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Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Blog | Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP
Philadelphia Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Attorneys serving the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania areas. Pomerantz, Perlberger and Lewis have extensive experience with serious injuries as a result of someone else's negligence.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Ironworker Falls to his Death At Construction Site
An ironworker doing construction at Temple University's new medical building in North Philadelphia died recently after accidentally falling about five stories, authorities said.
Federal investigators immediately opened a probe of Berlin Steel Construction Co. of Connecticut, which has come under scrutiny in the past for accidental falls. The company did not return calls yesterday.
The victim, Drew Mecutchen, 44, of Levittown, Pennsylvania, was described by a colleague as the father of two teenage sons and a man who was always jovial and polite.
Capt. Richard Davis of the Philadelphia Fire Department said medics were called to the site at 3500 N. Broad St., near Venango Street, shortly after 8 a.m. The victim was taken to the adjacent Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:15. Investigators have not officially released the cause of the fall, but it is possible a harness broke, authorities said.
A woman who answered the phone at Ironworkers Local 401 in Northeast Philadelphia but did not want to be identified said she had known Mecutchen for seven years. She called him jovial, polite and an "amazing man - just a decent human being."
Work at the Temple site, where construction cranes stood still against the scaffolding and steel skeletal frame of the medical building to come, was shut down. Jelesiewicz said work would not resume until after the New Year's holiday.
Police initially were told the man fell from the 10th floor to the fourth floor, where he landed on rebar wire. Davis said he believes the victim fell off scaffolding equal to five stories. Those in the area immediately began yelling for help.
Investigators from the Department of Labor and Occupational Health and Safety Administration were called to the scene. OSHA investigator John Quinn said it appeared that Mecutchen was wearing a harness as he was welding on an improvised floor structure when he fell. Companies are required by federal law to secure the perimeters of buildings and scaffolding during construction.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed at a construction site in Philadelphia, or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.
Federal investigators immediately opened a probe of Berlin Steel Construction Co. of Connecticut, which has come under scrutiny in the past for accidental falls. The company did not return calls yesterday.
The victim, Drew Mecutchen, 44, of Levittown, Pennsylvania, was described by a colleague as the father of two teenage sons and a man who was always jovial and polite.
Capt. Richard Davis of the Philadelphia Fire Department said medics were called to the site at 3500 N. Broad St., near Venango Street, shortly after 8 a.m. The victim was taken to the adjacent Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:15. Investigators have not officially released the cause of the fall, but it is possible a harness broke, authorities said.
A woman who answered the phone at Ironworkers Local 401 in Northeast Philadelphia but did not want to be identified said she had known Mecutchen for seven years. She called him jovial, polite and an "amazing man - just a decent human being."
Work at the Temple site, where construction cranes stood still against the scaffolding and steel skeletal frame of the medical building to come, was shut down. Jelesiewicz said work would not resume until after the New Year's holiday.
Police initially were told the man fell from the 10th floor to the fourth floor, where he landed on rebar wire. Davis said he believes the victim fell off scaffolding equal to five stories. Those in the area immediately began yelling for help.
Investigators from the Department of Labor and Occupational Health and Safety Administration were called to the scene. OSHA investigator John Quinn said it appeared that Mecutchen was wearing a harness as he was welding on an improvised floor structure when he fell. Companies are required by federal law to secure the perimeters of buildings and scaffolding during construction.
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed at a construction site in Philadelphia, or anywhere in Pennsylvania, please contact the attorneys at Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis today to schedule your initial consultation.
posted by Lynn at 2:36:00 PM
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