An active construction site is an extremely dangerous environment. A single project can require dozens of subcontractors, hundreds of workers, and countless tons of vehicles and machinery. Each year, thousands of workers are injured while working on or visiting a construction site. In addition, nearly 20 percent of all on-the-job fatalities occur in the construction industry. With so many moving people and parts, it is virtually inevitable that accidents will sometimes occur, as two workers in Sacramento recently discovered.

Airport Accident

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA) is investigating an incident that happened earlier this month which sent two individuals to a local hospital. The two were workers employed a construction company responsible for building new hangars at Mather Airport in Sacramento. When the accident first occurred, reports indicated that a building had collapsed, but when first-responders arrived, they discovered that an iron beam had fallen, injuring the two workers.

An investigation into the death of a construction worker who fell from the 53rd floor of the Wilshire Grand Center tower in downtown Los Angeles last month has been completed. According to reports, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office has ruled the death of a 36-year-old electrician contractor a suicide. The construction site fatality was the first significant incident since work began on the tower project three years ago, but the general contractor of the project is no stranger to accidents and controversy. The same company recently came under fire for a construction site explosion in San Jose that was never reported to state regulatory officials.

Fall-Prevention Measures Were in Place

Turner Construction Company—one of the most recognizable names in the North American construction industry—is the general contractor overseeing the Wilshire Grand Center project. The company has maintained since the death occurred that the incident was not work-related and that anti-fall measures were installed at the site. An on-site investigation by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly known as Cal/OSHA, “confirmed that no fall-protection violations were observed.”