Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office are investigating after the body of a man was found at a bridge construction site Tuesday in Palmetto Bay.
Officials were called out to the scene, the construction site for the Southwest 87th Avenue bridge over the Cutler Drain Canal, around 6:30 a.m. The body was found by a construction worker and reported to police.
The man was found in a ditch with water and was not wearing a shirt when he was found.
Police told reporters with Channel 10 news that their preliminary investigation has led them to believe the man’s death may have been due to an “industrial accident.” No foul play is suspected.
As of Wednesday, no names or other identifiers were immediately available. It was not clear whether the man was a construction worker or had wandered onto the site.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners has three offices throughout Florida in Key West, Miami and Orlando. In 48 years of personal injury law, the firm has obtained numerous record and historic settlements and verdicts for injured clients and grieving family members. In nearly five decades, the firm has built a reputation as one of the top personal injury law firms in the country. Our attorneys are tenacious and will pursue the best possible outcome for clients in every case.
Construction injury cases are among the most complex types of personal injury lawsuits. These cases often involve multiple parties, each with varying responsibilities. These at-fault parties can include anyone from the manufacturing company that produced the heavy machinery at the site to the construction company overseeing the work. Each of these parties may have distinct legal obligations related to the accident and its causes, making these cases particularly complicated.
Construction work can be extremely dangerous. The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that one in every five work-related deaths occurs in the construction industry. Falls are considered to be the leading cause of death for construction workers, followed by injuries due to being struck by objects like falling tools or debris. These hazards are ever-present for workers no matter the job site. From commercial builds to smaller-scale home renovations are full of hazards such as chemicals, heavy machinery and fall or trip hazards. When determining the cause of the injury and identifying which party’s negligence contributed to the accident, a thorough investigation is necessary. This often requires expert testimony and a detailed analysis of the site, equipment, and safety protocols in place at the time of the injury.
Additionally, attorneys handling these cases must possess an in-depth understanding of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Ensuring that these guidelines were followed is crucial, as violations may have been a contributing factor in a client’s injury. Proving a violation and linking it directly to the accident requires technical legal knowledge and experience with industry-specific standards.
Previous Cases
In a motor vehicle accident case related to road construction, Leesfield & Partners obtained a $29.7 million recovery amount for injured clients.
One Leesfield & Partners case involves a worker who was burned when hot tar spilled on him from above. The tar was able to fall on our client via an open skylight.
Leesfield & Partners represented a man crushed and run over by heavy machinery who was severely burned and had both legs amputated as a result. The firm secured a $10 million recovery for the injured worker.
In a construction accident case handled by the firm, our attorneys obtained a $5 million award for the injured client.
Our attorneys obtained a substantial amount in recovery for his severe burns.
The firm previously represented a construction worker who was hit in the head on a job site by an unknown object and achieved a considerable settlement amount for this client.
The firm previously represented a man whose right leg was crushed when the crane operator failed to properly lower the crane. Our client was working in the direct path of the falling crane and tried to run when he heard the screams of warning from other workers. While running, the crane boom struck him on his hard hat and he was knocked to the ground. While he was on the ground, the boom bounced off the end of a beam and fell to the ground on his leg.
One man fell through an open staircase and hit his head. Tragically, he later died from his injuries. Leesfield & Partners filed a lawsuit against the man’s employers for failure to provide fall protection and secured a significant award for the client’s family.
