$2.5 Million Settlement for hose whipping.
Todd 12-02-2013
comment profile send pm notify

On Nov. 25, 2013, Locks Law Firm partner Andrew J. DuPont and associate Priscilla Jimenez obtained a $2.25 million verdict and $500,000 settlement in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of a worker who was severely injured in a workplace incident on a Perkasie, Pa., construction site in 2010. The verdict was obtained against defendants Trans-Fleet Concrete Inc. and its agent 5 Star Concrete Pumping. Albino Concrete Construction Inc. - the company hired by the builder to do the concrete work and who in turn hired Girafa Construction Inc., the plaintiff’s employer – was named as a second defendant and settled the case.

On March 22, 2010, the plaintiff, Hildo De Franca, a concrete worker with Girafa Construction Inc., was pouring concrete with the assistance of a concrete pump truck between two nine-foot-high forms to make walls for a new home in Perkasie. The concrete was being pumped from a truck operated by a 5 Star Concrete Pumping employee through a hose which De Franca was directing. On two separate occasions that day, the hose became clogged. The first two times, the pump truck operator shut down the truck, allowed De Franca to get out of the way, and then proceeded to clear the clog by hand. On the third occurrence, the operator – against the procedures stated in the truck’s owner’s manual and known industry standards – increased the pressure on the pump to dislodge the concrete clump while Mr. De Franca held the hose. As a result of the build-up and release of pressure, the hose whipped around violently, striking the plaintiff in the head and knocking him off of the wall. De Franca was knocked unconscious, sustaining a mild traumatic brain injury, a compression fracture of the T-11 vertebrae and an aggravation of Degenerative Disk Disease in the lumbar and cervical levels of his spine. De Franca, who was 42-years-old at the time of the accident, was unable to return to work.

On the morning of closing arguments, DuPont reached a settlement with Albino Concrete Construction Inc. for $500,000. The $2.25 million verdict against Trans-Fleet Concrete Inc. and 5 Star Concrete Pumping was broken down to $2 million for pain and suffering and $250,000 for loss of consortium. Liability was divided evenly between Trans-Fleet and its agent 5 Star Concrete Pumping, resulting in 100 percent liability to Trans-Fleet.

http://www.forconstructionpros.com/news/11254295/severely-injured-concrete-worker-wins-lawsuit-settlement-against-contractors

 
Dipstick 12-02-2013
reply profile send pm notify

Reducing hose I guess??
b-alto 12-03-2013
reply profile send pm notify

This year i've been toning down the use of my 5-3, the more i pump the more whiping scares me. 4" tip hose for any job over 30 yards an hour. Watch the hose like a hawk! Any stoppage swing to the side and test. 
Dipstick 12-03-2013
reply profile send pm notify

If this was a 5-3 I think it should not be blamed on the operator but on the people that allow the use of it.. It is in my eyes the most dangerous thing you can hook up to and I will never ever use it not even for 1 m3.. 
Canmore 12-07-2013
reply profile send pm notify

we have used the 3 inch lots but have started to get away from it. Our common size used now is 3.5 inch for most walls and slabs. some companies we still use 3 but the mixes have not had enough consistancy. One load is like grout the next will have almost 1 inch aggregate. i personally don't ike 3 inch because of that uncertainty of the mix design.
Beast 12-08-2013
reply profile send pm notify

Reductions should be made in steel , been saying this since these hoses were introduced , how many more people have to be hurt or killed ? The common sense of expanding rubber allowing a plug to be moved with high pressure is going to happen , these hoses should be outlawed , if you're to lazy to hook up a reducer and a hose , you shouldn't be running a concrete pump , but that's just my opinion.