A safety bill named after Carlos Moncayo, who was just 22 years old when he was crushed to death in a construction worksite accident, proposes a considerable increase in fines for the construction companies, building owners and/or managing agents who are involved and criminally convicted. According to The New York Times, the legislation known as Carlos’s Law, has passed both houses of the State Legislature and is in Governor Kathy Hochul’s office for review and approval.
Importance of the Proposed Legislation
In Moncayo’s case, the Manhattan district attorney’s office pursued charges and
the general contractor was found guilty of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment, based on the news article. The company paid just $10,000 because of state-imposed limits on corporate penalties. The district attorney at the time was critical of the outcome saying the fine was merely “Monopoly money for the company,” the Times reports.
Those who support this legislation say the prospect of facing much higher fines in these cases should deter contractors from cutting corners on safety — sometimes with dangerous consequences. Since 2015, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has recorded 84 construction-related deaths. Statistics also show that these fatalities are more common at nonunion sites where workers may face pressures to meet unreasonable deadlines and in unsafe conditions.
Prosecutors say many construction injuries and fatalities lack proper investigation. However, in Moncayo’s case, the police supervisor who responded to the fatal construction accident had previously worked in construction. He recognized right away that the pit where Moncayo — who was undocumented and did not belong to a union — was working was not reinforced the way it should have been and was a “ticking time bomb.” Prosecutors in the case stated that Moncayo’s supervisors had ordered him to go into the pit while knowing it was dangerous, because the project was behind schedule.
Safety and Accountability
Moncayo’s case gave rise to a lengthy effort to raise penalties in such situations and to expand liability so companies that neglect worksite safety can be held accountable. The fines would be separate from those imposed by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or local agencies for violations at worksites. Supporters of the law say the risk of having to pay a substantial fine — a minimum of $500,000 under this new law — will finally hold developers and construction companies more accountable and have them better uphold health and safety standards.
Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who sponsored the bill in the Assembly, said the issue was personal for her. About 25 years ago, her brother, Wagner, fell off a scaffold while on a construction job and was left permanently disabled. She says a number of construction firms take advantage of immigrant workers, pay them low wages, don’t train them and fail to provide a safe area for them to work. She believes this bill would be lifesaving for families in her district.
Compensation for Injured Workers
Whether you are union or nonunion, documented or undocumented, you have legal rights if you have suffered a serious personal injury on the job. Victims who have been injured in a worksite accident can seek workers’ compensation benefits from their employer. In addition, you may be able to file a third-party lawsuit for substantial money damages against a number of 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.
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.
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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/nyregion/construction-safety-bill.html