Investigators are currently looking into a tragic accident at a Kern power plant. Here, a California construction worker was killed when he fell while working to dismantle an abandoned power plant, yet another of the many fatal types of workplace accidents that occur in our state every year. According to reports, the incident occurred at about 9 a.m. on June 19. The worker was taken to the hospital where he died about two hours later.
A Cal-OSHA spokesperson said that the 51-year-old man was working in a basket that was suspended about 50 feet in the air, and was apparently using a torch to remove beams from the boiler room of an abandoned Pacific Gas and Electric plant. After a beam was cut, it collided with the basket while tumbling to the ground below, causing the man to fall to the ground.
Officials have yet to determine whether the worker was wearing a safety harness while performing the work. His name has not yet been not released. However, reports indicate that he was working as an employee of Cleveland Wrecking Company of Covina and is thought to be from Los Angeles.
Proper safety precautions must be followed while performing any type of construction work in order to avoid workplace accidents such as this. Cal-OSHA will review the circumstances surrounding this tragic accident to find out the details and to determine if any safety measures were violated.
The family of the man who died, meanwhile, will be interested to find out the results of the review as it attempts to cope with the sudden and untimely death of their loved one. While nothing can change what has already occurred, workers’ compensation death benefits will hopefully be available to the family to pay for funeral and other expenses, as well as to cover lost income.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, “Man falls to death while dismantling Kern plant,” June 19, 2012