Valley Med construction accident adds fuel to feud

But county officials, who on Friday accused San Jose contractor Turner Construction of breaching its contract with safety lapses and delays in its $300 million VMC quake retrofit and expansion project, said the video bolsters their case.

County Executive Jeff Smith said Turner Construction’s allegations are “untrue”. “If Turner does not do so, the county will pursue its available remedies under the contract”. They obtained it Monday afternoon and released it along with a series of communications they say show Turner has failed to offer a satisfactory accounting of the steam explosion – which could have been fatal – as well as project delays. “Time and again the county has sought assurances that the hospital bed building and utility loop would be completed safely and on time”.

It doesn’t help the county further alleges Turner Construction lacked sufficient staffing for this project, setting sights on another project in the South Bay, Levi’s Stadium.

Turner refuted the charges, blaming the delays on the county’s “850 change orders, numerous project management team changes and continual failure to control or take responsibility for its architect, inspectors and state regulators”.

“These were very loud pops and crackles”, Draper said. “For nearly a full year, we have asked Turner to provide a complete analysis of why the accident occurred and a thorough plan on how they can prove the steam system is safe for employees, patients and the public”.

A construction site accident caught on camera is adding fuel to the feud between Santa Clara County and the contractor on a hospital expansion project. If the county doesn’t, Smith said, the county has no choice but to sever ties.

County officials said Turner has obstructed requests for information, despite admitting faults in its design and acknowledging unsafe working conditions.

County Executive Jeff Smith fired back with a new statement late in the day Tuesday, noting that Turner was sacked in 2009 by Sutter Health at it’s Sacramento General Hospital location for running behind schedule and over budget.

“If there was a cause-and-effect relationship between Levi’s stadium and this project, we do not know, but the contrast of where Turner places its resources and expertise between the two projects is remarkable”.

“If the county wants to fix this problem, this problem can be fixed”, Kamer said. And he called Monday’s news conference, which the county arranged following an NBC 11 news report last week on the delayed project, “a PR stunt”. The county is left with the strong impression that football took precedence over patients.