A fatal accident on June 10 involving a construction diver performing an underwater job at a roadside drainage project in Florida was under investigation. A local news outlet initially reported that the man was rescued, but he later succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital. To facilitate investigative work, authorities requested that drivers temporarily avoid the vicinity of the accident in Weston near Bonaventure Boulevard and Indian Trace.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office stated that the diver became entangled in cables and stuck underwater while he was working within a trench at the construction site in the early afternoon. Crewmembers were eventually able to extract the man from his position after which he was transported in a fire rescue vehicle to Cleveland Clinic where he was pronounced dead. Whether the cause of the man’s death appeared to be drowning or an injury suffered during his entrapment was not clarified in the initial news report.
Careers in construction are often among the most hazardous jobs workers can choose, and those who are tasked with working underwater can face special risks in comparison to their above-ground coworkers. In addition to drowning due to entrapment, they could be at an increased risk of other diving-related injuries.
If a Floridian construction company is remiss in its obligation to exercise reasonable care in keeping its employees on land or in water safe, they may be found liable in a civil court when a deadly construction accident occurs. However, a employee injured on the job is usually covered by worker’s compensation insurance and can collect compensation without having to prove an employer’s negligence.
Source: WSVN.com, “Construction diver dies after being trapped underwater”, June 10, 2014
