Closing Arguments Bring Tears in Construction Accident Civil Trial

On April 8, Travis County District Judge Scott Jenkins heard final arguments in a civil trial involving a construction accident, which lead to the wrongful death of three workers.  The scaffold collapse occurred on the University of Texas’ west campus in Austin, where the workers were erecting a condominium. A scaffold collapse lead to the death of the workers.The widow of deceased worker Raudel Ramirez Cervitos, as well as the two children he left behind, traveled from Mexico to attend the trial.  The mother of deceased worker of Joel Irias Cervitos made the trip from Honduras to attend.Judge Jenkins offered is condolences to the victim’s family members and mentioned losing a son of his own three years ago.  Jenkins and the family members began to tear up in the emotional closing arguments.“The one thing that helped us heal is to love, is to love more,” Jenkins said. “I hope you’re able to do that.”Lawyers representing the families of the victims argue that the scaffold—that American Mast Climber designed—was built without an inspection from a safety engineer. Investigators determined that a rusty bolt had given out on the scaffold prior to its collapse in the construction accident.Greater Metroplex Interiors was the other third party company contracted to work on the construction project. American Mast Climber claims that Greater Metroplex Interiors misused the scaffolding.  Greater Metroplex Interiors and another third party company working on the project, Andres Construction, agreed to a $2.8 million settlement with the families. 

SCAFFOLDING ACCIDENT IN AUSTIN KILLS CONSTRUCTION WORKER

One construction worker died in a scaffolding accident in Austin, TX at the end of January.  KVUE ABC News in Austin identifies the victim as Elvis Mendez.Mendez was a 29-year-old construction worker from Dallas, who was in Austin working at a construction site.  Mendez left behind a wife and two children in Dallas.The scaffolding accident occurred on Thursday afternoon, January 27 at the Retreat at North Bluff apartment complex in south Austin.  Mendez and another worker were working on caulk for a brick staircase when they fell off the scaffolding.  The other worker received treatment for injuries at an area hospital, and paramedics pronounced Mendez as dead on the scene.Investigators from OSHA (Occupational Health & Safety Administration) arrived at the construction site on the following Friday morning.  They are attempting to determine if the scaffolding gave way or if the men simply fell off.  OSHA has six months from the time of the construction accident to complete their investigation, and cannot release any details before it is completed.The Workers Defense Project—a non-profit organization—is also conducting an investigation of the construction accident.“Nobody likes to see someone passed away, and he was a young gentleman too,” said one witness.  “Nobody likes to see that.”

TRUCK DRIVER KILLED IN 18 WHEELER ACCIDENT IN TEXAS

A commercial 18 wheeler accident in Texas killed driver Alejandro Raya on March 28 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to The Columbian. Raya was driving on Interstate 30 when a truck traveling in the wrong direction on westbound I-30 near Bech St. struck his vehicle. Raya leaves behind a wife and three children.Authorities arrested the other truck's driver, Louis Nieves, 23, and charged him with intoxication manslaughter for his involvement in the commercial truck accident. A fire ensued after the collision, and Raya was unable to escape the cab before the tanker exploded with him still inside.Police had received several phone calls from frantic drivers shortly before the 18-wheeler accident occurred around 2:30 am. Haz-Mat teams responded to contain the fuel that spilled out, and the Texas Department of Transportation closed I-30 for most of the day. The road will require extensive repairs.Nieves claims he does not recall the accident itself.“Well, I’m really sorry,” Nieves told reporters in Dallas. “I know I committed an accident, a real bad accident…I feel sorry for that person that lost that person.”Nieves told the Dallas Morning News that he was sorry and it was “a bad decision that I made.”

HAZMAT TEAM RESPONDS TO 18-WHEELER ACCIDENT

An 18-wheeler ran off the road and capsized early Monday morning, January 24. The truck accident occurred on Texas 105, four miles west of Sour Lake, according to The Beaumont Enterprise.The truck ran off the road at approximately 5:45 am and flipped over after running into a ditch. Witnesses said it appeared that the driver fell asleep while driving.The driver, Michael Brown, 49, of Lufkin, TX received treatment for minor injuries at nearby Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital. HazMat teams responded to clean up diesel fuel that leaked out after the truck accident. Trooper Stephanie Davis with the Department of Public Safety said that Texas 105 closed down in both directions while HazMat cleaned up the fuel. Adverse weather conditions made the cleanup more difficult. In a news release, Marc Shepherd with the Texas Department of Transportation announced that the highway had reopened.

CHILD SAFETY SEAT RECALL

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a child safety seat recall last week of nearly 800,000 units.  The harnesses do not hold securely, according to New York Times blogger Christopher Jensen.The company responsible for the recall is the Dorel Juvenile Group of Columbus, Ind.  Dorel issued the seats under a variety of brand names--according to Dorel spokesperson Julie Vallese—including Safety 1^st, Maxi-Cosi, Cosco and Eddie Bauer. The styles of the seats range from booster and convertible seats to strollers and infant seats. The defective child seats were manufactured from May 2008-April 2009. None of the products were involved in any reported car accidents.NHTSA began their investigation of the Dorel products after they received 143 formal complaints about the front latch unfastening easily.“There have been no reports of center front adjuster failure in real world crashes, no injuries and no deaths reported to the company,” Vallese defended.Dorel did not admit to the seats being a safety hazard and simply admitted to the NHTSA that they “exhibited performance issues.”