Florida Personal Injury Blog - Workplace Injuries

Another Florida Theme Park Employee Accident

Ed Normand — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Last night, the Orlando Fire Department was called out to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. An employee working on the Revenge of the Mummy ride fell from a ladder, and landed on a platform. Rescue workers took the employee to a local hospital to be evaluated. Though it appears the employee is going to be OK, this most recent accident only highlights the risk of injury and even death that employees face at theme parks. After a rash of employee accidents over the summer, workplace safety is becoming a growing concern for theme park workers.

The most publicized accident over the summer was the untimely death of Disney monorail operator Austin Wuennenberg in July 2009. Austin was operating a monorail train during a night shift, and was killed when the train he was operating collided with another train. Unfortunately, Austin was not the only Disney employee to lose his life over the summer. In August, stunt performers from two separate Disney shows, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and Pirates of the Caribbean - Captain Jack’s Pirate Tutorial, each lost their lives. Anislav Varbanov suffered a head injury while rehearsing for the Indiana Jones show, an injury which later claimed his life. Fellow stuntman Mark Priest broke his neck while performing in the Pirates of the Caribbean show. Mark ended up losing his life several days later.

Employees were also injured at other Florida theme parks over the summer. In July, an employee was seriously injured after being struck head-on by the Dueling Dragons roller coaster at Universal Studios in Orlando. The employee, who was doing a safety-inspection of the ride, was unresponsive after the accident and suffered multiple fractures to his head. At Tampa’s Busch Gardens, an employee was injured when he fell 35 feet from the Skyride and landed on his back. The employee suffered a vertebrae injury, but fortunately was not paralyzed as a result. With three employee deaths at Disney and several injuries at other theme parks during the summer months alone, one can’t help but wonder if the safety regulations in place are sufficient to protect employees. I have written consistently about the need for federal oversight of the parks for the protection of visitors. Now it seems that employees increasingly need protection too.

For my posting on theme park injuries during the second quarter of 2009, please see my blog entry at: http://orlando.injuryboard.com/defective-and-dangerous-products/injuries-on-disney-rides-and-attractions-second-quarter-2009.aspx?googleid=270352

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

Another Worker Dies At Disney

Ed Normand — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:32:20 GMT

With the third employee death at Disney World in the past seven weeks, serious questions are being raised about the safety regulations in place at the Theme Parks in Florida. Attorney Ed Normand of the Orlando law firm of Wooten, Kimbrough, Gibson, Doherty and Normand, P.A. was recently interviewed on Fox News about this troubling pattern of employee deaths. His interview and discussion about the lack of government oversight at theme parks such as Disney World can be found at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/nahz8n

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ed Normand

JaxPort Employee Injured On The Job 110 Feet Up

Eddie Farah — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:05:56 GMT

An industrial accident at the Jacksonville Port Authority led to a dramatic but successful rescue for one injured employee.

The unidentified man was working on a 110 foot crane Monday night doing routine maintenance along with six other men, when he suffered a severe back injury. A safety line prevented him from falling to the ground.

To lower him to the ground, Jacksonville Fire-Rescue’s Urban Search and Rescue Unit incorporated a basket and ropes to safely lower him, dangling precariously above the ground as was caught in some dramatic video by Channel 4 in Jacksonville.

Lowering the man took a tense 90 minutes, but Jacksonville Fire Rescue said they had trained for such an event, including how to safely put a man on a board to lower him down.

The man had to be hospitalized but has been released and is recovering at home.

This is just the latest bad news for this Jacksonville employer. Last week at the company’s Blount Island facility, a crane weighing almost a thousand tons fell into a row of other cranes. Two of the $6 million cranes are in pieces and a third was damaged. No one was injured in this wreck, but certainly it had the potential.

Under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act employees working near dry docks, terminals, piers or wharfs are covered if they are moving cargo between the ship and land transportation and had some direct involvement with maritime activities.

The mission of the Act is to make sure that workers’ compensation benefits are paid promptly and properly since working in these ports is dangerous work and back and neck injuries are not uncommon. Often these are catastrophic injuries that may take a lifetime of care. This man was very lucky. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Florida's Most Dangerous Jobs

Eddie Farah — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:29:00 GMT

While the national picture for accidents and deaths on the job decreased by about six percent – Florida’s death rate for workplace fatalities stayed steady from 2006 - about 362 people lost their lives at work in 2007. What kind of jobs pose the greatest risk?

Florida Trend breaks down the most dangerous jobs. The typical person killed on the job in Florida is a white male about 50-years-old and is a truck driver earning about $30,000 a year who died in a traffic accident. Truck drivers had the largest category of deaths on the job at 43 in 2007.

Construction workers were next at 29. 21 grounds workers were killed while 16 police officers lost their lives. In all seven officers were gunned down in 2007.

