Operator sentenced in trackhoe death case

A Florida construction worker was sentenced to 6 years in jail for his role in a wrongful death accident on a road construction project.  The laborer, who was not a certified heavy equipment operator, was told to move a track hoe by a supervisor.  As he attempted to move the equipment out of the work zone, the bucket of the track hoe clipped a passing vehicle, causing a rollover accident which left the driver dead.

Heavy equipment mishaps are responsible for a large number of construction accidents each year.  It is absolutely critical that those who are placed behind the controls of that kind of machinery be well-trained in its safe operation.  Further, the equipment must be properly maintained and equipped with necessary safety devices.  Spotters must be employed where tight working conditions warrant them, especially in light of the potential for this machines to cause serious injury or death.

This accident was a result of having an improperly trained operator behind the controls of the track hoe and failing to use a spotter when the track hoe was being moved into the roadway.  The operator is doing jail time, but the responsibility for this accident rests on the construction company which set him up to fail.  Hopefully, the family of the driver killed in this accident hired an experienced construction accident lawyer to assist them with this case to ensure that the construction company bears some accountability for what occurred here.

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