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