Construction Accidents in New York City
Injuries occur when safety precautions are not taken
Even though New York and federal safety regulations were established to help protect workers on construction sites, accidents are still a serious issue. Far too often we encounter news reports about construction accidents severely injuring workers and innocent bystanders in construction site accidents. Sadly, the cause is often a violation of safety regulations.
These New York City construction accidents illustrate the severity of construction mishaps that proper precautions could have prevented:
- In March 2009, a 28-year-old construction worker from Staten Island, NY, died on-the-job when he fell from the tenth floor of a hotel under construction on Park Avenue South. According to the New York Times, the man had fallen from a plywood mold that was used for poured concrete columns and landed on the top of the sidewalk shed of an adjacent building.
After the accident, authorities determined that he was not wearing a safety harness. The harness acts as a safety measure and ties the worker to the building. The New York Labor Law requires such workers to wear safety harnesses or other fall arrest devices. - In March 2008, a crane towering over the construction site of a high-rise on Manhattan’s East Side collapsed. It crashed down onto an apartment building, broke apart, smashed into a town house, and slashed a tenement facade. The crash killed seven people, including six construction workers. There are allegations that the crane was not properly rigged, causing the collapse.
- In January 2008, a construction crane collapsed on New York City's Upper East Side. The crane crashed into a 23-story apartment building as it plummeted to the ground. The unfortunate accident killed two construction workers and seriously injured another. There are allegations that negligent repair of the crane caused it to break apart
Long trend of construction accidents in New York City
According to an Associated Press story carried by the Boston Globe, the number of New York City construction worker deaths increased dramatically during the 2006 building boom. According to a federal Bureau of Labor Statistics report, 43 people died in construction that year—an 87% increase over 2005. During the same time, other major cities experienced a decrease in construction deaths.
When NYC construction accidents occur, the help of a construction lawyer in New York City can help you claim the proper compensation from those responsible.
