South Florida Construction Deaths: Could Miami Crane Safety Ordinance Have Prevented Loss of Life?
In March, two people died and five were injured in a construction accident at the Miami Paramount Bay condominium project, when a portion of a tower crane toppled through the roof of a home being used as a job site office by contractor Bovis Lend Lease.
Tragically, a crane safety ordinance had passed in Miami-Dade County the week before but had not gone into effect. That's because a coalition of Florida construction organizations filed suit in Federal court and were awarded an injunction prohibiting Miami-Dade County officials from enforcing the safety ordinance. They were afraid that tightened safety regulations would shut down Florida construction sites in violation of the ordinance.
Construction workers often work high above the ground, performing their jobs on scaffolding and cranes perched many stories up in the air. OSHA has crane and derrick safety standards in place, but construction accidents like what happened in Miami still claim too many lives. Florida has also introduced a state tower-crane safety bill which has remained in committee at the State Legislature for two years.
As accident lawyers who advocate for Florida workers hurt on the job, we are all too familiar with what can go terribly wrong on a construction site. Both federal and state regulations are designed to keep construction workers safe. But sometimes, that's not enough. The irony of this sad case is that Florida construction organizations filed suit to keep the safety ordinance -- written to keep their construction workers safe -- from going into effect.
Endgame: Construction Fatalities Soar Nationwide
Southeast Construction Sept. 2008
Two Dead, Five Injured in Miami Crane Collapse
FoxNews.com March 25, 2008
