A New York contractor has been slapped with a citation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after a second fatal fall of a worker this year. According to a news report, OSHA conducted inspections and found that the contactor failed to provide fall protection training or ensure that effective fall protection safeguards were used, which led to the deadly construction accident.
Failure to Protect Workers
The agency also determined that the contractor did not ensure that the workers had proper eye protection for pneumatic nail gun use. OSHA cited the company for nine willful violations and three serious violations and has proposed penalties totaling $1.3 million. The second fatal fall happened in February 2022 when a worker fell from a three-story roof in Spring Valley.
Since 2019, OSHA has cited this contractor for a total of 21 violations and proposed $299,425 in penalties. An OSHA official said the contractor “continues to ignore the law and callously exposes its employees to falls from elevation,” which is the deadliest hazard in construction sites.
Roofing Work and Falls
Statistics show that falls are the leading cause of work-related injuries and fatalities among roofers. Working at elevations of 6 feet or more puts roofers at risk for serious or fatal injuries, should they fall. Lack of fall protection, damaged fall protection equipment or improper setup can increase their risk of falling from heights and suffering major injuries.
Here are some of the most common reasons for falls from roofs:
Stability of the roof: If the roof is weak, then there is the chance of it collapsing and taking workers down with it.
Ladder safety issues: Ladders used for roofing work should be strong and secure, and must be properly positioned. Unsafe ladders can pose a falling risk to workers on the roof.
Inclement weather: Snow, ice and wind can make surfaces slippery, which then lead to slip-and-fall accidents from roofs.
Holes in the roof: Unguarded skylights and holes that are not properly covered are also extremely dangerous and can potentially lead to fatal falls. Without fall protection, an open hole on the roof is just as hazardous as the roof edge.
Split-level roofs: When roofing is done on split-level roofs with unprotected sides and edges, workers may fall if they are not properly protected with fall safety equipment.
New York Laws Safeguard Workers’ Rights
Personal fall protection systems play a significant role when it comes to preventing fall-related construction fatalities. Most construction activity in New York requires working from a height or elevation. Ironworkers, steelworkers, carpenters, masons, laborers or electricians typically need to use scaffolds, platforms, ladders etc. to carry out their tasks. Construction workers who are at greater risk of roof fatalities include roofers, ironworkers and those employed with roofing contractors or at residential construction sites.
New York’s Scaffolding Law (Section 240 of the New York Labor Law) 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. Workers injured in falls can bring civil actions against the construction company, contractor and property owner/manager, etc. responsible for the safety of the jobsite.
Construction companies, building owners/managers etc. have a responsibility to provide fall protection as well as other personal protective equipment at no cost to workers. Workers should also receive safety training and information about how to use protective equipment in a language they can understand.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
A victim who has been injured in a construction accident, in addition to workers’ comp, 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 depending on the extent of negligence (carelessness) and liability, also 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.
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 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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Source: https://ohsonline.com/articles/2022/08/24/roofing-contractor-cited.aspx