Son was taken to a local hospital after the Sept. 13 fall. He died three days later from injuries sustained in the fall. His death led city officials to issue a stop-work order at the job site for 22 days and issue a series of violations of safety rules on the construction company involved. Work on the roof was halted for a longer period while the city conducted an extended safety review. Son worked for an asbestos removal company and was a well-respected union member who had plans to retire soon, his union colleagues told the Daily News.
City officials said early morning on Sept. 13, the victim was walking backward and pulling a plastic sheet on the building’s 11th floor when he fell through the hole. The hole had been covered up by a loose wooden plank that had been knocked aside. The Daily News reports that he fell 18 feet to the floor below and suffered injuries to his head and torso. He was transported to an area hospital, unconscious, but breathing and in stable condition. However, he died in the hospital three days later. We offer our deepest condolences to Yong Chin Son’s family.
A subsequent investigation showed that the planking covering the hole on the roof was not secure, officials with the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) said. There were also no other safeguards such as guardrails or marking, officials said. In addition, the official investigation found that a required safety meeting that morning failed to address the hole, and that a scaffolding system that was supposed to have been in place, was not. It also appears that Son was not equipped with fall safety devices such as harnesses or restraints. City officials said the incident led to a review of jobsite safety at all four new borough jail sites and all city projects that the asbestos firm was working on.
The city’s Department of Design and Construction also issued a new safety plan for the borough-based jail sites. The DOB told the Daily News that Son’s death was not publicly disclosed because they only disclose injury and fatality statistics in their annual and semiannual reports. While the NYPD reported the accident and Son’s injuries, they did not report his death, the Daily News states.
Many construction workers including roofers, ironworkers, steelworkers, laborers, carpenters, masons, bricklayers, painters, window washers, and electricians etc. carry out their tasks at elevations while on scaffolds, ladders, platforms, etc. The New York State Labor Law, specifically Section 240, commonly referred to as the “Scaffold Law,” imposes liability on property owners and contractors for certain height-related injuries suffered by workers, including roofers, in construction-related falls. This law mandates that property owners/managers and contractors must provide proper safety equipment, such as scaffolding, hoists, harnesses, and other safeguards, to protect workers from elevation-related hazards.
If workers are injured due to a fall from a height on a construction site in New York, the Scaffold Law holds property owners/managers and contractors accountable for failing to provide adequate safety measures. The law places a considerable burden on property owners/managers and contractors to ensure proper safety protocols are in place. It emphasizes the importance of implementing and maintaining safety measures, including secure scaffolding, guardrails, and fall arrest systems, to prevent accidents and protect workers from severe injuries or fatalities while working.
Worksite accidents can result in serious injuries not only for workers, but also passersby. Injuries from these types of accidents can prove catastrophic or even fatal. Injured victims or families of deceased construction accident victims can seek compensation from at-fault parties including, but not limited to, the construction company, general contractor, subcontractor, building owner, building manager, maintenance firm, etc.
Injured workers can seek workers’ compensation benefits from their employers to help cover medical expenses and a portion of the lost wages. Families of deceased victims can seek compensation by filing a wrongful death claim. If you have been injured in a construction accident, even if you are undocumented, you are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits and have the right to file a third-party lawsuit.
Workers injured in such accidents can 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 third party who may be held liable for the fatal incident.
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. For over 53 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. 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, 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.
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1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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Source: https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/01/22/brooklyn-jail-construction-workers-2023-death-led-to-safety-probe/