A 59-year-old electrical contractor died in a workplace accident in Queens after a box truck clipped his cherry picker and sent him plummeting to the street. According to a report in the New York Post, the worker was fixing a street light from a raised bucket near Goldsmith Street and Grand Avenue in Elmhurst during the early morning hours of Sept. 12 when a bakery truck collided with the bucket.
Fatal Workplace Accident
The impact of the collision knocked the worker out of the perch as it bounced up and down. He fell 
about 20 feet and was lying in the roadway when officers arrived at the scene. The victim had head injuries and was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The driver of the bakery truck remained at the scene and was released pending further investigation. No charges have been filed yet.
The deceased worker reportedly worked for one of the largest commercial electrical contractors in New York City. It wasn’t clear why the man was working alone when the incident occurred. Federal regulations require that at least two workers be on the scene when a cherry picker or bucket truck is in use. Our deepest condolences go out to the family of this worker for their tragic loss.
What Are Aerial Lifts?
An aerial lift is any type of vehicle-mounted device that is used to elevate workers. Some of the common types of aerial lifts include extendable boom platforms, aerial ladders, jointed boom platforms, vertical towers and any combination of the above. Aerial lifts have replaced ladders and scaffolding on many job sites because of their increased mobility and flexibility. They are typically made of metal, fiber-glass reinforced plastic or other materials. They may also be powered or manually operated.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), many workers are injured or killed on aerial lifts each year. A large number of construction workers such as ironworkers, steelworkers, carpenters, masons, laborers or electricians tend to work from an elevation or height by using these types of lifts, scaffolds, platforms, ladders etc. Some of the common hazards associated with the use of aerial lifts include fall from an elevated level, objects falling from lifts, tip overs, ejections from the lift platform, collapses, electrocutions, entanglement hazards, contact with objects and contact with ceilings and other overhead objects, etc.
Safety Measures
OSHA recommends a number of safety measures, especially when it comes to guarding against falls. Access gates or openings to the lift must be closed before the operation begins. A body harness or restraining belt must be used with a lanyard attached to the boom or the bucket. Workers should receive proper training before they are allowed to operate lifts and should have received explanations about fall hazards, electrical issues and falling object hazards.
They should be trained in procedures for dealing with these types of hazards as well as to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions in the work setting. They should be given instructions for the correct operation of the lift, including the maximum intended load and capacity. The lifts should be operated per manufacturer’s requirements and a supervisor should always be present when a lift is being operated.
Contacting an NYC Construction Accident Attorney
Workers who are injured in any type of a workplace accident will be able to seek workers’ compensation benefits, which typically cover medical and drug expenses and a portion of lost wages. A family that has lost a loved one in a construction accident may be able to seek death benefits. In addition, workers and their families may be able to file a third-party lawsuit for substantial money damages against responsible parties and therefore have two sources of compensation. Workers are entitled to compensation even if they are undocumented.
Third-party claims are typically filed against parties other than the employer or co-employees and may include general contractors, sub-contractors, building owners, managing agents, construction companies, etc. Injured victims can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost income and benefits, hospitalization, cost of rehabilitative treatment, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
If you have suffered injuries in a workplace 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. 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 medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been 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://nypost.com/2019/09/12/worker-falls-to-his-death-after-box-truck-slams-into-his-cherry-picker/