Third-generation union ironworker Lawrence O’Leary, 54, died on July 25, following injuries from a fall at a Logan International Airport construction site two weeks earlier, officials reported.
He was the second ironworker to die from injuries at a Massachusetts jobsite in the past six weeks.
O’Leary fell July 10 at the Logan Airport central parking garage jobsite, was taken to Mass General Hospital where he died later, said Jake Wark, spokesperson for the Suffolk County D.A.
Preliminary investigation indicates during a crane pick at about 7:40 a.m., as O’Leary was trying to secure an approximately 32-ton precast concrete panel to the third level of the garage, both the ironworker and the panel fell about 40 feet to the ground, according to the Massachusetts State Police.
The injured worker, a resident of Seymour, Conn., was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital where he was in critical condition before his death. He was an employee of Blakeslee Prestress Inc., Branford, Conn., a subcontractor of Turner Construction, the project’s lead contractor. Turner is conducting its own investigation of the incident, a company spokeswoman said.
“At this stage, it appears the death is not a result of criminal conduct, but the investigation is still open and prosecutors will determine if any criminal charges are warranted,” Wark said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration began an inspection immediately following the incident and estimates that the probe will take at least several weeks, according to Tim Fitzgerald, New England spokesman for OSHA. Work at the site has been suspended pending the investigation, according to the state police.
Blakeslee Prestress Inc. has had five OSHA inspections (including the current one) with a total of 11 violations cited, according to data on the OSHA website. Vincent Gambardella, chief financial officer and spokesman for Blakeslee, was not available for comment.