Topic:

Construction Deaths

Photo by Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

Harold "Rusty" Billingsley's hard hat and work boots are reminders of the job that led to the ironworker's death Oct. 5 while working on CityCenter.

Las Vegas has always flourished through growth. But never before has booming construction on the Strip taken such a toll in lives.

The 12 construction deaths in less than 19 months exceed the total reported for the entire 1990s building boom.

National safety experts are alarmed.

They say contractors are taking too many shortcuts and Nevada agencies are lax in oversight.

Workers say they feel unsafe on rushed and crowded construction sites. But state safety officials and union locals say the workers themselves are to blame.

This page features the Sun's series, which includes stories, a video, an interactive and documents from OSHA concerning the deaths, plus follow-up stories.

Archive highlights

A CAUTIOUS PUSH

Sun, Apr 13, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon, Michael Mishak

The 70-odd ironworkers working at the Fontainebleau construction site were fed up with dangerous conditions. In July, they stopped working in the unsafe areas and persuaded their union, Ironworkers Local ...

Pace is the new peril

Sun, Mar 30, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

In the shadows of the cranes, steel and concrete upon which Las Vegas has pinned its addiction to growth, a body count has emerged. Nine construction workers have died in ...

OSHA goes easy

Mon, Mar 31, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Hundreds of construction workers signed a 10-foot long memorial poster for the family of Harold Billingsley after the 46-year-old ironworker plunged to his death at CityCenter last year. Four months ...

'Not in this city'

Tue, Apr 1, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

The disturbing rash of worker deaths at casinos, condos and hotels being built along the Strip raises safety issues that must be addressed, safety engineers and others say. But making ...

All stories

Work cut out for next OSHA chief

Mon, Nov 24, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Frustration permeated a Washington hearing room in June as a House labor committee took testimony on construction safety that focused on fatalities in Las Vegas and other places.

Reports: Perini’s safety wanting

Tue, Nov 18, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Two stinging reports say there’s more the Perini Building Co., the general contractor of the CityCenter and Cosmopolitan construction sites, can and should do to create safe work sites.

Injuries twice national average

Wed, Oct 8, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Workers erecting the CityCenter and Cosmopolitan projects on the Strip are being injured at rates nearly twice the national average for the construction industry, although injuries have fallen sharply in ...

TOO FAST.

Thu, Oct 2, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Nevada workplace safety regulators say a building contractor’s poor safety practices and rush to finish work at Echelon on the Strip led to the death of a construction worker in ...

OSHA faults crane company in CityCenter death

Thu, Oct 2, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

State inspectors found that serious contractor violations contributed to two major accidents — one fatal — at CityCenter last year, according to new reports released this week to the Sun.

State tells FedOSHA to back off

Thu, Sep 25, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Nevada OSHA, responding to criticism from the federal government, has denied any wrongdoing in its handling of the Orleans investigation that followed the deaths of two workers.

OSHA accused of ‘secret’ rules plot

Thu, Sep 18, 2008

By Lisa Mascaro

The Bush administration’s Labor Department is proposing a new process for establishing workplace health rules that critics warned Wednesday could threaten worker safety by delaying new regulations for years.

In Nevada, safety could be big issue

Sat, Sep 6, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Workplace safety has hardly been a major topic on the campaign trail or at the recent Democratic and Republican national conventions. But some prominent worker advocates think the issue could ...

Worker safety, economic forces at odds

Fri, Sep 5, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Put aside morals for a moment. Put aside basic value for human life.

Nevada OSHA will respond to feds

Tue, Aug 26, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Nevada OSHA confirmed Tuesday afternoon that it had received the letter from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration describing the outcome of a year-long investigation into Nevada OSHA's handling ...

Feds second-guess state OSHA

Tue, Aug 26, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Federal workplace safety officials have raised “significant concerns” about the way Nevada resolved an investigation of a double fatality at the Orleans last year.

On-the-job deaths rise in Nevada

Wed, Aug 20, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Newly released federal statistics show that Nevada saw the sharpest increase in workplace fatalities among states between 2006 and 2007.

Worker hurt at CityCenter

Wed, Aug 20, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

A 36-year old construction worker was injured Wednesday morning at CityCenter when a heavy piece of sheetmetal fell on his neck and shoulders.

Perini wants safety culture but it’s not a ‘reaction’

Fri, Aug 15, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

The challenge is a tough one: change the “culture of safety” midway through a round-the-clock construction project that employs thousands of workers.

Drinking story adds to grief

Sat, Aug 9, 2008

By Alexandra Berzon

Susan Englander’s husband, Harvey, never went out with the guys after work for drinks. And he certainly wasn’t drunk or on drugs the day he died at CityCenter, when the ...

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Blog Posts

Documents

The case of Willie Pelayo

General laborer foreman Willie Pelayo rode a malfunctioning buggy into an elevator shaft and was killed at Trump Dec. 5, 2006. OSHA initiated a two-month long investigation and issued a report that involved extensive documentation, including photographs and a complete evaluation of the buggy.

Here are some of the documents involved in the case: