Man in serious condition after falling about 50 feet in construction accident at Lincoln High School
A man working on construction at Lincoln High School is in serious condition after falling between 40 and 50 feet from a suspended platform Tuesday morning.
Lincoln High School
Photo courtesy of Lincoln Schools
The man was transported by Survival Flight to the hospital and was in serious condition, Jackson said.
Lincoln Consolidated Schools Superintendent Ellen Bonter said she was impressed with the quick response of the Clark Construction personnel and emergency responders. No students or staff at the school were ever in danger, Bonter said.
She said the school did not have any more information to release on the incident and officials were waiting for more information.
"We are all very concerned about the condition of the injured worker," she said.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Ron Granger
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 10:41 p.m.
Hope this guy recovers. It's a good thing this did not happen at the University hospital. He might have waited 6 months for them to call an ambulance.
newsboy
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 9:47 p.m.
MIOSHA? Try getting anything out of this new business friendly Department. If this poor guy survives, he will be doomed to a life of poverty under the new workers comp laws. If you think dumbing down job safety laws will only affect the working class of this State, think again? The next time you see a large crane towering over your head, the Steel hauler on the express way, the lead painted coffee cup from China, the food poisoning you got at the mall... Remember; you live in a free and unregulated society?
jcj
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 9:56 p.m.
easy123 And I guess it has something to do with the fact that I spent over 30 years working in construction. I saw coworkers die and get injured. And I am very intolerant of those that want to blame someone else for everything.
jcj
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 9:53 p.m.
easy123 I guess I am a little intolerant of comments by those that don't know how things really are. Especially when they try to pass off their opinions as fact.
easy123
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 5:27 p.m.
What's wrong "jcj" Too sensitive? It is HIS opinion, and getting to bent out of shape shows a certain degree of intolerance.
Ron Granger
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 11:41 p.m.
I had a family member struggle for over a year to get paid by the workers comp insurance company. That was a year after a judge ruled she was entitled to be paid for a knee surgery, and after the insurance company presented no defense at trial. The insurance company just kept dragging it out. They'd appeal and then withdraw the appeal the day before the court case. So, I agree. The way they fight, he'll be lucky the day he sees a dime. The state needs to better regulate and enforce workers comp claims.
jcj
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 10:07 p.m.
Moderator are you going to let this stand. Extremely offensive statement! "If this poor guy survives, he will be doomed to a life of poverty"
lisam
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 9:25 p.m.
Praying for his recovery. I am curious as to why this is posted so late. I was at a gym on my lunch hour 3 hours ago and this was breaking news on Channel 7. With this being so local, why is it just now being reported? I have been looking for updates all afternoon.
jcj
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 8:58 p.m.
Hopefully This man will recover fully and and the investigation that will follow gets to the cause.
swcornell
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 1:17 a.m.
Kudo's to U of M's Survival Flight!
jcj
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 10:04 p.m.
Agreed, But we do not know if he momentarily took off his restraint for some reason. I worked construction for over 30 years. And there were times I would take off my hard had for a second to wipe my brow. And there were times when I was working on walls and had to undo my restraint to get into another position. I do not know what happened , but I think it is too early to assume the company was in the wrong.
justcurious
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 9:24 p.m.
The article states "when a beam fell, causing the truck to rock." Sounds like the probable cause to me, especially if nothing restrained him from falling out of the basket.
E. Manuel Goldstein
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 7:58 p.m.
The employer should have ensured this worker had fall restraint or fall arrest, which could have prevented this incident. MIOSHA should also be investigating this and fining the employer for their negligence.
jcj
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 9:02 p.m.
"The idea that workers are to blame for their own injuries on the job is so prevalent and so very wrong." Not as wrong as your premiss that it is always the employer!
jcj
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 7:28 p.m.
Manuel I suspect if you child ever came home with a failing grade YOU would be the first to blame the teacher! I have no idea if the company was at fault in this case. They very well might be. But I do KNOW that sometimes we are responsible for our actions. But not in your world!
jcj
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 7:05 p.m.
Manuel Please answer my question before going into a political speech! How is the employer wrong in my scenario? I have been on jobs where workers died. I have come close myself. So I am not talking out my rear! One of my accidents would have been the employers fault and my fault. The other was neither of our faults. If a branch falls out of a tree while walking down the sidewalk and injures you. Who you gonna blame?
