SEATTLE, WA - A worker at a Belltown-area construction site was injured Monday morning when a load of material fell and hit him, fire officials said.
Seattle firefighters and medics responded to the scene, near 4th Avenue and Blanchard Street, at about 9:50 a.m. after receiving reports of a construction accident.
The construction worker, a 30-year-old man, was taken to Harborview Medical Center in stable condition.
Kristin Tinsley of the Seattle Fire Department said initial reports indicated the material fell about 15 or 20 feet and hit the man.
According to unconfirmed reports, the material that fell was plywood.
Injuries From Falling and Unsecured Objects
Unfortunately, unnecessary injuries from falling objects on construction sites are common. When tools, building materials, debris and other relatively heavy objects accelerate to high speeds in the process of falling, they cause catastrophic and potentially fatal injuries to construction workers below. Even an object as small as a bolt can cause serious injury if dropped from a number of stories above a worksite onto a construction worker. Heavy winds can cause unsecured construction materials or equipment to fall and strike workers.Catastrophic Injuries from Falling Objects
Because falling objects are a known hazard in the construction industry, the Washington Administrative Code and other government regulations require that construction companies adopt regulations to require that objects overhead are properly secured to prevent falling objects from hitting workers. When these standards are violated by construction companies or contractors, construction workers struck by falling objects can sustain serious head injuries, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, or other disabling injuries that can end careers and destroy families.
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It was August 2014 when developer Lobsang Dargey broke ground with Seattle mayor Ed Murray on the 40-story Belltown mixed-use tower. Almost exactly a year later development stopped when Dargey was accused of pilfering millions from investors on the project. Now a judge has ruled that a development partnership between Binjiang Tower Corp and Molasky Group can take over the project and attempt to reboot it.
Currently just a hole in the ground along 4th Avenue between Blanchard and Lenora streets, the hotel/apartment complex could begin construction again if a new deal is confirmed by August, two years since the initial groundbreaking. Deal confirmation must be approved by Dargey as well as all of the foreign investors who committed $83M to the project in the hopes of receiving EB-5 visas, which is now no longer in play.
Part of the deal would require the new development group to pay $1.8M towards Lobsang Dargey's attorney fees, something the SEC reportedly opposed. The original plan for the tower included 342 residential units (most of which would be condos), 142 hotels rooms, 2,743 square-feet of retail space, and 329 parking spaces.