A 27-year-old man died in a construction accident on Long Island when he fell off a roof and suffered fatal injuries. According to a report on Patch.com, the incident occurred in Holbrook as the victim who worked for a Yonkers-based roofing company was on the roof of a business on Veterans Memorial Highway. The worker was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
This was the second worker to die from a fall-related accident on the same day. The other accident occurred in West Hills when a landscaper fell 40 feet to the ground when he was trimming a tree outside a home on Bluebird Lane. A branch he was secured to broke and fell to the ground, officials said. The 51-year-old man was transported to an area hospital where he died from his injuries. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was notified of both accidents and is investigating, officials said. We offer our deepest condolences to the families of both these workers for their tragic loss.
Falls from Roofs
According to the Center for Construction Research and Training, fatal falls from 
roofs accounted for one-third of fall-related construction fatalities from 1992-2009. The findings of the Center’s study also suggest that workers employed by small establishments, residential construction workers, Hispanic workers and immigrant employees may face disproportionately high risks of roof fatalities. Falls are among the most common causes of serious work-related injuries and deaths. Many construction workers in New York City such as ironworkers, steelworkers, carpenters, masons, bricklayers, painters, window washers, and electricians etc. tend to work from an elevation by using scaffolds, platforms, ladders etc.
Citing U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the study points out that falls account for 76% of fatalities in the roofing industry and workers in the roofing industry are three times more likely to experience fatal work-related injuries than any other construction workers. This study underscores that roofing and residential construction sectors have a much higher risk of falls from roofs compared to other sectors of construction. All roofing contractors are required not only to have a written fall protection program that specifies what type of fall protection is provided to workers but also provide proper training for workers and enforce their described fall protection programs.
Construction workers who are at higher risk of roof fatalities include roofers, ironworkers and those employed with roofing contractors or at residential construction sites. While Hispanic workers account for only one-fourth of all construction fatalities, about 35% of fatal falls from roofs occur among Hispanic workers. Also, foreign-born workers are more likely to experience fatal falls from roofs than other types of fatalities.
Laws and Liability Issues
New York’s Scaffolding Law (Section 240 of the New York Labor Code) requires contractors, owners and their agents to be responsible for providing necessary equipment such as scaffolds, ladders, hoists, stays, irons, ropes, blocks braces and other devices to keep workers safe from fall-related accidents. Since this law was enacted in the early part of the 20th century, workers injured in fall-related accidents can bring civil actions against the contractor and property owner/manager, etc. responsible for the safety of the jobsite.
Workers who have been injured in a roofing accident can seek workers’ compensation benefits from their employer. In addition, they may be able to file a third-party claim seeking damages as well and thus have two sources of compensation. Such claims are filed against responsible parties, other than the employers or co-employees, and can include general contractors, sub-contractors, building owners, 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.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you have suffered injuries 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, 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 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://patch.com/new-york/sachem/2-workers-die-falls-hours-apart-long-island