- and if the fork lift was being properly operated, Keefer said.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Three Workers Killed in Greenwood Construction Accident

Chrissie Cole — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:04:00 GMT

A construction accident in Greenwood claimed three lives on Thursday. Emergency crews were called to the scene at the Dayton freight site just after 4 p.m.

A section of wall being built as part of a new construction on the property may have fallen on the workers. Preliminary reports indicate high winds and rain at the time of the accident may be a factor, but authorities say it’s too soon to know for sure as they investigate the the cause of the accident further.

The two surviving workers were transported to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. The names of the five people involved in the accident have not been released pending family notification. The site is located off of I-65 in Greenwood.

The Indiana Occupational Health and Safety Administration along with other officials are investigating the accident.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Edinburgh Workers Hurt in Crane Accident

Stephen Wagner — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:59:59 GMT

According to the Indianapolis star, three Edinburgh workers were injured on Friday afternoon in a construction accident. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080419/LOCAL/804190435. The accident occurred during the construction of a Hilton Garden Inn when a crane tipped over. One of the workers suffered broken bones while two others reportedly received minor injuries.

All too often we are seeing construction site accidents in Indiana, often times involving serious injury or death. It is fortunate there were no deaths in the Edinburgh accident--that is the exception. As it is, the injured workers will likely only have worker's compensation claims under Indiana's workplace injury laws which are among the worst in the country. If the accident was caused by the workers or anyone working for their employer (co-employees), Indiana law will prevent a negligence suit because work comp is the exclusive remedy. The only way to receive truly adequate compensation would be if there is a responsible third party who was at fault for the accident. In this case, a thorough investigation should be conducted to see if the general contractor or subcontractor was not enforcing OSHA safety laws which apply to the use of cranes.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Stephen Wagner

Worksite Injury Victim Passes Away

Staff Writer — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 17:44:36 GMT

A man injured in an electrical accident in August died at the hospital last week. Scott Shelton was working at a construction site for a Super Wal-Mart in Bloomington IN, when he was injured.

Shelton, an employee of Electromation Inc., in Muncie, was injured Aug. 26 after an electrical panel he and two other men were working on was charged with 12,000 volts of electricity and shorted. The resulting electrical arc -- which extended six to eight feet -- sparked a fire in the service room, lighting all three workers on fire.

A lawsuit has already been filed by another victim of the fire, and the Shelton family is preparing a suit of their own citing negligence of Wal-Mart, among others.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer