HOUSTON – A lawsuit has been filed on behalf a construction worker who fell at a site in the Upper Kirby area.
Houston attorney Benny Agosto, Jr. has filed a personal injury suit against Burton Construction Company of Harris County on behalf of the wife and children of Juan Cuevas for the October 5 scaffold failure which resulted in the severe head injuries of Cuevas.
Cuevas was hospitalized after falling at a construction site in the Upper Kirby area, according to Houston Fire Department officials.
Sky 2 was above the emergency rescue around 10 a.m. Monday morning at the Kirby Grove office tower in the 2900 block of Richmond Avenue at Wakeforest.
The scaffolding collapsed and fell several feet to the ground. Two people were on it. One man fell more than six floors to the ground.
"It had an accident and had fallen several floors. We had one person, a 46-year-old Hispanic male," HFD's Jay Evans said.
Cuevas was taken to Ben Taub Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Investigators said the second man was able save himself by crawling back into the building.
Firefighters had to come to the rescue of a couple of window installers stranded high above the ground.
"Ladder 7 extended its ladder and was able to get two more people off of the balcony off of the 6th floor, out of a cherry picker," Evans said.
Police said all of the workers were sent home after the accident, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will now look into what happened, including if safety harnesses were worn and if they were being worn the proper way.
"They sent everybody home. Everyone in the building needed to get wrapped up and go home for the day," said Evans.
Equipment from the swing stage also fell on top of a black SUV that was parked along the street.