On May 18, 2012, a 34-year-old construction worker died at a Secaucus, NJ construction site after a tragic construction accident.
The worker was a subcontractor at the construction site installing gutters. The boom lift, or “aerial lift”, tipped over while the construction worker was in the basket and he fell over 40 feet to the ground.
Witnesses say that he was wearing a harness, but the harness was not hooked onto the basket on the lift.
The lift was parked on an uneven dirt surface, rather than a level surface.
It is imperative that construction workers use safety equipment such as harnesses and more importantly, properly use the safety equipment. In this tragic situation, if the harness was attached to the basket, the construction worker may not have died.
Though investigative reports have not been released, it is likely that if the boom lift was parked on a level surface, it may not have tipped over.
Safety rules and regulations should be in place to reduce the risks of accidents. There may be multiple parties liable for the accident if these regulations were not complied with or there was some defect in the aerial lift that caused it to tip over. Liable parties could include:
Construction accident cases are very complicated and you need an experienced New Jersey construction accident lawyer to evaluate your case. If you were in a construction accident at a construction site and would like to discuss your legal rights, contact experienced Philadelphia, PA & NJ construction accident lawyers for a free consultation. 877.944.8396.
For more information on workplace accident lawsuits, click here to access our legal article about construction site accident lawsuits.