Emergency responders are investigating a construction accident that killed one person at Brockton Hospital.
A large presence of local, state and federal authorities have responded to the area of Quincy Avenue and Libby Street, on the Brockton Hospital campus.
Brockton and Massachusetts State Police received a call around noon of a man “trapped by a Bobcat skid steer loader,” Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz told reporters at about 3:45 p.m.
Authorities said the man, identified as Roger Porter of East Sandwich, was pronounced dead on scene.
Cruz made clear Porter was not driving the construction vehicle when the accident took place, but rather, the 63-year-old was “leveling out gravel as it was being put into a pit.”
WCVB reported earlier Tuesday afternoon its news helicopter had flown over Brockton Hospital, finding a Bobcat construction vehicle had fallen over into a hole next to the facility’s foundation.
Massachusetts State Police confirmed a piece of construction equipment had struck the victim, resulting in his death.
The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner arrived at the hospital around 3:15 p.m. Authorities have alerted the victim’s family, according to a statement from Signature Healthcare, which runs Brockton Hospital.
“It is with most profound sadness that we are reporting a fatal injury that occurred on the campus of Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital today around noon,” Signature’s statement reads. “A construction contractor was working onsite at Brockton Hospital when an accident occurred, killing the worker.”
LMA Services Company, LLC is receiving an inspection from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration following the accident.
Brockton Hospital has been closed since early February following a 10-alarm transformer fire which drew the largest emergency response in city history. That incident displaced 176 patients, with 138 being taken for treatment at nearby health facilities.
Officials had hoped the hospital would reopen by mid May, a best case scenario. However, the main facility remains shuttered, while Signature Healthcare’s outlying centers are open for care.
Tuesday’s accident comes days after a construction worker was seriously injured at Norwood Hospital, which is being rebuilt in the wake of a flash flood that permanently shut down the 215-bed facility in June 2020.
The worker in that incident reportedly fell from the top of the second floor, according to Norwood Fire Department.
