Lawyer charges human trafficking played part in 16-year-old’s death on construction site

BY: DULCE TORRES GUZMAN - JULY 19, 2021 5:00 AM

A Nashville judge ruled that evidence of human trafficking would be allowed in the case of a 16-year-old who died in a construction-related accident in downtown Nashville last year.

Gustavo Ramirez had been working on a scaffold without a harness during construction of La Quinta Inn on Interstate Drive when he fell 120 feet to his death on June 23, 2020. Reports later showed that Ramirez had been certified as having received training to build scaffolds, despite being a minor. His family subsequently filed a lawsuit against subcontractor Stover & Sons Contractors, Inc., general contractor D.F. Chase, Inc. and EZ Distributing, Inc., accusing the companies of reckless behavior leading to the death of a juvenile.

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Nashville has been called one of the most dangerous cities in the South for construction workers by immigrant-rights advocates and union workers for the abnormally large number of incidents over the years. ... In March, Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda introduced a bill to dissuade Metro Nashville from awarding contracts to companies with records of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations. She accused contractors of using subcontractors to avoid liability.

In April, the Tennessee Senate passed a bill of preemption to prohibit local governments from requiring contractors to adhere to health and safety standards that exceed current state and federal regulations; and to prohibit contractors from being responsible for subcontractors actions. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee on April 22.

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