After the prosecution wrapped its case on June 1 after nearly two months of argument in the manslaughter trial of three New York City construction managers for a fatal Manhattan building fire in 2007, defense attorneys insisted a reasonable jury could not blame their clients. Photo by Tom Sawyer The site of a fatal 2007 fire that killed two firefighters, the Deutsche Bank building was finally demolished in January 2011. State Supreme Court Justice Rena K. Uviller conceded the defense raised “very important issues” in its June 2 motion to toss criminal charges against their clients—Jeffrey Melofchik, Mitchel Alvo and
A Chicago-area display manufacturer that had five of its own untrained and unprotected employees remove asbestos from pipes and boilers inside its factory has been fined $1.2 million for 27 willful and serious safety violations. On May 25, the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration said the fine is one of the largest against any employer so far this year. Photo Courtesy of Cook County Assessor’s Office Firm was cited for having untrained employees do abatement without competent supervision at its Chicago-area facility. Cited was Cicero, Ill.-based AMD Industries Inc., which produces merchandising and trade-show displays. The penalty followed an
Progressive bolt failure likely caused Boston’s massive water-main break in 2010 involving a 10-ft-dia, 1,400-lb steel pipe and insulated coupling in a reservoir supply tunnel, says a May 25 report by an independent panel appointed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. The incident led to a 53-hour “boil water” edict that affected two million people. The report points to progressive failure based on bolt stresses that were significantly beyond code standards and to limited evidence retrieved from the site. MWRA suggests that pre-existing cracks in some bolt thread roots occurred during coupling installation or after initial pipe pressurization. Additional cracks
The Tennessee Dept. of Transportation has suspended work on nine bridge projects statewide pending a safety review after a second worker fatality within four months on a Knoxville bridge job. Mount Juliet, Tenn.-based Britton Bridge LLC and its affiliate, Mountain States Contractors LLC, got the work suspension order on May 25, one day after a worker was struck in the head and killed by a falling chunk of concrete on the Henley Street Bridge in Knoxville. Britton voluntarily suspended work after that accident. The worker, Solin Estrada-Jimenez, 47, of Chattanooga, was initially identified as Rodolfo Bustillos. Family members said that
Six months after the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration began enforcing its crane and derrick standard, which mandates higher levels of safety precautions for hoisting operations on construction sites, employers and regulators say implementation of the landmark workplace-safety rule has been no easy task.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said on May 5 that it has proposed a $55,000 fine against Mollenberg-Betz Inc., a Buffalo, N.Y., mechanical contractor, for eight serious violations of workplace safety standards following a fatal explosion last November at a Tonawanda, N.Y., chemical plant. The blast killed Richard Folaron, a welder who worked for Mollenberg-Betz. OSHA also proposed a $61,000 fine against DuPont Corp., the plant's owner, for nine serious violations. It says Folaron was welding atop a 10,000-gallon slurry tank when sparks ignited vapors, causing the blast that killed him and injured another employee. OSHA cited Mollenberg-Betz
As testimony continued in early May in the ongoing manslaughter trial of three construction managers linked to the fatal August 18, 2007, fire at a former high-rise site near Ground Zero, firefighters focused on the tension and frustration that characterized the day. Credit: District Attorney's office Defense attorneys say their clients are being scapegoated for a disaster that involved many hazards and revealed myriad regulatory failures. Related Links: Firefighter Testimony in Manhattan Building Fire Trial Raises Questions Construction witnesses discussed the dismantled standpipe in the Deutsche Bank building’s basement that prosecutors contend prevented water from reaching the fire’s 17th floor
On May 2, as the manslaughter trial of three construction firm managers in the fatal Ground Zero building fire entered its fifth week, 28 prosecution witnesses had been called and 78 more were set to testify. Citing the potential for redundant and irrelevant testimony and noting that jurors appeared fatigued, New York State Supreme Court Judge Rena K. Uviller ordered the prosecution to cut its witness list and rest its case by May 31. New York County District Attorney's Office Firefighters exited fatal 2007 building blaze using scaffolding when access by interior stairwells was blocked. The Aug. 18, 2007, fire
Following the eighth traffic death linked to tunnel railings in Boston, the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation released a report in April recommending that some of the Sumner Tunnel's 58,000 railings be removed or covered. According to state police, a truck driver from Salem, Mass., died on March 27, when he was thrown from his vehicle into handrails after hitting a Jersey barrier while exiting the tunnel at high speed without a seat belt. Recommendations include removing 14% or roughly 8,000 linear ft of maintenance walkway railing not needed for emergency egress, covering some railing in curved areas with chain link
As the first month of testimony ended April 29, New York Fire Dept. witnesses in the manslaughter trial of three construction managers in the 2007 Deutsche Bank fire in Manhattan painstakingly narrated the role of site conditions, particularly a dismantled standpipe, in the disaster that killed firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph P. Graffagnino. Credit: District Attorney's office Firefighters respond to fatal blaze at Deutsche Bank in August 2007. Credit: District Attorney's office Related Links: NYC Report & Recommendations The slow pace of testimony so far in the trial, which opened April 4, caused State Supreme Court Judge Rena K. Uviller
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