Interestingly, one would think that being a roofer is a dangerous occupation, but it ranks ninth in the list of ten.

As far as being safe on the job in an office, think again. Workplace homicides rose by 46 percent in Florida in 2007, while they were up 13 percent nationwide.

The vast majority- about 85 percent- involved shootings. People to fall victim were police officers as mentioned but also restaurant workers and salespeople. In one case a man was shot during an attempted robbery at a BP station in Tallahassee. In another case, a 63-year-old woman working at Disney, was hit by a ride which knocked her to the ground where she hit her head and died.

Florida has the third highest number of fatalities at work following Texas (527) and California (407). Overall, the good news, if you can call it that, is your chances of dying on the job are slim, about 4.6 per 100,000 workers, but still substantially more than the national average of 3.7 per 100,000.

If you have been injured on the job, please do not talk to an insurance agent before you talk to an experienced accident attorney. Your future and the future of your family may depend on the moves you make immediately following an injury at work. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Dangerous Downtown Condo Collapse Results in Loss Of Life and Lawsuits

Eddie Farah — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:08:00 GMT

The downtown Berkman Plaza condominium project was abruptly halted in December 2007 when a parking garage collapsed burying one worker under five feet of debris and concrete. Now the condo owner is suing six subcontractors for at least $36 million in damages.

The six are accused of violating Florida’s building codes that led to the six-story garage collapse that killed 26-year-old Willie Edwards, a single father of two. 23 other workers were injured.

In the lawsuits, Berkman’s lawyers say the delay in construction has cost the company at least $36 million.

The Florida Times-Union reports the subcontractors are: Named in the lawsuit are: Southern Pan Services Co. of Davie, Infinity Resourcing of Palm Coast, P.T.E. Strand Co. of Miami, Universal Engineering Sciences of Orlando, A.A. Pittman and Sons Concrete Co. of Jacksonville and Patent Construction Systems of Paramus, N.J.

Interestingly another subcontractor, Choate Construction Co. was not sued because its contract states that any claims are to be handled through binding arbitration and mediation. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has also fined several contractors $193,000 for flaws in construction and design.

OSHA cited nine violations, although added that none were serious enough to have caused the collapse.

Of the 23 injured workers, the OSHA citation indicates the employer knew or should have known of a danger present on the work site. An experienced attorney can help you determine whether they hid that knowledge and whether these violations could have contributed to the collapse.

Clearly in this case, Berkman Plaza and / or its subcontractors failed to take reasonable precautions to protect the employees. We wish only the best to the two young children of Willie Edwards. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Florida Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Injured Workers

Eddie Farah — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:59:50 GMT

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday stepped in to help injured workers.

Ever since a controversial 2003 reform of the state’s workers’ compensation law, lawyer’s fees have been capped.

In the case before the court this week, the attorney for Emma Murray was compensated $8 an hour. The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a lawyer representing an injured worker is entitled to a "reasonable" fee and $8 an hour is not reasonable.

In the 5-0 ruling of Emma Murray vs. Mariner Health Care, Murray, a nurse in her late 50s, was injured hoisting a patient in a nursing home. Her employer’s insurance carrier denied her claim saying her condition was pre-existing.

Her Port Charlotte lawyer won $3,244 in back wages and medical costs and Mariner Health had to pay her court costs which amounted to $648 for 80 hours of work. Murray’s lawyer argued that since Mariner Health paid its lawyer $150-$200 an hour, which totaled $16,000, that Murray faced an unconstitutional disadvantage.

He won the argument on the ambiguous definition of "reasonable" attorney fees, not on the constitutional argument.

The 2003 reform gives insurers incentive to deny legitimate claims like Murray's, since few lawyers will take on complex and expensive cases for such meager fees. Since the reform, rates have fallen nearly 60 percent but so has the ability to address a citizen’s injury in court.

Nobody is getting rich here. Farah and Farah continues to take these cases and we have a staff to address workers' comp cases. What’s at stake is a person’s ability to receive compensation for medical bills and lost wages that they are entitled to, while they recover from an on-the-work injury.

What is dignity worth? Priceless.

The state's insurance commissioner will review the decision to determine the impact on workers' comp insurance.

Expect a face-off during the upcoming legislative session between the U.S. Chamber representing the business community that wants to keep down the cost of workers' comp insurance, and advocates for labor and citizens.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

New Gun Law Sparking Opposition In Florida

Eddie Farah — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:28:00 GMT

On Tuesday, Florida got a new law that some feel makes the workplace safer. Others feel it makes the workplace more dangerous. It's a very emotional issue, gun control, so let's not go into that here.

But some Florida businesses are "just saying NO" to the expanded rights of gun owners.

