7 injured, 1 dead after scaffolding collapses at Rio Rancho hospital

Seven people were injured and one was killed in a construction accident at the Presbyterian Rust Medical Center in Rio Rancho Tuesday, including three who suffered potentially-life-threatening injuries.

Four people are stable and were not seriously hurt, according to the Rio Rancho Fire Department.

RRFD Battalion Chief Richard Doty said that one person died from their injuries at UNMH, citing hospital staff.

The accident happened just before 1 p.m. Tuesday. The hospital said at a 3:40 p.m. news conference that 21 feet of scaffolding buckled and collapsed.

“The scaffolding has a platform on each floor of the tower and workers are working on installing windows and siding on each floor of the tower,” said Darren Shafer, the Medical Director of Emergency Services. “There are six total floors of the platform from the scaffolding and one section collapsed from the top to the bottom.”

“We’ve notified [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] and the site is now closed. All workers have been sent home. The site will not be reopened until both OSHA and our own contractors and engineers have deemed the site safe,” said Clay Holderman, Chief Operating Oficer for the Presbyterian Deliver System.

Holderman praised the emergency workers for their quick response Tuesday.

“They did an amazing job of immediately rescuing people and pulling people into our emergency department for treatment and securing the scene,” he said.

Construction on the addition began in November 2014, though it is being suspended for the time being.

“I think today, our main message is this is just a very difficult day for Presbyterian, for our contractor community, for the employees that work on this project and for Rio Rancho. Our prayers are with the employees and their families,” Holderman said.

ANONYMOUS WORKER RECOUNTS SCENE

A construction worker at the site spoke to KOB anonymously Tuesday afternoon, telling KOB he felt lucky to be alive.

“Now it’s set in that yeah, I could have been killed…very easily. Just lucky to be here,” the worker said. “I don’t really know what happened. It was just a big noise and then, all of sudden…I realized the scaffolding was falling and it just fell on top of me. I just crawled out. I had to push blocks and stuff out of the way and wiggled myself out and started helping my friends.”

He said there were workers nearby who were injured.

“Some of my buddies were hurt pretty bad,” he said. “I just stayed there with them, doing what I can to help them: calm them down, talk to them, hold their hands – stuff like that.”

The worker said that the company is usually very safe in their operations.

“They’re a pretty good company and my company is really a stickler for safety.”

CONSTRUCTION COMPANY HAS STRONG SAFETY RECORD

The construction on the 300,000 square-foot project is being overseen by McCarthy NM and is the health care group’s “largest capital project to date,” according to the hospital.

Bo Calbert, president of McCarthy Building Companies Southwest division, sent KOB a statement Tuesday afternoon following the accident and a worker’s death:

“Our thoughts are with the family, friends and co-workers of the tradesman who was fatally injured today at Presbyterian Rust Medical Center. Our trade partner has asked that we respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time. We are providing our full support to the local authorities and the New Mexico Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials on the investigation into the cause of today’s incident. We will also be conducting our own investigation of the circumstances surrounding the incident. We are all hopeful that those who were injured will recover quickly. Fortunately, they are getting the best care possible. A full investigation into the accident is underway.”

“We have completed several jobs with McCarthy NM over the last 10 years. We save our most difficult jobs for them,” Jim Jeppson, Director of Real Estate for Presbyterian Healthcare Services, said in a quote on the hospital’s website.

McCarthy Building Company was fined $4,000 by OSHA in Nov. 2012 and also paid a $4,000 settlement in relation to a bridge/highway construction violation in College Station, Texas for not having proper fall systems in place.

A message posted on McCarthy’s website touts its safety record:

“Our proactive approach to safety has resulted in McCarthy achieving a safety record four times better than the industry average… Our experience modifier (EMR) has produced a credit on our workers’ compensation insurance premium for each of the last 12 years.”

The Rio Rancho Fire Department said earlier Tuesday four people were trapped in the debris after a scaffolding collapsed, but updated the numbers at an afternoon news conference.

-With Elizabeth Reed, originally published at KOB.com