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Scaffolding Collapse Leaves Man Stranded 12 Stories from the Ground in Miami

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on March 24, 2017

A terrifying incident happened to one employee of a Key Biscayne hotel on Thursday during the afternoon. According to statements given by the Miami Department of Fire Rescue Capt Ignatius Carroll, the incident took place on the 12th floor of the popular resort and was the result of a scaffolding collapse. The employee, who has not been named, was standing on the scaffolding, directly outside of the Grand Bay Club, when the supports crumbled beneath him due to reasons that are not currently known.

Luckily, the unnamed employee was secured by a harness to the building, a safety precaution that prevented him from falling to the ground. At 3:00 in the afternoon, firefighters were in the building, speaking to the dangling man from one of the resort’s balconies. Due to the precariousness of the situation, the man was not able to easily be pulled upwards to the balcony, and lowering him to the ground also presented initially insurmountable difficulties due to the extremely heavy nature of the load and the tightness of the harness which, regardless, saved the man’s life.

After several hours, firefighters were able to lower the man to the ground using a somewhat complicated series of actions. They involved, firstly, lowering two separate individuals who were members of the fire & rescue team to the trapped man. Secondly, the man had to be transferred from one safety harness to another. After this process was completed, the two firefighters, named Tim Gleason and Miguel Perez, were able to lower the stranded man down to the ground.

Even though the man trapped on the side of the roof did not sustain any immediately noticeable physical injuries as a result of his accident, he was taken to the Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center after the incident due to dehydration suffered from his several hours stranded against the side of the resort hotel.

Investigators are looking into the incident, but there is no news as of yet regarding the circumstances surrounding the collapsed scaffolding, and investigators have not issued any statements regarding reasons behind the scaffoldings malfunction. The unnamed employee was the only individual aboard the scaffolding when it collapsed.

James O. Cunningham

James O. CunninghamSince 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.

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