Fatal Construction Trench Collapse at JFK Airport

Two workers were killed in a construction accident after being trapped under the debris as they were moving utility lines at JFK International Airport. According to a report in The New York Times, police received a report that workers were trapped under the debris on the morning of April 3. Emergency service workers from FDNY joined Port Authority police in responding to the scene and removing the workers from the collapsed trench. Both construction workers were pronounced dead at the scene and identified as 41-year-old Francisco Reyes and 28-year-old Fernando Lagunas Pereira.

Ongoing Investigation

At the time of the trench collapse, the men had been moving utility lines near a power plant at the airport. The task was connected to an $18 billion improvement project at JFK, which includes the expansion of two existing terminals and the construction of two new ones. Following this deadly trench collapse, the Port Authority has temporarily stopped all construction at the airport to conduct safety reviews.

The authority has also opened an investigation and issued a statement that it would cooperate with any inquiries by other agencies. Federal workplace safety and health officials are also investigating this incident. We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the two workers whose lives were lost in this construction accident.

Construction Accidents Involving Trenching

Trench-related accidents are sadly common in the construction industry. According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), 22 people had died nationwide in trenching and excavation accidents just in the first six months of 2022, compared with 15 in all of 2021. By the end of 2022, that fatality number had increased to 35, according to the publication, Equipment World.

The deaths at JFK occurred on the same day that New York City’s Department of Buildings, which does not have regulatory oversight of JFK or La Guardia airports, issued its construction safety report for the year 2022. With construction activity increasing in 2022 as the pandemic subsided, the report showed there was also an uptick in construction accident fatalities — rising to 11 from 9 in 2021. There were 554 construction-related injuries in 2022. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) states that 166 workers died in trench cave-ins between 2011 and 2018 — which amounts to about 21 deaths each year.

Compensation for Workers

Workers who have been injured in trench cave-ins or 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 (careless) party other than the employer or co-employees 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. In cases where a worker dies from injuries suffered on the job, surviving family members may seek death benefits through workers’ compensation and/or file a wrongful death claim against a negligent (careless) third party.

Contacting a Construction Accident Lawyer

If you have suffered injuries in a construction-related 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. Our law firm also recovered $3,000,000 for a man who fell and suffered two broken legs when he walked into an open elevator shaft. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict of $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict of $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 attorney’s 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.nytimes.com/2023/04/03/nyregion/jfk-workers-killed.html