OSHA investigating after worker falls to death at former AT&T building in Kansas City
A worker on the 14th floor at the former AT&T building in downtown Kansas City fell to his death Tuesday, according to Manny Abarca, executive director of the Fair Contracting Alliance, an organization that advocates for construction workers.
Abarca said the man appeared to be an undocumented worker from Nicaragua. The man was working for a temp agency, Abarca added.
He was working on the 14th floor when he fell to the bottom of an elevator shaft, Abarca said.
Officer Alayna Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department, said officers responded just before 1:30 a.m. and found the man unresponsive. A preliminary investigation indicates his death was accidental.
The Kansas City Fire Department responded for the recovery operation, KCFD Assistant Chief James Walker said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation, according to Rhonda Burke, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Labor. The case is open with three companies: Temp agency Infinity Resources Enterprises, which was performing asbestos abatement work under contract with New Horizons LLC, as well as the building’s owner, The Bernstein Companies.
The employer alerted OSHA of the fatality within the required eight hours, Burke said.
The federal agency has six months to conduct its investigation.
The former office building is being converted into new apartments, The Star reported in December 2021.
The redevelopment project was expected to create about 265 units at a projected cost of more than $91 million.
There were 108 workplace fatalities last year in the state, according to the Missouri Department of Labor.
This story was originally published July 21, 2023 at 12:11 PM.
