Construction worker killed in New York building collapse
Last week, construction workers were in the process of demolishing a 100-year-old warehouse when the building suddenly collapsed, burying three workers in a huge pile of concrete, bricks and steel. Although emergency responders were able to extricate all three from the rubble, the men suffered serious injuries, ultimately resulting in one worker’s death.
According to police reports, the fatal construction accident occurred as the workers were demolishing the two-story warehouse as part of Columbia University’s expansion. Although the exact cause of the incident is not yet known, a New York City spokesman says that it may have been triggered by the severing of a key structural beam earlier that morning. Continue reading
New training rule may increase New York construction accidents
In the coming weeks, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will make a decision that could potentially increase the occurrence of construction accidents in New York City. Under a proposed new rule, construction workers could become licensed to operate giant tower cranes without any prior experience in New York City.
Under the current regulations, tower crane operators must operate cranes in the city as an apprentice for at least three years prior to being approved for a license. The proposed new rule eliminates that requirement, and simply states that crane operators must have two years of prior apprenticeship experience in any “urban area of comparable density.” Continue reading
Construction Accidents Less Common in NYC in 2011
New York construction sites are getting safer it seems, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri. There was an 18% decrease in construction accidents last year in the city. Compared with 157 construction accidents in 2010, there were only 128 in 2011. Officials are crediting new laws that have been implemented over the past several years.
Among those new laws are revised city construction codes, which took effect in 2009. Those codes had not been revised in 40 years and were understandably in need of updating.
Construction accident injuries also fell, from 165 in 2010, to 152 last year, a drop of 7.8%. Oddly enough, however, fatalities increased by one, with 5 construction-related deaths last year and only 4 in 2010.
Of all construction accidents, falling is still the most common, but even construction falls declined last year by 21%, from 66 in 2010 to 52 in 2011.
More than 25 construction safety laws have been passed since 2008, affecting construction sites within the city. According to Occupational Health & Safety, many of these laws had a role in reducing the number of construction accidents. Continue reading
One of Several Lawsuits in 2008 Crane Accident Settled
In March 2008, a crane accident killed seven people and injured several others on East 51st Street. Several lawsuits resulted, the first of which was settled a few weeks ago. Though the specifics are not yet being released, a judge has ordered that the details be made public to help settle the remaining cases.
Seven people were killed in the crane accident-six construction workers on the site and a tourist. Twenty-four were injured and 18 homes were evacuated, when the crane released a six-ton steel collar. The collar came loose when a support strap snapped, according to the NY Daily News. When the collar fell from the crane, it flattened a brownstone, causing local evacuations and a significant number of injuries.
This crane accident shows just how dangerous construction sites can be and why the highest in safety standards must be adhered to. Continue reading
Fatal workplace accident under OSHA investigation
In New York City and throughout the country, construction sites are known to be very dangerous. There are many inherent dangers in and around construction sites that contribute to the risks that employees take each day when they step onto a worksite. As a result, it is extremely important for contractors to abide by all safety measures. When people ignore safety procedures or warnings that premises are dangerous, everyone on the worksite might at risk of suffering catastrophic injury.
Such was the recent tragedy that occurred on a construction site. There, the contractor was on notice that the premises were dangerous. Inspectors actually issued a stop-work order until the dangers could be rectified. Specifically, a 12-foot deep hole that had been dug was in danger of collapse when city officials inspected the construction project. The inspector demanded that the hole be made secure before anyone entered the trench. Otherwise, individuals would risk serious injury or even death from a collapse. Continue reading
New York construction accidents slowly decreasing
According to New York City data, the number of injuries experienced by workers in construction accidents has begun to decrease. From 2010 to 2011 there was a 7.8 percent decrease in the number of workplace accidents that resulted in at least one injury to an employee. The total number of accidents fell by approximately 18 percent last year.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg cited the 2008 safety measures as the reason for the decline. “Even as construction activity rose by nearly 8 percent last year, the number of construction-related accidents fell,” he said. Continue reading
Old Construction Accident Eventually Leads Man Into Homelessness
A man who once owned his own construction business was forced to live on the streets and in shelters, according to this story out of Billings, Montana. Stephan Larsen, 52, has reportedly never dealt with such hard luck, a former home owner and business owner, he misses being able to work.
Though a divorce forced him to move his construction operation in the pursuit of business, it was an old injury from a forklift accident that eventually caused him to stop working. What was once an inconvenient back pain became unbearable in his age.
He ended up sleeping at a Rescue Mission where he had formerly worked and found employees. A friend there eventually helped him into a housing program. But his injury still plagued him.
Requiring both knee and back surgery, Larsen was finally able to collect disability and get medical care with government assistance. Now, about thirty years after his forklift accident, he is scheduled to get the first surgery.
“I don’t want to be disabled,” says Larsen. “After the surgery is all done, I want to go back to school. I have too much time on my hands sitting around the apartment.”
