Injuries on the Highway 99 tunnel project are increasing, according to state figures.
The injuries suffered by four ironworkers when a wall of rebar recently gave way during Highway 99 tunnel construction are among a growing number occurring on the project — injuries that have resulted in almost $1 million in workers’ compensation claims, according to state occupational-safety figures.
Those hurt included a worker whose hand was crushed when he was changing a cutting tool on the tunnel-boring machine; another who severely injured a knee in a fall; and others who suffered chemical burns.
Some claims totaled several hundred dollars while others were for traumatic injuries that resulted in medical bills running into tens of thousands of dollars, according to a spreadsheet of claims provided to The Associated Press by state regulators.
In fact, more workers were injured in 2014 than the previous 20 months combined, state safety figures show, though the contractor reported a lower total number of work hours than the previous year.
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Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) won the $1.35 billion contract to design and build the downtown tunnel, and the key to Washington state’s $3.1 billion Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project is boring-machine Bertha, which began drilling in July 2013 but broke down in December 2013.
While work continues to repair Bertha and finish the tunnel entrances, the number of injuries has increased, an AP review found.
The project generated an estimated $1 million in workers’ compensation claims between May 2012 and the end of 2014, according to data collected by the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health and released to the AP through a public-records request.
Dallas Delay of the Seattle/King County Building and Construction Trades Council said in an email that the tunnel contractor only started safety meetings with workers’ groups in January 2014, and STP “does not have a culture of safety” and that the contractor looks “to discipline instead of fixing the hazards.”
“We will not tolerate putting our members, nor any others on the project site, at risk,” Delay said in a statement.
STP said in a statement: “Our safety program focuses on creating safe work conditions and eliminating unsafe work practices and at-risk work behaviors.”
At least 115 workers filed injury claims at the project, according to the spreadsheet, which the state forwarded to The Seattle Times on Thursday.
Eleven workers filed claims with the state for injuries in from May through December 2012 and 42 filed in 2013. Claims jumped to 62 in 2014. The agency did not have final claim amounts for the end of 2014 so that total will increase. It also did not have data for 2015.
Of the 115 injury claims, 85 were “non-compensable,” meaning workers returned to the job promptly, after a medical examination or treatment. Typically, their medical bills were paid, but they weren’t gone long enough to be compensated for lost wages.
Six injuries were ruled “compensable,” while 12 workers were moved to light duty — including the laborer whose fingers were broken at Bertha’s cutting face, in January 2014. Eleven claims were rejected and one unresolved.
In May 2014, STP said workers put in more than 3 million hours without a lost-time injury, while the state granted a hefty workers-comp discount. A Seattle union official said then, “they have a pretty good record.” Since then, injury claims increased.
Causes have ranged from falling objects to overexertion. The data include an injury from insect bites, one by a vehicle hitting a worker, and one assault.
Laura Newborn, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, said the safety of the public, its employees and workers is its top priority.
The state workers’ compensation program had paid $733,265 in claims as of Jan. 1, 2015, records show.
Claims are estimated to cost $964,920 once all are completed, according to data provided by Elaine Fischer, spokeswoman for the state Department of Labor & Industries. The total will go up again when the newer claims are calculated, Fischer said.
STP listed 29 injuries when it filled out its 2013 OSHA form. That was lower than the 42 workers’ compensation claims for 2013 because OSHA only requires the project to report injuries serious enough to cause the employee to take time off or move to a different position. The report said its 245 employees worked 681,117 hours that year.
Inspectors cited STP in 2013 and fined it $3,600 after a chemical-burn injury. In August 2014, another worker suffered chemical burns and inspectors issued more citations and a fine of $7,500. The inspection report said one of the violations was a repeat of the violation they were cited for in 2013 but had not been corrected.