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Steel | O H & S

March 30, 2005

Worker survives after steel bar rips open his chest

CALGARY

A construction worker was critically injured last week when an enormous steel stud fell up to three storeys and tore open his chest.

The 35-year-old man was working inside a building under construction at the northwest corner of the Foothills hospital site when the 12-metre-long steel bar came crashing down on him.

He was rushed to the nearby emergency room suffering a 30-centimetre gash in his chest that exposed his heart and left lung, said Calgary EMS spokesman Mike Plato.

“Plain and simple, the guy was just lucky,’’ said Plato. “The beam ended up glancing off his chest, but by all accounts, it sounds like he’s going to be OK.

“He was conscious and talking when the paramedics got there.’’

The man’s injuries were considered critical and life-threatening and he underwent emergency surgery following the accident.

Linda Park, a spokeswoman for Alberta occupational health and safety, said it’s unclear why the beam fell.

“PCL Construction secured the site immediately, and our office is investigating,’’ she said.

The Canadian Press

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