Larsen’s case is not an unusual one. Though construction/work site accidents rarely lead to homelessness, it is possible, and they often lead to financial hardships and even the inability to work.
When you are hurt on the job, you may initially be sent to the doctor and be told by your employer that everything will be taken care of. But many people are surprised when their supervisor or a worker’s compensation representative starts urging them to finish treatment, basically to suck-it-up and get back to work.
Make no mistake, even if you enjoy your job and the people you work for, they are running a business, and the primary interest of any business is making, not spending money.
Being injured on the job can present unique frustrations as your job is the one who should be made to pay for any safety oversights or negligence. But it’s you, as the patient and employee, that are often made to feel like the situation is your fault.
An experienced personal injury attorney from Omrani & Taub, P.C., can help. We are dedicated to seeking justice for our clients. We know what you are going through as we’ve represented many clients in similar situations.
If you’ve been hurt on the job, you can’t wait 30 years to seek relief. By then, it may be too late.
Family says restraints could have saved NY construction worker
In New York, a construction accident involving a worker who was killed after a wind gust blew him off a roof apparently involved employer negligence and liability as described by personal injury laws. The family of the deceased worker is suing the subcontracting firm, claiming employer negligence in failing to provide any type of safety protection for the worker to prevent a fall.
The 36-year-old worker fell over 50 feet onto a concrete slab and died at the scene. In this lawsuit, personal injury claims are also being made against the development partnership owners of the property as co-defendants. Under Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations and laws designed to protect workers from on-the-job injuries, there should have been adequate protection provided to prevent this fall. Protection could have been provided with restraining devices or a safety harness configuration for that worker. Continue reading
Father loses son under Manhattan streets in construction accident
New York has one of the largest underground mass transit systems that transport children to school, employees to work and tourists to famous see famous sights. While the residents and visitors to the large city benefit every day from the network of tunnels, maintenance and construction workers must work in the dark tunnels to build the system and keep it safe for travelers.
A26-year-old New York construction worker recently lost his life approximately 140 feet beneath the Manhattan street level. Not only did the construction accidentclaim the life of the young man, but a father was forced to watch the one thing that should never happen to a parent. He watched the young life of his son slip away before his eyes. Continue reading
Construction workers injured, one dies in Brooklyn building collapse
On Tuesday morning construction workers arrived at their Brooklyn job site as usual. They set up their gear and began construction on the 14-unit condominium in Brighton Beach. As the day wore on, the workers were unaware of the structural problems lying in wait and increasing in danger. The building finally gave out at 2:30 in the afternoon, collapsing on top of the group of workers.
Firefighters were immediately called to the scene to rescue the men from the debris, including corrugated metal and freshly poured concrete that fell on top of them. Firefighters were able to rescue the four trapped workers, but they later learned that the collapse had turned into a fatal workplace accident when medical doctors pronounced the death of one of the men. Continue reading
Subway construction accident ends worker’s life, injures five others
New York subways have made commuter transportation not only easy, but possible in a city with a population that significantly outweighs the automobile traffic capacity. The underground transportation system is an amazing and useful invention, but it poses a serious risk of construction site accidents for the thousands of maintenance workers that keep the transit system operating.
One New York construction worker was killed and five others were injured this week while working on a future site for a subway station that has been under construction at the York University campus. Continue reading
Falling scaffolding injures 17 people in Harlem
Construction work sites can be very dangerous places, especially in New York where many of the buildings reach high heights. Workers must use dangerous tools around structures that are often either incomplete or falling apart and in need of the repair being done on them. Scaffolding is used to hold workers and transport heavy material used at the construction site.
When scaffolding falls, it can cause serious damage to those unlucky enough to be on the structure at the time or to those standing below. Falling scaffolding was to blame for causing injury to 17 people in Harlem early Tuesday morning.
The scaffolding had been erected around an old five-story brick building on West 125th Street in Harlem. According to reports, work was being done on an elevator shaft when bricks came loose, falling on the scaffolding. The scaffolding collapsed at approximately 9:25 in the morning when the streets were filled with pedestrians and commuters.
Of the 17 people injured, eight of them had been riding on a city bus when the scaffolding collapsed and landed on the back end of the bus. A reporter for The New York World was riding on the bus at the time and related his experience. “I heard a falling sound of something collapsing toward the back, and the back of the bus filled up with smoke,” he said. “People were running from the back and screaming.”
The reporter talked to a young boy who “said that he thought he was going to die.” The fear of the young boy was by no means over exaggerated. Scaffolding accidents are considered very dangerous, often leaving families to find a way to survive after their primary income-earner is seriously injured or even loses their life in one of the accidents.
Source: The New York Times, “17 Injured as Scaffold Collapses Onto Bus in Harlem,” Andy Newman and Matt Flegenheimer, Sept. 20, 2011