A new report has found that construction accident fatalities returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021 in New York City. According to an analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), which is a worker safety watchdog group, 20 construction workers died on the job in New York City in 2021.
This means that in 2021, the construction accident death rate in New York City was 11.2 per 100,000, which is a 60% increase from seven deaths per 100,000 in 2020, a year when the coronavirus pandemic had slowed or shut down all activity including construction. Still, 13 construction workers died in 2020. In pre-pandemic 2019, the rate was higher than in 2021.
Latino and Non-Union Workers Affected
In 2019, 24 workers had been killed on city construction sites — at a rate of 11.6 per 100,000. Safety advocates said the high death rate among construction workers is simply not acceptable. THE CITY reports that Latino and non-union workers were again most at risk of death in 2021, as they have been nearly each year since NYCOSH first began issuing its annual report titled “Deadly Skyline” in 2014.
About 10% of New York State’s workers are Latino and yet they account for more than 25% of workplace fatalities statewide. At the 15 sites, which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspected after a fatality in 2021, 80% of the workers were non-union. Among those who died in 2021 was Mauricio Sanchez, a Mexican laborer who was killed when an elevator plummeted 75 feet to the ground at 20 Bruckner Boulevard, where he was the third worker to die in three years.
Lack of Site Inspections
The report also points to staffing deficiencies for regulatory agencies. For example the federal OSHA conducted only 2,568 inspections in New York State in 2021, which was down 42% from 2019. A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Buildings told THE CITY that the current agency-wide vacancy rate is 18%, but the vacancy rate among inspectors is around 10%.
Advocates say cuts to departments that are responsible for safety at worksites is concerning because it is likely to lead to fewer inspections and enforcement, which means a greater chance of injuries and fatalities occurring at construction sites. Construction accident deaths have persisted even as OSHA has increased fines in line with inflation. In December, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Carlos’ Law, which will increase penalties for criminal corporate liability for the death or serious injury of a worker by up to $500,000. The bill was named after Carlos Moncoya who was killed on the job in 2015.
New York Laws Protect Construction Workers
Construction workers in New York are covered by Section 240 of the New York Labor Law, which charges construction companies, contractors and other parties with the responsibility of providing workers with proper fall protection while constructing, demolishing, remodeling or doing other types of work such as roofing on structures. This law imposes strict liability for accidents to the parties responsible for assigning and managing the work.
Any worker — whether a roofer, ironworker, steelworker, carpenter, electrician, painter, bricklayer or any other type of laborer — who suffers a fall can seek workers’ compensation benefits. In addition, he or she may be able to file a third-party lawsuit for substantial money damages against a number of at-fault parties, and thus have two sources of compensation.
Third-party claims are filed against parties other than the employer or co-employees and may include general contractors, sub-contractors, building owners, managing agents, construction companies, 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.
Contacting an Experienced 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 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.thecity.nyc/2023/2/22/23609614/increase-construction-worker-deaths