The recent death of a 62-year old bridge maintenance team member highlights the danger of construction site work. John ‘Jack’ Lattimore lost his life while working in a bucket truck under a bridge. Lattimore suffered severe head trauma after his head struck the bridge he was working under. He died on the scene before he could be treated.
The frustrating part about this case is that Lattimore appeared to be compliant with all safety measures for working in the bucket of the boom truck. He was wearing both a safety harness and a hard hat at the time of the accident, neither of which was able to protect Lattimore from the head trauma that took his life.
This accident should once again highlight the dangers of working on construction sites with the proper training. Had the co-worker operating the truck not been trained to override the bucket system, the second co-worker in the bucket may not have come away without injuries. Knowing the protocol for emergency safety measures may not have saved Lattimore’s life but it certainly can save other construction workers from similar fates.
Investigation will reveal exactly what happened to Lattimore and how he was fatally injured on the construction site’s bridge project. In the meantime, construction workers need to heed the warnings and follow their training specifications to prevent other construction accidents like this from occurring.
