Worker Burned in Barge Accident on New Veterans Bridge in Bridgewater PA

Posted in Barge Accidents,Pennsylvania Maritime News on May 24, 2012

BRIDGEWATER, Pa. — Beaver County commissioners said that a man working on the new Veterans Bridge project over the Beaver River was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital after receiving a jolt of electricity after a crane from a barge hit some high tension power lines.

Construction site of the new Veterans Memorial Bridge between Bridgewater, PA and Rochester Township, PA where a crane worker on a barge in the Beaver River was shocked on May 15, 2012 by high voltage lines that came into contact with the crane.

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Accounts of how the unidentified worker was injured vary, but Commissioner Dennis Nichols said a large crane being set up on a barge in the river came in contact with high-tension power lines overhead. Nichols said he wasn’t certain if the man was in the crane or on the barge at the time of the incident.

Map showing location of an accident in Bridgewater, PA on May 15, 2012 where a crane worker on a barge in the Beaver River was injured by an electrical shock.

“Indications are he had some burns,” Nichols said.

The accident was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 15. The injured worker was taken to Heritage Valley Beaver Hospital and then flown to Pittsburgh for treatment, according to Beaver County dispatchers. Information about his condition was not available.

The worker was an employee of Century Steel Erectors of Dravosburg, Nichols said.

“Our first concern is for the health of the man who was injured,” Nichols said. “We’ll be in contact with his family and we’re hoping for the best for his recovery.”

Commissioners’ Chairman Tony Amadio said to his knowledge, this is the first injury at the site of the $22 million bridge project since it began in 2010.

Nichols said the work site would remain shut down on Wednesday and perhaps longer.

The incident remains under investigation at this time.


Blog post by barge injury lawyer Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP