When the construction crew first heard – and felt – the pelting rain –it didn’t bother them. But when about six bolts of lightning hit nearby, the construction crew thought it was time to take cover.
The construction crew was there to build a $2.4 million gambling casino.
Bryan Bradley, 40 years old, was gripping a metal bucket when he was fatally struck by lightning. Last week, Mr. Bradley’s wife, Carmen, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in New Jersey against the construction company that employed her husband.
Apparently, another man, Dennis Lamond, was electrocuted – but was not killed – by the same bolt that killed Mr. Bradley. He told reporters that on that fateful day, all the construction workers were worried for their lives. Members of various unions, who were on the job, said that there was a real push to get the job done and finished quickly. Construction supervisors even showed up halfway during the bracing storm, yet did not order the construction workers to seek cover.
Another worker, one Joseph Forcinito, was also injured by the lightning.
Adjacent to where the men were working was an 80-foot crane that served as a powerful lightning conduit. The storm was said to have created more than 1,200 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes.
When the lightning bolt hit Mr. Bradley, he and his co-workers had just decided that they had had enough and were going to stop working due to the terrible storm.
As a Massachusetts construction site accident attorney, I’m saddened to hear about this awful turn of events. No one should ever be forced to perform a job in dire, distressing, unsafe conditions.
Mrs. Bradley is certainly entitled to seek damages from the person(s) or company(ies) who caused her husband’s death. But when it comes to Massachusetts construction site accidents, a much larger battle would be waged in front of Mrs. Bradley and other victims of construction site accidents. The much larger fight is against insurance companies. That’s because most defendants in a Boston personal injury lawsuit are defended by their insurance carrier – and – and this is the kicker — insurers will do all they legally can to either deny your claim for injuries, dismiss it, or minimize any amount they would pay. It’s their job –- and they are relentless in their defense of negligence claims. It’s sad – but so very true. How can I be so sure about this? Because I’ve worked on both sides of the fence — working on the liability insurance industry side, and also the personal injury, plaintiff’s (injured victims’) side.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Bradley and we hope that she can be compensated for her horrible, untimely loss of her husband.