California construction worker crushed by rebar tower

An accident at a California construction site claimed the life of a 29-year-old man on May 20. The man was crushed by a falling rebar tower while working on the development of a new rental car facility near San Diego International Airport. The construction accident took place at approximately 8:45 a.m. near the intersection of West Washington Street and Pacific Highway in San Diego’s Midway District.

According to Cal/OSHA, the man was a carpenter on the building project. He was reportedly wearing fall protection gear when he attached himself to a rebar column in preparation for a concrete pour. However, something went wrong during the pour, and the column began to topple. The man’s coworkers say that they heard him cry for help, but they were unable to reach him before the rebar tower fell on top of him.

Emergency medical services personnel tried to revive the man for 20 minutes before he was pronounced dead at the scene. A statement released later in the day by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority said that work on the $223 million project had been halted and would not resume until the cause of the accident had been identified. The statement also expressed their full cooperation with investigators.

Construction work is hazardous, and some accidents cannot be avoided. However, many construction workers are killed or injured every year because they are given insufficient training or substandard equipment. Construction companies are also sometimes lax in their observance of safety regulations. Workers hurt in accidents where negligence is a factor may seek compensation by pursuing legal remedies, and a personal injury attorney with experience in construction accident cases may bring a lawsuit on their behalf.

Source: ABC 10 News San Diego Construction worker killed by falling rebar, 10 News Digital Team, May 20, 2014

Source: NBC San Diego, “Worker Crushed at Construction Site Identified”, Monica Garske, May 28, 2014

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