Disturbing Surge in NYC Construction Accident Fatalities

 There has been a worrisome rise in construction accidents in New York City over the last year. According to a news report on The Real Deal, the Bill de Blasio administration says the number of construction accidents hit 500 in fiscal year 2016 compared to 314 the previous year, which is a 59 percent increase and a more than 200 percent increase from 2012. The city counted 11 people who died on construction sites in 2015, up from eight the previous years and four in 2011. An investigation by the New York Times found that many of the construction site fatalities and injury accidents that occurred last year were avoidable and may have been prevented just with basic safety measures.

Workers and their families have obviously suffered significantly as a result of these construction accidents. However, the city’s building industry has also seen a tremendous impact in the form of skyrocketing insurance premiums, costly litigation and tightening of regulations that may throw a wrench in construction schedules. Developers and contractors say they have to strike a balance between promoting worker safety and not having the work hampered at construction sites.
An Increase in Regulations
We’ve also seen more regulations instituted by the city, particularly in the aftermath of catastrophic construction accidents. Immediately after the fatal Tribeca crane accident earlier this year, the city ordered that all crawler cranes would have to stop working when winds higher than 20 mph were forecast. The mayor also doubled fines for failing to safeguard a crane.
After a surge in construction deaths in 2008, the New York City Department of Buildings enacted more than 25 safety-related rules including requiring national certification for hoist machine operators and encouraging the use of safety netting to arrest falls. Also, in the first half of 2016, the DOB issued a record number of stop-work orders – about 4,580 – reflecting a 23 percent jump from the same time the previous years and a 70 percent increase from 2012. It is also interesting to note that according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), a majority of NYC construction accident fatalities, about 83 percent, occurred on non-union sites.
The True Cost of Construction Accidents
The news article also talks about the costs of construction accidents for developers, contractors and construction companies in terms of insurance liability and construction timelines. As personal injury lawyers who represent the rights of injured construction workers we have seen first-hand the ramifications that these traumatic events have – not just for the injured worker but his or her family as well.
Construction accidents have a physical, emotional and financial impact on injured workers and their families. They are suddenly burdened with medical and other expenses and have to deal with income that is now lost as a result of being unable to work. Some workers are catastrophically injured and suffer permanent disabilities, which render them unable to work or earn a livelihood. Construction workers and laborers such as painters, electricians, carpenters and ironworkers, do some of the most dangerous jobs that exist. They must be provided not just with a safe environment, but also with personal protective equipment that will help them do those jobs safely and effectively. In addition, workers should be provided with training about how to use the safety equipment in a language that they can understand.
Compensation for Injured Workers
If you have been injured in a construction accident or have lost a loved one in a construction accident, you may be able to recover compensation for your significant losses. Injured workers may be able to seek workers’ compensation benefits, which cover all medical expenses and a portion of lost income. In addition, they may be able to file a third-party claim for significant monetary damages against a party other than the employer or co-employee and have two sources of compensation available for their losses. Examples of third parties include but are not limited to general contractors, sub-contractors, property owners, property managers, 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 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: http://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/the-cost-of-tragedy/