Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: 1 Killed and Several Hurt After Parking Garage Collapse in Miami

Brandon Stein

As a South Florida lawyer that sues construction companies, my practice is not only devoted to helping injured construction workers.  Many injuries that occur at or near construction sites often involve the general public, also requiring the assistance of a lawyer.

Earlier this morning in Miami, Florida, a section of a parking garage collapsed and injured several people, while killing one.  The garage had serviced occupants of a local community college and was under construction, yet was still open despite construction.  According to reports, the collapse was so significant that it was a floor to floor collapse — essentially crumbled like a house of cards.  Witnesses to this parking garage collapse were shocked and commented that construction workers and others ran out of the garage screaming in a panic.  Of those injured and trapped within the rubble, some were taken to the hospital, some treated on the construction site, and one was unfortunately killed.

The Chief Executive Officer in charge of the construction project assured the public that the cause of the collapse will be investigated.  However, the CEO entertained the fact that the construction company would embrace any new policies, procedures, and protocols that would ensure safety.  Sadly, it took a catastrophic construction site accident causing injuries that brought about the need to “ensure safety” for those at the project site.

For those injured in this parking garage accident, the question remains as to who is responsible.  Without question, a finger must be pointed in the direction of the construction company charged with the maintenance and supervision of this project site. However, responsibility must also lie in the lap of the college and person in charge of managing the parking garage.

In Florida, lawyers are constantly maneuvering around the law in order to help their injured clients.  Florida law takes a position against those injured from car accidents in parking lots and garages.  Simply put, if you are injured in a car accident in South Florida, suing a parking garage or owner of a parking lot is simply not an option. However, Florida courts have specifically limited this to car accidents occurring in parking lots and parking garages — not parking garages that collapse.

Lawyers here in South Florida charged with helping the victims injured from this parking garage collapse in Miami have a number of entities to consider that are at fault.  The construction company certainly does not stand alone when determining liability.  Also, the school, along with the parking garage must be held responsible in some capacity for causing all of these injuries earlier today, including a death.

If you or someone you know was injured in a construction accident, including a parking garage accident, please contact us today.

By: Brandon Stein

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Motorcyclist Killed Because of Unsafe Road Surface

Brandon Stein

As a Florida construction lawyer that sues for those injured in car or motorcycle accidents in North Miami, I find that many accidents result from unpaved or unsafe road surfaces.  The responsibility of paving a public roadway can fall directly on the shoulders of a construction company hired to repair or renovate an existing roadway.

In Florida, when a roadway or highway is open for public use, it is imperative that a construction company adheres to Florida Statutes pertaining to the uniform standards for design, construction, and maintenance as required by the Florida Department of Transportation.  In South Florida, failure to ensure safely paved roadways can lead to catastrophic injury from car accidents or motorcycle accidents, thus requiring the assistance of a lawyer.

However, this requirement imposed on construction companies is not just limited to Florida.  One way or the other, every state has its own standards for maintenance and construction of roadways — including providing safely paved roads for the public. Unfortunately, this weekend I was extremely saddened to hear news of a fatal motorcycle accident in a construction zone.

This past Friday afternoon on Highway 52 in Iowa, a 44 year old motorcyclist was killed after crashing in a construction area — the accident was allegedly caused by defects in the roadway surface.  According to reports, the pavement was uneven, which resulted in the motorcycle losing control while passing through the construction site.  The 44 year old was killed instantly and the accident is under investigation.

In Florida, construction accident and car accident lawyers are well versed in the laws requiring the Department of Transportation to develop and adopt uniform standards and specifications for the safe construction of roadways and highways. However, just because the Department of Transportation sets forth certain standards for the proper construction of roadways, including those that are paved and safe for use by the public, it does not mean that construction companies follow these rules.

The motorcycle accident death detailed above is a prime example of construction companies allowing traffic to ambulate through their work sites with an unsafe road surface.  Car accidents or motorcycle accidents occurring in construction areas frequently result in significant injury — and a subsequent phone call to a personal injury lawyer.  Therefore, I urge all construction site supervisors to be cognizant of the standards and rules set forth by the Florida Department of Transportation, for they are in place to help prevent injury at construction sites.

