A 49-year-old construction worker died after he fell from the sixth-floor of a Brooklyn apartment as he tried to escape a fast-moving fire. According to a report in the New York Daily News, the worker was one of two men who plunged from the Brownsville building on Rockaway Parkway near Winthrop Street as they scrambled to save themselves from the fire. A third man, said to be a tenant who lived in the apartment, was left critically injured with extensive burn injuries to his face and hands.
A second construction worker who plunged from the burning apartment landed on a grass patch and was knocked unconscious by the fall, witnesses said. The two, along with the tenant and a fourth man, were taken to a local hospital where the victim, who landed on the concrete, was pronounced dead. The other victims are expected to recover, NYPD officials said. We offer our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased worker. We wish the other injured victims the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), every year in the United States, about 2,000 people lose their lives in residential fires. In a fire, smoke and deadly gases tend to spread farther and quicker than heat.
Based on this news report, it appears that the fire was triggered by an explosion. Officials are still looking into what caused this fatal fire. There were four victims in all including the deceased man and at least two were construction workers. In such cases, injured workers and families of deceased workers may be able to seek workers’ compensation benefits. In addition, they may be able to file a third-party lawsuit seeking compensation for damages from negligent (careless) parties other than the victim’s employer or co-employees and thus have two sources of compensation.
Examples of third parties include general contractors, sub-contractors, construction companies, property owners, utility companies (if an explosion was caused by their negligence or carelessness), manufacturers of defective products, etc. Tenants who are injured in a fire may be able to seek compensation by filing a premises liability lawsuit against the property owner or manager if their negligence (carelessness) caused the fire and/or injuries.
Injured victims in such cases can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost income and benefits, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. Families that have lost loved ones can file a wrongful death lawsuit seeking compensation as well.
Whether you have been living as a tenant at a private apartment complex or in a public housing unit (NYCHA) (the Projects), please remember that you have legal rights. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a fire or dangerous conditions, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys with 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 51 years, our skilled attorneys have established a proven track record of assisting injured victims. One of our clients — a hot water burn victim — secured $750,000 in damages from the property owner and manager.
Our firm also obtained a $985,000 settlement out of a $1 million policy for two people who suffered smoke inhalation injuries because the homeowner did not have smoke detectors installed and the $15,000 that was left on the insurance policy was for a person that we did not represent. Another of our clients recovered $2,500,000 due to a faulty space heater. 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 including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy 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.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-man-dies-plunge-brooklyn-brownsville-fire-20230815-ibbptp3uobe4djvx46yjiwgbe4-story.html