A man died after falling from a piece of heavy machinery along a South Florida Water Management Reservoir construction site near LaBelle Tuesday morning.
According to the Hendry County Sheriff's Office, a call came to 911 at 3:38 a.m., reporting that a man had fallen while working on a machine and was severely injured and had possibly died.
We flew Sky2 above to see what equipment is on the property, but neither the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office nor OSHA have identified the worker who died.
“The first thing they do they are going to ask about it was he wearing his PPE, personal protective equipment,” Florida Gulf Coast University Construction Management professor and OSHA trainer said.
Shaheen said it is important to update safety gear.
“Our equipment has to be up to date and valid,” he said. “Sometimes the old sometimes is a rip in the body.”
If there is an accident, that is when lawyers like Joe North step in. He has seen his fair share of construction site injuries and deaths.
“The good news, if there is any good news, is that worker's compensation has to make a family as whole as possible,” injury lawyer Joe North said. “And, of course, it's never 100%. But in terms of providing for the dependents, the kids, the spouse, because there's a whole that's left now, not just in terms of the emotional part of it, but also the financial part of it.”
Osha could fine the company Phillips and Jordan if they are responsible.
“Well, if mistakes were made, hopefully, there are lessons to be learned from those mistakes so that this does not happen to another worker and another worker's family,” North said.
OSHA has investigated Phillips and Jordan before. Records show they had an accident at a site in Orlando last year and had to pay a $10,000 fine in West Virginia in 2019.