Company may face negligent homicide charges in construction site accident

According to an Austin, Texas, police search warrant, the scaffolding that collapsed, killing three construction workers was improperly assembled.  The story was previously posted in our blog here

If the claim of negligence is substantiated, then the construction company who put the platforms together could be facing charges of negligent homicide. Criminally negligent homicide is a felony which can result in 2 years of jail time and a fine of $10,000.

The warrant was issued last week, enabling police to seize parts of a mast climber, which is a platform scaffold used by workers to scale the outside walls of buildings. According to the warrant, the device which was seized was constructed by American Mast Climbers of Whitney.

General Metroplex Interiors, the subcontractor hired to handle the building of stucco and frame work, hired American Mast Climbers to install and maintain the scaffolding.

The pieces of scaffolding were seized by investigators in order to determine what caused the equipment failure that ultimately led to the collapse. OSHA investigators, after examining the equipment, informed police that some of the components that made up the mast climbers were faulty. The use of this faulty equipment, says OSHA, may be enough to warrant a charge of criminally negligent homicide.

For more on this Texas construction accident, click here to read the full article.

If you have been injured in a Texas construction site accident, contact us today. To speak with a Texas personal injury lawyer and receive free legal advice about your potential construction site accident claim, email us at info@fnlawfirm.com or call us on our toll-free number at 1.866.705.7584.

 

Three workers killed in construction accident

A construction accident in Austin, Texas, has left three workers dead after a scaffold collapsed beneath them, sending two men plunging 13 stories to the ground.  The victims were working on a high-rise apartment building at 21st and Rio Grande streets on Wednesday afternoon.

The three workers were standing on a piece of scaffolding when it fell from the 11th story of the building, landing on the 7th or 8th story.  The victims are Wilson Joel Irias Cerritos, 30, Jesus Angel Lopez Perez, 28, and Raudel Ramirez Camacho, 27. A fourth man who was also on the scaffold survived. 

As is standard, the accident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The reasons for the collapse are still unknown.  

For more on this Texas workplace accident, click here.

Fears | Nachawati represents workers who have been injured while on the job. To learn more about your legal rights, email us at info@fnlawfirm.com or call us toll free at 1.866.705.7584 for a free consultation.