Specifically, unsafe road surfaces and unfinished pavement frequently leads to injury, especially for motorcyclists and bicyclists.  Being a North Miami construction site injury lawyer, too many times I come across car accidents or bike accidents due to issues with the pavement.  This is all too easy to prevent.

If you or someone you know was injured in a construction area or due to an unsafe road surface, please contact us today.

By: Brandon Stein

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Why are Construction Workers Constantly at Risk?

Brandon Stein

As a North Miami car accident lawyer that sues for construction site accidents, a case that I have recently filed in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida is just another example of the dangers of working construction. For purposes of anonymity, I will refer to my client as John Smith.

Mr. Smith was a construction worker employed as an asphalt laborer to perform paving work for the construction of Biscayne Boulevard just north of the American Airlines Arena.   Note: I say “was” because due to the significant injury from the car accident, as his lawyer, I do not know at this point whether John will ever be able to work construction again.

Mr. Smith had reported to work at the construction site for an overnight shift.  Naturally, the risks of being involved in a car or truck accident rise significantly at night — that is precisely why the presence of construction flaggers are of utmost importance to preserve the safety of all people working at the site.  Given the huge responsibility of directing traffic, flaggers are often required to undergo additional training and have more experience than your average construction worker, such as John Smith.

However, Mr. Smith’s supervisor required him to direct traffic that night, which happened to be a Friday night in downtown Miami — needless to say one of the busiest nights of the week.  Mr. Smith, fearful of losing his job if he told his boss that he was not properly trained and could not to perform this task, simply did what he was told and proceeded to direct traffic without any training or experience.

This is a construction zone that has the presence of trucks and cars traveling through the area constantly — always with a risk of causing an accident involving a construction worker, including John Smith.  As expected, shortly after Mr. Smith began directing traffic, he was hit and nearly killed by a car traveling through the construction site.  Fire Rescue and police responded to the scene and John was taken by ambulance to the Hospital.  The injuries that construction worker, John Smith, suffered from this car accident ultimately required two surgeries and extensive rehabilitation — the only way to get compensated for his loss was to hire a lawyer and recover money damages for his pain and suffering.

A major issue in this case is whether my client, John Smith, received adequate training in order to be qualified to direct traffic.  In fact, Florida has its own training and certification requirements for construction companies to follow when it comes to flaggers.  The Florida Department of Transportation (“FDOT”) sets forth Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction.  Contained within those standards is a section dedicated to flaggers.  According to section 105-8.4 of the FDOT’s Standard Specifications, construction companies are required to provide trained flaggers to direct traffic.  In other words, it is illegal to have untrained, unqualified construction workers, such as John Smith, direct traffic and work as a flagger.

When you have untrained construction workers directing traffic, car accidents or truck accidents are inevitable to occur at the construction site, which almost always cause serious traumatic injury.  Being a North Miami lawyer who sues for car accidents or truck accidents in construction areas, I find on many occasions that the contractor has failed to abide by the standards set forth by the Department of Transportation.  When these failures occur, the person who pays the price is the construction worker that is placed in harms way and vulnerable to car accidents, or worse, truck accidents.

The one golden piece of information that I would like all construction workers to take from this article is that no matter the cost, never place yourself in a situation where you are performing work without the proper training.  Unfortunately, my client, John Smith, succumbed to the pressure of his employer to perform dangerous flagger work, which led to his injury from a car accident while at work.

If you or someone you know was injured from a car accident or truck accident in a construction area, please contact us today.

By: Brandon Stein

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: 78 Year Old Construction Worker Killed After Being Pinned Between Dump Truck and Bulldozer

Brandon Stein

As a Florida construction site injury lawyer, I firmly believe that onsite construction work should only be performed by those physically and mentally equipped to handle the rigors of that line of work.  Most, if not all, construction projects involve the use of heavy machinery and intense manual labor.  The dangers of working on construction sites are always present, so the foreperson or supervising construction company has the responsibility of protecting their workers.  Thus, if a construction company fails to supervise its site properly, and a worker is injured in Florida, then you can be sure that the injured construction worker will be hiring a personal injury lawyer for representation.

