Two Construction Workers Die after Scaffolding Collapse near Disney World

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on September 11, 2018

On Wednesday, August 29th, numerous workers were engaged in constructing a large hotel close to Disney World in Lake Buena Vista. The hotel will belong to the JW Marriott Chain when completed, but at the moment it is in the process of being built. Upon its completion sometime in 2019, it is believed that the building will stand at 8 stories tall. The building is located at 14900 Chelonia Parkway, close to Orange County’s Bonnet Creek Resort. This location is also very close to the area that begins the massive plot of land owned and operated by the Disney company.

Reports from the Orange County Fire Rescue team indicated that somewhere around 20 construction employees were working at the building around 4:00 in the morning on the Wednesday in question. Three of these workers were standing on a piece of scaffolding located 80 feet above the ground. The area where they were working lies between the future 6th and 7th floor of the future hotel, and they were in the process of pouring concrete to add to the building when something happened to cause the scaffolding to collapse.

Two of the three workers fell from the structure. They were pronounced dead at the scene of the incident. One of these workers was a 34-year-old and the other was 46. The third construction worker, a person somewhere in their 30’s, managed to grab on to the building and, with the help of some of the other workers at the scene, climb to safety. This person also suffered from some minor injuries, although it is not believed that these injuries are in any way life-threatening.

At the time of this writing, members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office are in the process of investigating the incident to try and uncover just what occurred to cause the accident. In addition, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will likely participate in the investigation to try and understand just what happened and who was responsible.

It is not known if any charges are currently pending against anyone connected with the event. It is also not known what sort of assistance the company in charge of the construction project is giving to the families of the deceased workers.

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