The heavy piece of machinery that struck and killed a 61-year-old nurse belonged to a subcontractor for the utility company, Con Edison. According to a report in the New York Daily News, Con Edison said in a statement that an independent contractor was performing construction work when a construction backhoe backed over the woman as she was walking in a crosswalk in East New York. Con Edison officials said they are investigating the incident.
Shocking Incident Caught on Video
Surveillance video captured the victim’s final moments. The video shows the woman walking in a crosswalk when the backhoe suddenly moved and backed into her in a crosswalk near New Lots and Van Sinderen avenues. Family members said the woman was on her way to her job as a nurse when she was struck.
They said she also had a second job at a home care facility in Queens. She served as a pastor on Sundays as well. The Department of Transportation said the company that was operating the backhoe had valid permits to work on a transformer vault. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family members of this deceased victim.
Who Can Be Held Liable?
Getting struck by heavy vehicles and equipment is one of the most common
causes of fatalities at construction sites. While construction workers typically suffer injuries in these types of accidents, there is also a significant risk of passersby and pedestrians suffering catastrophic or fatal injuries here.
Construction sites are required to follow safety protocols when it comes to heavy equipment and vehicles. For example, when a forklift or backhoe is backing up, a “lookout” is required to make sure no one is in the path of the vehicle. Workers must be provided with job training and safety training in a language that they understand. Construction companies and some contractors or sub-contractors have a duty to ensure their workers are properly supervised.
They also have to ensure the safety of their workers as well as any bystanders and pedestrians in the vicinity. They should take precautions such as securing tools and equipment and observe safety measures when it comes to heavy machinery and equipment to prevent injuries to passerby and pedestrians.
General construction companies, managing agents, building owners, some contractors and sub-contractors also have a responsibility to ensure that facades, scaffolds and other structures at a construction site are properly secured so they don’t pose a danger to workers, visitors or pedestrians at or near the worksite. If you have been injured as the result of a poorly maintained/poorly secured work site, please understand that you have legal rights.
In such cases, injured bystanders or passersby can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, cost of hospitalization, rehabilitation, permanent injury, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. Families of deceased victims may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit seeking compensation for damages such as lost future income, funeral costs, medical expenses, pain and suffering, etc. Liable parties may include construction companies, general contractors, sub-contractors, property or building owners/managers, manufacturers of defective products, etc.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a pedestrian 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.
Pedestrian accident victims and their families should remember that they may be able to seek compensation for injuries or losses in collisions even if the victim was not walking in a marked crosswalk and even if the driver involved in collision was not charged. Our law firm recovered the full one million dollar insurance policy for a girl who was not in the crosswalk when a motor vehicle hit her.
For over 49 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole. 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/or 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.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-backoe-struck-woman-coned-subcontractor-20210309-bzs6ca4hova57mos3epdaqev2e-story.html