The Brooklyn District Attorney has filed criminal charges against a scaffolding firm and foreman involved in a 2019 scaffolding collapse where unsecured scaffolding fell into an adjacent restaurant patio, seriously injuring a patron there. According to a report in THE CITY, the company and one of its foremen, were both indicted on misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. The foreman faces a maximum sentence of 364 days. Under New York law, corporations can be charged with crimes. However, they would only face financial penalties.
Allegations of Negligence (Carelessness)
In this particular case, prosecutors alleged that scaffolding at a luxury condo —
under construction at 243 Fourth Avenue — had been left unsecured for several days and on June 30, 2019, it blew off the roof due to heavy winds. Parts of the scaffolding plummeted 12 stories and struck 32-year-old Haley Keating, a CPA who was celebrating her promotion at the restaurant next to the condo site. She sustained severe traumatic brain injuries and according to the report, still suffers from periodic seizures.
The city’s Department of Investigation (DOI) launched a probe and Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez brought the case before a grand jury. Gonzalez remarked that the scaffold collapse “never should have happened” and that it “had a devastating impact on a young woman who will suffer the consequences for the rest of her life.”
DOI officials said the company knowingly failed to secure or remove roof scaffolding that posed a serious danger. Prosecutors said about two weeks prior to the collapse, a stucco company had removed ties that held the scaffolding in place while they completed repairs.
That company told the DA they had informed the general contractor’s construction superintendent soon after — on June 14 — that the scaffolding needed to be removed. However, the scaffolding was never properly dismantled and on June 30, high winds lifted the entire device off the roof sending it down into the backyard seating area of the restaurant next door.
Liability Issues
A lot of construction work in New York City requires ironworkers, steelworkers, carpenters, masons, bricklayers, painters, window washers, and electricians who carry out their job while on scaffolds, ladders, platforms, etc. General construction companies, managing agents, building owners, some contractors and sub-contractors have a responsibility to ensure that the facades, scaffolds and other structures at a construction site are properly secured so they don’t pose a danger to workers, visitors or pedestrians at or near the worksite.
If you have been injured as the result of poorly maintained or poorly secured scaffolds or facades, please understand that you have legal rights. These types of accidents have the potential to cause catastrophic injuries such as traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord trauma (paralysis) that can lead to permanent disabilities. In many cases, these incidents have even led to death.
In such cases, injured bystanders or passersby can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, cost of hospitalization, rehabilitation, permanent injury, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. Families of deceased victims may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit seeking compensation for damages such as lost future income, funeral costs, medical expenses, pain and suffering, etc. Liable parties may include construction companies, general contractors, sub-contractors, property or building owners/managers, manufacturers of defective products, etc.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a facade, scaffolding or building collapse, 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, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
For over 50 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and $2,000,000 in a hit-and-run accident, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
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 and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, 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: https://www.thecity.nyc/2022/7/1/23191953/construction-firm-foreman-charged-reckless-endangerment-2019-scaffolding-tragedy