Friday, May 1, 2015

WORKER KILLED IN SECOND-STORY SCAFFOLDING FALL FROM CALIFORNIA CASINO JOBSITE





APRIL 29, 2015

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

A construction worker fell to his death Wednesday while working on a second story scaffolding at the Chumash Casino Resort, fire department officials said.

"When units arrived they found the male, believed to be in his 40s, on the ground. He had apparently fallen two or three stories from some scaffolding he was working on in the construction zone," Santa Barbara County Fire Department Capt. Dave Zaniboni said. 

The worker, Dave Goldsberry, a 45-year old steelworker from Las Vegas working for Utah-based SME Steel Contractors, a subcontractor for Tutor Perini Building Corporation, sustained "traumatic injuries" and was pronounced dead on scene at 12:41 p.m., Zaniboni said.

Paramedics responded at 12:31 p.m.

“Tutor Perini is deeply saddened by the loss of life that resulted from today’s incident at the Chumash Casino Resort. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Mr. David Goldsberry,” representatives from Tutor Perini Building Corporation, the company tasked with building the 12-story tower, said in a statement released Wednesday.

At the Chumash Casino Resort, security guards blocked off parking garage views overlooking construction of the tower Wednesday afternoon. Many construction workers said they were unaware of the fall, but were at the site all day.

As of 1:15 p.m., construction crews were continuing work at the site.

Tribal leadership halted construction immediately following the incident, and suspended it for the rest of the week, "however, crews must make sure everything is secure and safe when leaving a construction site," Hildy Medina, a tribal spokesperson said. 

Tribal Chariman Vincent Armenta said in an emailed statement: “We are very saddened to learn of the tragic death of Mr. David Goldsberry. We would like to extend our deepest sympathy to Mr. Goldsberry’s family, friends and coworkers.” 

The death is under investigation by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.

“The Company is investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident and is fully cooperating with the local authorities in their investigation,” Tutor Perini Building Corp. representatives said in an emailed statement.

Falls are the leading cause of death in construction, with more than 291 workers falling to their deaths nationwide in 2013, according to OSHA.

 “Typically these falls happen because they were exposed to the fall; there was not a barrier and they didn’t have their fall protection equipment, and if they did have it, it could be that it failed, or they failed to have a place to tie off … generally what we find is they were not provided equipment or somebody didn’t make sure they wore it,” Barbara Goto, acting general administrator for federal OSHA said.

Safety measures to prevent falls include hand rails, guard rails, harnesses and belts, “or some other means to physically prevent them from hitting the ground should they fall,” Goto said.

Despite the tribe’s sovereign status, construction projects that are not related to tribal government and educational buildings fall under OSHA jurisdiction, Goto said.

The man’s death marks the second time a construction worker at the Chumash Casino Resort died while on the job. In 2002, a crewmember sustained head trauma and died when a trench collapsed during the construction of a new wing of the casino.

Tutor Perini Building Corp., the construction company tasked with building the 12-story $112 million hotel tower at the Chumash Casino Resort, has a history of on-site construction deaths, according to reports by the Las Vegas Sun. Nine workers died in a 16-month period in 2008 while constructing Las Vegas’ CityCenter at a blistering pace. The resulting federal investigation indicted two top Perini executives, according to the New York Daily News.

Tribal representatives were not available to address questions regarding Tutor Perini Building Corporation's history of construction-related deaths by press time Wednesday.

Construction of the tower began in October 2014 and is scheduled to be completed in 2016, according to a statement on Tutor Perini Building Corp’s website.

Once complete, the hotel will include 215 rooms, a 20,000-square-foot pool deck and an expanded parking garage.  It will also include as foundation the bones of the dead workers killed on the job.

The company and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are conducting investigations into the incident.

Falls are the number one cause of death in the construction industry with more than 291 workers falling to their deaths nationwide in 2013. OSHA is encouraging contractors and construction firms to participate in the upcoming fall prevention safety stand-down May 4-15.
Source: http://lompocrecord.com