Crime & Safety

'Remarkable' Recovery for Worker After 19-Foot Fall

Employee was erecting a steel frame for the Walgreens under construction on Main Street.

A 23-year-old construction worker who fell about 19 feet in a construction accident Thursday morning as he was erecting a steel frame for the Walgreens under construction at Main Street and Greenwood Avenue is awake and making a "remarkable" recovery, according to the owner of the company that was doing the work and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Jeff Vandermeyde, owner of Vandermeyde Welding & Iron Work Inc., said he visited the employee, Thomas Block, at Morristown Medical Center. He said Block had a successful operation, is making a remarkable recovery and could be released from the hospital this weekend.

The accident . Madison police, firefighters and an off duty Morris Township police officer who was jogging by the scene tended to Block until the ambulance squad and paramedics responded and transported him to the hospital. The construction site was quiet Friday in the wake of the accident and work is expected to resume some time next week, Vandermeyde said.

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OSHA is investigating and has up to six months to complete the investigation, OSHA spokeswoman Leni Fortson said. Fortson said Block fell 19 feet, while Vandermeyde said he measured the fall at about 18 feet.

Fortson said falls are the leading cause of construction fatalities, and OSHA recently launched an outreach campaign designed to prevent fatal falls, involving calls for proper planning, and providing the right equipment and training.

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Vandermeyde said the company takes all necessary safety precautions.

More information about construction falls is available at www.osha.gov/stopfalls and stopconstructionfalls.com.


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