The recent construction accident death of 27-year-old Raúl Telemena Puli of Queens after the worker fell from a scaffold at a Brooklyn worksite is spurring demands for better worksite safety. According to a report in THE CITY, Telemena Puli was installing a 30-foot-long I-beam when he slipped and fell 20 feet, before the beam landed on top of him, New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) officials said. He was rushed unconscious to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.
Workplace Safety Violations
Officials said Telemena Puli was employed by a Bronx-based subcontractor. The scaffolding crew was reportedly erecting a sidewalk shed on the perimeter of the foundation for 625 Fulton Street, a planned 35-story residential and retail tower. The Fulton Street construction project had been cited by the buildings department for “immediately hazardous” safety conditions repeatedly since March 2021, including for the failure to provide a site safety manager and failing to provide safety equipment to workers. In each instance, the issues were remedied, and fines totaling $20,000 were paid for three violations, according to DOB records cited by THE CITY.
Telemena Puli is the second construction worker to die on the job in as many days this week and the seventh construction worker death so far this year compared to nine construction worker deaths by this time in 2021. Earlier this month, 34-year-old Jeremy Rozan of Staten Island fell to his death from the Roosevelt Island overpass in Queens and was hit by a passing driver on the Van Wyck Expressway below. The father of three was a member of the Structural Steel & Bridge Painters of Greater York’s local union.
The Fulton Street site is under a full stop work order. DOB officials are continuing their investigations at the scene and officials told THE CITY that “additional enforcement actions are pending the results of the investigation.” U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are also investigating.
NY Laws Protecting Construction Workers
There are local, state and federal laws that protect ironworkers and steelworkers who have been injured in falls at construction sites. Section 240 of the New York Labor Law is commonly known as the “Scaffolding Law.” This statute governs the use of scaffolding in work sites and provides several specific categories of construction work to which it applies, including ironwork and steelwork.
Victims injured in falls can bring civil actions against the construction company, contractor and property owner/manager, etc. responsible for the safety of the jobsite. Construction accident injuries can be debilitating and sometimes, even catastrophic or fatal. A construction accident victim can seek workers’ compensation benefits from his or her employer. In addition, workers and their families may be able to file a third-party lawsuit for substantial money damages against a number of parties, and thus have two sources of compensation.
Third-party claims are filed against parties other than the employer or co-employees and may include general contractors, sub-contractors, building owners, managing agents, construction companies, etc. In cases where a worker dies from injuries suffered on the job, surviving family members may seek death benefits through workers’ compensation and/or file a wrongful death claim against a third party.
Construction Accidents and Immigrant Workers
Immigrants and Latino workers are also disproportionately the victims of construction accidents in New York City. All of the construction workers who were killed in accidents on the job in the city in 2020 did not belong to a union, data shows. Statewide, 79% of worker deaths were on non-union job sites. Also, 18% of workers who died on the job in 2020 were Latinos.
There is a push for laws statewide to make worksites safer. A state bill known as Carlos’ Law, which is named after construction worker Carlos Moncoya who died on the job in Manhattan in 2015, would significantly increase fines for employers who violate safety laws. The legislation has been approved by both chambers of the legislature and is awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you have suffered injuries in a construction-related 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, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
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. Our law firm also recovered $3,000,000 for a man who fell and suffered two broken legs when he walked into an open elevator shaft. 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, lead poisoning and 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/brooklyn/2022/11/4/23441036/brooklyn-scaffold-construction-death-union