JEA, the utility of the Jacksonville area, has sent a letter to employees telling them NOT to bring their guns to work.

The “Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act of 2008” was signed recently by Gov. Charlie Crist.

It allows employees, who have a valid concealed weapons permit, to bring their gun to work and keep it in their car.

JEA says there are exemptions and they fall into one.

Banks, churches, court- they are all exempted from the law. JEA doesn't say explicitly what the exemption is that they fall under. Many say they will bring guns anyway and not tell.

At Walt Disney World in Orlando, employees will not be allowed to keep guns in their cars at company parking lots.

Disney is not making any friends with backers of the law such as the National Rifle Association and lawmakers. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” according to state Sen. Durell Peaden, one of the authors of the bill and a Republican from the Florida Panhandle, tells the Orlando Sentinel.

But Disney has a long standing policy against guns on the 30,000 acre property despite what the NRA says. And Disney has clout. It employs more people at a single location than any local employer - 60,000. Bringing a gun to work could be grounds for termination.

Also exempted under the law are defense contractors or explosives manufacturers.

A last minute revision to the bill included an exemption for any property leased or owned by an employer who has a permit for explosives. Disney has a permit to use fireworks in its theme parks.

Disney says its theme parks, resorts, cast member parking lots, administrative offices, sports complex, hotels, Celebration and Disney Reservation centers in Orlando and Tampa are all exempt.

However, not exempt are Disney Cruise Line’s crew parking lots and some other Disney properties in Florida. And Universal is joining Disney in claiming an exemption.

Not so at Sea World. The company believes in the rights of employees or visitors to transport legal firearms in their car, according to a spokeswoman. #

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

OSHA Fines Downtown Contractors After Garage Collapse Kills One

Eddie Farah — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:20:01 GMT

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined three downtown Jacksonville contractors for design and construction flaws that caused the December 6^th collapse of the Berkman Plazaparking garage.

The major construction accidentkilled one and injured 20 other workers.

Nearly $193,000 has been filed against Choate Construction, Southern Pan Services and A.A. Pittman & Sons Concrete. That is the largest fine for a single accident in North Florida history.

26-year-old Willie Edwards died in the collapse. The father was working to buy Christmas presents for his kids.

The companies are alleged to have failed to determine whether the six-floor structure was sound enough to support the extra weight from concrete being poured on the top floor. Also missing was critical support beams. They were cited for a flawed design in the building, and the quality of the construction.

The companies have 15 days to appeal. Southern Pan and Choate say they plan to contest the fine. Southern Pan believes the collapse was due to engineering failures.

Choate and Southern Pan are Georgia-based companies while A.A. Pittman is Jacksonville based. Expect a lot of blame to go around here before this story is over.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Governor Signs Bill Into Law: Employees Bring Your Concealed Weapons to Work

Mike Damaso — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:32:00 GMT

Charlie Crist, who most of us thought was doing a pretty good job as Florida's Governor, has just signed a bill into law that allows more than 500,000 of Florida's concealed-weapons permit holders to carry guns to work. However, they must keep them locked in their cars. This was totally expected and everyone presumed the law would be enacted - especially after Florida's "no duty to retreat" law a while back. This act of the Governor comes almost one year to the day after the Virginia Tech tragedy - where a mentally ill student gunned down more than 30 students in a classroom building on campus. This week, ABC Nightline reported a story about how a grassroots movement promoted by VT students is seeking to allow students the right to carry concealed weapons on campus.

With respect to the recent law passed in Florida, I understand that people want to exercise their second amendment right to bear arms (even though carrying around a concealed handgun to work and on college campuses probably does not reflect the intention of our founding fathers). What about the right of an employer to protect and control his or her business? What about the government and individual interest in public safety? But, in today's world, with terrorist attacks, wars, and drug-related violence, putting more guns out into society is not the answer. After all, if you need your gun at work to protect yourself, what good is it going to do when it is locked up in your car?

Full Article:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/orl-cfbriefs16_408apr16,0,1947863.story

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Damaso

Construction Crane Kills Workers

Seth Miles — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:35:20 GMT

A 14,000 pound steel crane fell thirty-seven stories at a condominium construction site. Two workers, Terrance Hennessy, 59, and Jeremy Thornsbury, 21, were killed. Mark Simone; Emanoel Souza, 31; Theron Cook, 57, and Russell Dyer, 48 were injured. I have handled similar construction accidents in the past.

Sadly, despite a host of rules and regulations, these types of accidents are becoming more and more common, particularly in condo-crazy South Florida. Why? In no small part, because many of these contracts have liquidated damage provisions that costs contractors and subcontractors lots of money if there are any delays. This leads to rushed work and that leads to mistakes, accidents, and tragedies.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Seth Miles