Recent statistics show Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero program may be playing a role in bringing down the number of pedestrian collisions and traffic accidents overall in New York City. However, there is another safety issue that is slipping under the radar. The Building Trades Employers Association at a recent City Council hearing proposed a “zero-tolerance initiative” to help bring down the escalating number of construction accident deaths and injuries.
To accomplish this goal, the association is proposing drug and alcohol testing on job sites; 10-hour OSHA training cards; installation of a cocoon system for concrete projects that involves enclosing high-rise construction sites to provide additional protection to the public from debris; and greater crane-operator accountability through signed inspection verification forms. Mayor de Blasio has called to increase the number of city building inspectors by 200 and to increase funding for the Department of Buildings.
A Construction Boom
Construction work is booming right now in New York City. While construction in the city has increased by 30 percent, there has been a 20 percent drop in the number of Department of Buildings employees over the last five years. This puts construction workers and pedestrians in danger because the city’s job sites are not adequately inspected. The Department of Buildings should also get resources in place to support its Major Projects Initiative, which brings senior DOB managers and inspectors together with developers, contractors and construction managers in an effort to reduce accidents.
Construction Accident Injuries
Construction accidents can result in catastrophic or even fatal injuries. Workers may suffer broken bones, brain injury, spinal cord trauma, or severe internal injuries. In addition to workers, passersby run the risk of getting severely injured by debris or equipment that falls at a job site. A number of these problems stem from safety violations and lack of adequate building inspections.
Anyone who has been injured in a construction accident can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, hospitalization, rehabilitation, permanent injury, disability, past and future pain and suffering, etc. If you or a loved one has been injured in a construction accident, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options.
Our law firm recovered $3,375,576 for a construction worker (an undocumented immigrant) who was injured on the job – one of the highest construction case settlements in New York that year. Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Source: Crain’s New York Business magazine