Construction Worker Killed After Falling Down Elevator Shaft

 A man was killed in a construction accident in Manhattan the morning of Jan. 23 after he fell down the elevator shaft at the work site. According to a report in the New York Post, the 33-year-old elevator technician was working on the ninth floor of the building at East 24th Street near Park Avenue South in the Flatiron District when he lost his balance and fell. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The 12-story building, which is slated to become a hotel, had 20 complaints in 2017 including an April claim that the workers were operating in unsafe conditions without safety straps or railings.

All complaints and violations were reportedly resolved before this fatal incident. A Buildings Department spokesperson said the deceased worker was a non-union employee who was installing the elevator car at the time and was not strapped to a safety line. In addition to the Buildings Department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the New York Police Department is investigating the incident.
Workers and Elevator Shafts
The Electronic Library of Construction Occupational Safety and Health estimates that incidents involving elevators and escalators kill about 30 and seriously injure about 17,000 people each year in the U.S. Elevators cause almost 90 percent of the deaths and 60 percent of the injuries.
Injuries to individuals operating on or near elevators, including those installing, repairing and maintaining elevators, as well as construction workers who are working in or near elevator shafts account for almost half of the annual deaths. It is estimated that nearly half of construction worker deaths involving elevator shafts were because of falls down the elevator shafts.
Importance of Fall Protection
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also reports that 49 percent of deaths during work on or near elevators occurred because workers lacked fall protection. Workers are required under state and federal laws to be provided with adequate fall protection such as scaffolding, nettings and guardrails, etc.
Personal fall protection systems can help prevent these deaths. OSHA regulations state that employers must provide fall protection such as guardrails, safety nets or harnesses when construction workers are operating at heights of 6 feet or greater above a lower level. Any floor cover must support a weight that is twice that of the load placed on it. The majority of falls at construction sites, according to OSHA, are entirely preventable.
When using personal fall protection systems such as harnesses, workers must be anchored to the structure at all times. Temporary structures on which workers are standing must be stable and strong enough to take the weight of the worker and should meet OSHA standards for scaffolds. A fall into an open shaft lacking adequate guardrails was an important factor, according to BLS, for a majority of construction worker fatalities involving falls into elevator shafts.
While this Manhattan construction accident proved fatal, a number of construction workers who take falls at worksites sustain catastrophic injuries that turn their lives upside down. Many are unable to return to work for an extended period of time. Some are never able to come back to work or earn a future livelihood.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
Construction workers who have been injured in fall-related accidents may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits, which covers medical expenses and a portion of lost wages. In addition, workers may also be able to file a third-party claim against a negligent party other than the employer or a co-employee for significant monetary damages and have two sources of compensation available for their losses. Examples of third parties include, but are not limited to, general contractors, construction companies, sub-contractors, building owners, managing agents 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, 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.
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 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.
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Source: https://nypost.com/2018/01/23/construction-worker-dies-after-plunging-down-elevator-shaft-2/