Workplace Injuries

• Construction Related Injuries Increasing

  Michael Myers | October 22, 2007 9:57 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A 21-year old man from Bellevue was hit and killed by a dump truck Friday. The Bellevue man was attempting to cross Northeast 36th Street at the same time that the dump truck was turning onto Northeast 36th Street. At this time the police do not believe that the driver was at fault in this accident. With all the construction going on around Seattle injuries to both construction workers and even...

• Redmond Worker Injured when Boom Truck Falls, Potential "Third-Party" Claim

  Michael Myers | October 12, 2007 4:18 PM | 0 CommentsOlympia, WA

  On October 9th a construction worker at Microsoft in Redmond was injured when a boom truck tipped over. The Department of Labor & Industries, an agency designed to protect and advocate for workers, will do an investigation as to the cause of the accident. It will focus on the cause of the accident and what the general contractor could have done to make the construction site safer for not only...

• Labor and Industries Worker Falls on Stairs and Later Dies

  Michael Myers | August 31, 2007 8:11 AM | 0 CommentsOlympia, WA

  Last week L&I employee Bill Harmon fell and suffered fatal injuries at the Department's headquarters. Mr. Harmon was 87."Although there were no witnesses to this unfortunate situation, L&I employees heard the sounds of a fall and responded immediately. They called 9-1-1, notified building security, and took action to block the area. In addition, a number of L&I staff went to the hospital to...

• Construction Accident Kills Tenino Man

  Mark McLean | August 23, 2007 3:53 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A 28 year old Tenino man died last week when he slipped at an Olympia construction site, hit his head on a backhoe and fell 15 feet into a ditch. The construction site was operated by Olson Brothers Excavating, Inc. This was the second construction-related death in a week in Thurston County. Washington's Industrial Insurance Act allows for fault-free "worker's compensation" benefits to...

• Highway Construction Injury Leaves One Dead

  Mark McLean | July 12, 2007 6:06 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A construction worker was killed in an accident on Highway 20 in LaConner yesterday.The worker was killed in a construction zone near Milepost 53 near LaConner at about 8:15 a.m.Transportation Department spokesman Dustin Terpening said the worker was hit by a street sweeper that was backing up. Washington law provides for worker's compensation, a fault-free system of recovery for people injured...

• Worker Dies After Being Crushed by Lift

  Mark McLean | June 25, 2007 9:20 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A worker died after being crushed by a hydraulic lift in a Georgetown neighborhood recycling plant last week. Longtime SeaDruNar employee John Colombini, 46, died from head injuries he suffered when a hydraulic lift collapsed on his head, a spokesman for the King County Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday.Colombini was repairing a lift attached to a truck cab used to haul waste containers...

• Worker Killed When Trench Collapses

  Michael Myers | March 10, 2007 10:07 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Seattle firefighters worked for over two hours before they were able to extract the construction worker. Unfortunately, the worker did not survive his injuries. The construction acccident happened in White Center. Construction accidents are unfortunately common. Construction workers have rights under RCW Title 51 (the workers compensation law). But they also have rights under personal...

• Falling Wall Injures Construction Workers in Bremerton

  Ryan Nute | March 07, 2007 9:58 AM | 0 CommentsTacoma, WA

  An 8-foot wall at a residential construction site fell last Monday, injuring two workers. The second-story wall apparently fell when the supporting jacks slipped.The accident occurred in the 10200 block of Central Valley Road NW at about 10 a.m. Two workers crawled out from under the wall and a third was pulled out by fire crews. The injured workers were transported to Harrison Medical Center...

• US Airways Sued By Union Over Wages

  Shannon Weidemann | February 27, 2007 12:44 PM | 0 CommentsTacoma, WA

  The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has filed a lawsuit against the US Airways Group Inc. over wages. According to the union some of their workers are not getting the higher wages that they should have received when US Airways and America West merged. They said they had an agreement with the airline in the case that it was bought.The company, which was in...

• Wages in Washington

  Ryan Nute | January 04, 2007 1:39 PM | 0 CommentsOlympia, WA

  The minimum wage in Washington is set to increase to $7.93 in 2007--the highest rate in the U.S. By contrast, the federal minimum wage is $5.15 (and has been unchanged since 1997). (States are free to require an increase in the minimum wage beyond the "floor" set by federal law.) Employees also have unique protections under Washington law when it comes to unpaid wages.Washington has a statute...