I bring up the subject of suitable construction workers for a project because this past Monday a 78-year old construction worker of Schomberg, Ontario (just north of Toronto) was killed after being caught in between a dump truck and a bulldozer.  The Canadian Press reports that the construction worker was getting off of a bulldozer that he had been working on when a dump truck struck him — pinning him between the two and killing him. Local authorities state that the man was a part-time worker for the unidentified construction company and worked on an as-needed basis.  A construction site injury lawyer has not been hired to represent the 78-year old as of yet, but I would suspect that representation for the worker’s death is forthcoming.

Under no circumstances am I asserting that senior citizens should be excluded from all construction work in general. However, construction companies should have specific standards of their own in place that qualify or disqualify certain individuals from highly dangerous construction tasks. Of course, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has safety standards that construction companies are required to follow.  Yet, as a Florida construction injury lawyer, I strongly believe that each and every construction company should adopt its own site specific standards for a worker’s qualification to perform certain tasks.

Before allowing a construction worker to perform dangerous work, some factors that the employer should consider is: (1) age; (2) experience; or (3) physical strength required for the task.  Ultimately, construction employees should not be blindly placed into a position without the proper experience, training, and physical attributes.  As a South Florida lawyer who sues construction companies for employee injuries, I frequently address this issue of whether the construction employee was suited for the task he or she was performing at the time of the accident.

Going back to the 78-year old construction worker that was killed this past Monday, if I were hired to represent the man’s family in recovering damages, one of the first questions I would ask is “Why was this 78-year old man working with a bulldozer on this construction site?”  Was the man properly trained?  How long was he working for this construction company before being injured?  Does this construction company have a history of accidents on its construction sites?

Construction site accident cases are highly complex and often involve months, if not years, of litigation.  Hiring a construction site injury lawyer is very important so that you or someone you know recovers the maximum amount of damages that he or she is entitled, so Contact Us today if you or someone you know was injured in a construction accident.

By: Brandon Stein

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Remembering the Victims of 9/11

Brandon Stein

As a Florida personal injury lawyer, everyday I speak with current or prospective clients that have, one way or the other, fallen victim to tragedy.  Whether a person is involved in a car accident, slip and fall, or construction site accident — I can typically proceed with a certain course of action that will hopefully enable my injured client to recover damages.  While the system we have is not perfect, it is the best we have to offer for our injured clients. The tragedy that occurred on 9/11 is in a class of its own, and no legal action or damages can repair the pain and suffering that this country endured on that fateful day.

Many of you are well aware that I focus my posts primarily on construction site accidents and construction site injuries.  However, on this somber day, 9/11, I believe it is necessary to remember the 3,000 people who perished from the terrorist attack on our country that day.  Yet, I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we all suffered that day, and we are reminded every year on this date of the tremendous sacrifice that our troops, law enforcement officers, and firefighters make every day to keep us safe.

I, like many others, can recall exactly where I was, what I was doing, and what was going through my mind on the morning of 9/11.  It was an experience that I remember vividly and will be etched in my memory for all my life.

The morning was 9/11/01.  The time was just before 9AM.  I was a senior at East Brunswick High School in New Jersey and sitting in second period.  Class was just about over, so my teacher allowed us to put on the television for the final 10 minutes — like she had done so many times before.  However, when we turned on the TV, nearly every channel was covering a “plane crash at the World Trade Center.”  My initial thought was: “Wow.  How can a plane get so sidetracked that it crashes into a huge skyscraper?”

The live footage that my entire class was watching was focused on the first tower that was hit. The fire and flames were out of control, and the smoke was darker than I had ever seen.  While watching this live feed of the burning tower, I noticed another plane come into the frame and become hidden for a moment behind the tower.  A split second later — the second tower was hit and a large explosion engulfed the sky.  At this point, I knew that this was no accidental plane crash — those planes were undoubtedly hijacked and used as kamikaze jets circa World War II.  While watching this live, I do not recall a single word being uttered by any of my classmates, nor my teacher.  Moments later, the bell rang for us to go to our third period class.

Walking through the narrow crowded hallways of East Brunswick High School that day was a surreal experience.  Seeing my classmates and teachers literally running through the hallways frantic was a scene out of a movie.  That entire day I felt like I was under water and simply could not speak or be my normal self.  I did not know how to react.  That was truly a day that will be imprinted in my mind and history books forever.

Let me stress that this anniversary should not be the only day that the victims, their families, fallen police officers and firefighters are remembered.  Every single day they should be remembered.

By: Brandon Stein