A construction accident near Philadelphia has taken the life of a 40-year-old New Jersey man. The accident occurred around 12:30 p.m. June 20 in Cherry Hill at an old Blockbuster Video building located in a Route 38 shopping center. According to reports, construction workers were in the process of demolishing the building and had removed all the walls except for one.

Several men were working near the one remaining wall when it unexpectedly came down on top of the man, killing him. Reports say he was knocked into a trench and partially covered with debris. A backhoe operator was taken to a hospital with chest pains. A third man working near the wall was not injured.

The victim, a father of two, was a day laborer for a construction company based out of Maple Shade, N.J. According to the Cherry Hill fire director, the construction company had all the necessary permits required to perform the work, which was part of a plan to replace the Blockbuster building with a Super Wawa. Representatives of the local prosecutor’s office and OSHA were on the scene, conducting an investigation to determine if any laws were broken or safety rules were violated.

According to an OSHA representative, the contractor had previously been cited for safety violations. During 1999 and 2000, OSHA issued at least three citations for safety violations that were considered to be serious.

When a person is injured at work, the victim could be eligible to receive workers’ compensation, which covers lost wages and medical bills. However, the application process is precise, and claims are sometimes denied. Anyone who has been injured in a workplace accident may want to consider hiring an attorney to file a claim for them.