By Tom Dalton
Staff writer
—
SALEM — A worker on his morning coffee break was struck by pieces of a 500-pound panel that fell four stories from the J. Michael Ruane Judicial Center, the new court facility under construction on Federal Street.
Vincent Leahy, 34, of Stoneham was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston with serious injuries to both legs and an arm.
The limestone panel that fell off the building was installed last week, according to Kevin Flanigan of the Division of Capital Asset Management, the state agency overseeing the $106 million courthouse project.
"We understand he was hit by pieces of the panel as it broke apart after hitting the ground," Flanigan said. "He obviously suffered serious injuries to his legs."
Flanigan stressed that he had only "preliminary" information.
Leahy was employed by General Mechanical Contractors Co. Inc., a heating and air conditioning subcontractor based in Auburn. The company also does sheet metal fabrication and works on air quality systems, according to its website.
After initially declining to comment, a spokesman for General Mechanical made a brief statement.
"It was one of our guys that got hurt," he said. "It wasn't our trade that caused the accident."
Construction on the Ruane Judicial Center began in 2008 with the demolition of several buildings on Federal Street and is scheduled to be completed next year.
The new courthouse will combine the superior, district, juvenile and housing courts. The current courts handle a number of cases from Gloucester and Cape Ann.
Tuesday's accident took place near the entrance to a large new court building on Front Street.
Flanigan said work was going on at the time of the accident, but he declined to say whether it involved the panels.
Salem firefighters were among the first to respond to the 9:37 a.m. accident. When they arrived, construction workers were trying to assist the injured man, who was conscious, sitting up and leaning against a wall or support, according to Deputy fire Chief James Lynch.
Broken chunks of the large, thick panel were all around him.
The man suffered "serious" injuries to both legs and an arm, Lynch said. "It looked like most of the bleeding had slowed down," he said.
A MedFlight helicopter was called, fire officials said, but Leahy was transported by Atlantic Ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
An inspector for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration was on the scene shortly after the accident. The investigation is expected to take several weeks, a spokesman for the agency said.
OSHA has opened "inspections" with Daniel O'Connell's Sons of Holyoke, the construction manager; Lighthouse Masonry of New Bedford, the masonry contractor; and General Mechanical, the company that employed the injured worker, according to Ted Fitzgerald of OSHA.
Lighthouse Masonry did not return a phone call. Daniel O'Connell's Sons did not have a spokesman available.
