Ladder Accident in New York City
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury in a fall from a ladder in New York City, contact the personal injury attorney at the New York City Law Office of John O’Gara, Esq., PC. A fall from a ladder injury can be devastating. We are a prominent, experienced, passionate firm which provides our clients with the representation and legal advice they require to collect full compensation for their injuries and other related losses. We have handled many ladder injury cases. We have the reputation necessary to successfully settle ladder injury cases. If a lawsuit must be commenced and the case brought to trial, we have the experience with construction site personal injury and wrongful death litigation necessary to try the case to a successful verdict. You may know whether the accident was caused by defective equipment, negligence, or a disregard for safety by a contractor. We have the experience and the drive necessary to turn that knowledge into a favorable verdict or settlement which fully compensates you and your family for your injuries, lost wages, medical bills and other losses.
If you have fallen from a ladder or lost a family member in a fall, you are not alone. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says falls are the leading cause of non-fatal, unintentional injury among all Americans—except those aged 15 to 34 where falls rank third. More than 30,000 Americans a year report injuries attributed to falls from ladders.
The CDC’s Division of Vital Statistics reported that 21,647 persons died as the result of falls in 2006 and 96.2 percent of these fall-related deaths were unintentional. In the workplace, the majority of fatal fall injuries occur among occupational groups such as:
- Operators
- Fabricators
- Laborers
- Craft workers
- Repair workers
- Precision production
Construction workers are routinely exposed to the injury in falls. Contractors operating on deadlines and owners trying to save money often forego worker safety in the name of saving time and money. The best way to protect workers from injury is to pursue and bring to justice those who forsake worker safety. John O’Gara has been fighting on behalf of injured construction workers since 1996. He has won victories at trial and on appeal. We are fully committed to going the distance on behalf of our clients, and in doing so we believe we make some progress in the cause of safety for construction workers.
On-the-job ladder injuries
New York State workers compensation insurance offers some protection if you fall from a ladder on the job. However, most workers are unaware that they may have the right to compensation well beyond what is offered by workers’ compensation. Workers’ Compensation will not pay a penny for pain and suffering, and they will only pay a fraction of lost wages for most workers. This can leave an injured worker in a deep financial crisis.
You may be able to recover more than workers compensation benefits. If you are a worker who falls from a ladder, or are injured in any way during a construction project, even if you’re just a passer-by injured by a construction site accident, you are very likely entitled to more than just workers’ compensation. Our office has successfully sued many corporate owners and general contractors even when the injured worker collected workers’ compensation from their employer. We have extensive experience with construction site ladder accidents. Our office will pursue third parties, including property owners, contractors, equipment manufacturers and other liable parties and their insurance companies for injuries, suffering, damages, lost wages, medical bills etc., for injuries resulting from construction, repair and renovation jobs. We have the experience to hold responsible and legally liable those who cause accidents, injuries, and deaths resulting from falls from ladders and heights.
The agencies that recommend, enforce, and govern safety procedures on New York City construction sites include OSHA, the New York City Buildings Department, and Board of Standards and Appeals, and of course, the state legislature. Most of the mandated safety requirements are not fully known to construction workers, and largely ignored at many construction sites in New York City. For instance, any scaffold more than six feet in height requires guard rails. Safety net systems or personal fall arrest systems should be employed whenever a worker is subject to a fall from any significant height. Proper places to tie off safety harnesses must be provided, ties offs cannot be improvised and workers are not to tie off to the scaffold itself, in case it should collapse. Extension ladders must be held at the bottom by another worker or securely fastened to prevent them from tipping. Safety nets or sidewalk sheds are required to protect workers from falling objects, and material and equipment must be adequately secured to prevent it from falling and injuring workers and passers-by.
Of course, any of these safeguards can fail because of defective equipment, negligence, or half-hearted compliance. Often failures are the result of a chain of cause and effect, and certainly more than one party can be negligent.
Workplace ladder injuries and other falls are serious business
The CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that although falls are the primary cause of job fatalities in the construction industry, the risk of injury and death because of falls is present in virtually every workplace, whether job duties require changing light bulbs or riveting the girders of a skyscraper. Falls from elevations account for 10 percent of all occupational fatalities. You need not be a construction worker to pursue a lawsuit to collect damages beyond the meager reimbursement of workers’ compensation. Anyone may bring a third-party lawsuit under the right circumstances. If you have questions about whether you are entitled to bring a third-party lawsuit, contact us for a free consultation.
If you suffer a ladder injury, contact John O’Gara for a free consultation
The Law Office of John O’Gara offers ladder injury victims compassionate representation, with the highest standards of professionalism and a proven track record of results in cases of falls from heights. Our office investigates ladder accidents and other falls thoroughly, including possibilities of:
- Defective equipment
- Construction negligence and contractor negligence
- Safety equipment failure
- Careless inspections
We work tirelessly on behalf of injured workers, we identify every party responsible for the accident or wrongful death, and we bring all of our considerable experience in litigating ladder injury and fall from height cases to bear in successfully resolving your case.
