Contractor Falls into Sinkhole in Disney World
Spokespeople for the Orange County Fire Rescue released a statement last week relating to an accident that took place at Walt Disney World to a contractor who was employed performing either maintenance or construction at the popular tourist attraction when the accident took place.
According to the reports, it was on Tuesday, the 9th of July, when the incident took place. At this time, numerous independent contractors were employed at Walt Disney World in order to do work that was not described in the initial report. Given the size of the tourist site, it is possible that the contractors were engaged in doing any number of things, from maintaining old structures to building new ones. What we do know is that one of the contractors was standing close to a large trench that had been recently been dug out, and that this trench was located close to a parking structure. Suddenly, and for reasons that remain under investigation, the ground beneath the contractor gave way and they fell or were sucked into an enormous hole.
It is not clear what caused the ground to collapse. It is also not clear if Walt Disney World had provided the construction crew with enough knowledge about the area to ensure that everyone working at the site would remain safe. What we do know is that after the ground collapsed the contractor fell into a hole that was between eight and ten feet deep and that during the fall enough dirt fell around the worker to cause their legs to become trapped.
Due to the depth, the individual was not able to escape from the trench on their own. Instead, members of the Orange County Fire Rescue were called in to assist the person. When these firefighters arrived, they used numerous hand tools in order to dig the trapped person from the large hole. It is not known how long this process took, but it is believed that within a short period of time the trapped individual was free from the space.
It is believed that the individual was not badly injured in the fall, although they were rushed to a nearby hospital.
Sources:
James O. Cunningham
Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.