Another Worker Hurt on Disney Site

A carpenter was hospitalized Wednesday after an accident at the same construction site, the Grand Californian Hotel, where two workers were seriously injured eight days earlier.

Billy Guzman, 57, of Las Vegas was measuring the site early Wednesday when he was pinned between two motorized lifts. He was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange and listed in good condition.

The accident comes shortly after two other workers at the Disneyland site fell from a scaffold and suffered serious injuries, raising questions about whether enough precautions are being taken at the site.

“We are going to look at the safety aspects here and try to minimize any future incidents,” said Bob Berenguer, operations manager for Turner Construction, which is overseeing the hotel project. “Fortunately, the gentleman was not seriously injured.”

Guzman works for MJ Dean Construction, a Turner subcontractor. Berenguer defended Turner’s safety record and said that in the year and a half the company has been working at the site, the number of accidents has been minimal.

“We are in the top 25% as far as having a good safety record,” Berenguer said, citing the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Guzman was taking measurements in the atrium of the hotel on Disneyland Drive near Katella Avenue. MJ Dean Construction was installing ceiling frames in the lobby of the hotel.

Two motorized lifts that serve as portable scaffolding were passing nearby and one of the drivers did not see Guzman as he stood below the lift, according to Anaheim Fire Department spokesman Kent Mastain. Guzman was pinned between the two machines, he said, but never lost consciousness.

Cal/OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer said the accident was reported to the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health at 9:30 a.m.

“We are going to look at the equipment to see if there were any malfunctions,” Fryer said. “We will also talk to the operator of the equipment and any other employees to fill in the details just prior to the incident.”

Fryer said although both accidents occurred within about a week, the workers were employed by different contractors.

“If we had two incidents with the same employer, we would be more concerned,” Fryer said. “We are looking at separate companies, employees and operations. It just happens that they are at the same job site. There are totally separate issues.”

Cal/OSHA is also investigating the other accident. The two men involved suffered broken bones when their scaffolding collapsed, dropping them about 25 feet onto a roof.

About 900 construction workers have been working at the hotel site since March 1999.