E. Manuel Goldstein
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 5 p.m.
jcj - The idea that workers are to blame for their own injuries on the job is so prevalent and so very wrong. Fix the job hazards first before trying to fix peoples' behavior. Workplace incidents (accidents as you say) and fatalities are not 'unforeseen', a large majority of workplace incidents and deaths are preventable. In fact, the largest number of citations OSHA issued last year in the Construction sector were for Fall Protection - or lack thereof - look at OSHA's top ten list of citations. With the specific circumstances you describe, then any investigator would have to take into account the safety record of the company (which was really shoddy with the recent Ambassador Bridge fall fatality), their insurance record, their injury logs, their safety training programs, and many other factors. If the worker in your scenario was trained properly, then they would not be removing their harness to make an adjustment without being tied off in some way, or by not making adjustments while working at heights. Lower the bucket, make the adjustment, then go back up. The evidence as reported in the news article indicates, to me at least, that the worker was not properly secured, and if he had been, he would not have fallen 40-50 feet to the ground. Have you ever done a fatality investigation?
jcj
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 4:34 p.m.
Manuel Join the REAL world. I have no idea what the specific's are in this case.( and neither do you) And I am not in ANY way suggesting this worker was at fault. But I will give you a scenario and you tell us how the supervisor or anyone else is at fault. I go to work in the bucket of a boom truck. As a condition of employment I have to receive training concerning safety and use of a harness. I also have to sign an agreement that I will follow ALL safety rules and procedures. Now I go to work I have a supervisor that is constantly reminding me to be safe and follow the rules. He turns his back (he can't watch me every second( I remove my harness to adjust something and an unforeseen accident happens. HOW in the world do you blame the company or the supervisor? Again I am not insinuating that is what happened here. OR that there are not companies and supervisors that are only concerned with production and not safety.
E. Manuel Goldstein
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 2:34 p.m.
jcj, according to the laws on the books, EMPLOYERS are ultimately responsible for what their employees do or don't do. Fall restraint and fall protection devices should be a condition of employment in industries and jobs where workers work at heights. At the constructions sites I have worked on, supervisors and other management didn't always enforce work rules, and I have observed that frequently they are not held accountable. Jim, what workers go to work expecting to die, or 'put themselves at risk'? This poor man did not put himself at risk, his employer did (if they did not provide proper fall protection and training). I do hope he recovers fully. It is really noble of you for wanting to help. However safety rules and regulations are there for a reason. These rules and regulations are written in the blood of workers who have died on the job. The republican legislature of this state and in the US seek to remove worker safety and health protections. Investigations are done so that root causes can be found - and preventive measures instituted.
Jim H
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 : 4:51 a.m.
Wow! A man putting himself at risk to support himself (and family?) has an accident and we all we need to do is investigate and it the fault of the evil Republicans??? How about...I hope he recovers and if he has a family, perhaps we should start a collection to help out. Perhaps A2.com could follow up and let us know how we can help.
obviouscomment
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 11:31 p.m.
it is required to wear a restraint in a cherry picker...employers need to enforce that at all costs...and employees should follow it
jcj
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 10:54 p.m.
IF you have worked on a construction site you should know the workers don't always follow the rules to a tee! And he could have taken his restraint off momentarily.
E. Manuel Goldstein
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 9:31 p.m.
MIOSHA should investigate because that is their job, and there are regulations (however unnecessary the republicans think they are) on the books that must be followed in order to prevent incidents such as this from happening. Just a couple of weeks ago, we got to see another worker fall from a great height (from the Ambassador Bridge) whose company did not ensure his safety by compelling him to wear fall restraint or other protection. If this worker had fall restraint or protection, it is unlikely that he would have fallen 40 or 50 feet to the ground. And yes, I HAVE worked on construction sites.
WalkingJoe
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 9:15 p.m.
I am not trying to assess blame but merely pointing out that when I read this article my first thought was why didn't or if this person had on a fall restraint and arrest device. I worked on machinery at the GM Powertrain plant and whenever we were required to work in high places we were required by law and shop rules to wear such equipment. I would assume that an investigation by the appropriate authorities will take place. I also hope for a full and speedy recovery for the worker.
jcj
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 8:56 p.m.
Why should MIOSHA investigate? You already have it ALL figured out from home within 4 hrs of the accident! Just contact them and let them know what happened. Have you EVER worked on a construction site?