Excavator Contacts Power Line

A construction crew utilized an excavating machine to lift and place a steel plate over an excavated road section, instead of using the front-end loading machine customarily used to perform this task. The worker guiding the plate was killed when the excavator boom contacted an overhead power line.

Consulting to the defense, Drake Exhibits produced demonstrative evidence recreating the accident scene. First, using on-site measurements of the roadway intersection, Drake created a scale-model recreation of the accident scene. Later, based on equipment manufacturer's specifications, Drake designed and produced working models of the front-end loader and excavating machine. Drake's scene reconstruction and demonstrative evidence effectively illustrated typical on-site machinery operations within context and demonstrated that faulty construction methods rather than utility company negligence caused the accident - the result, a verdict for the defense.

for James K. Robertson, Esq.
Carmody & Torrance
Waterbury, CT