An administrative law judge with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission ordered a Rochester, New York, commercial roofing company to pay $16,782 in fines for serious fall and ladder violations. According to a news report, the judge upheld the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) citation of the company, which they said had allowed its workers to use an unsafe ladder and exposed an employee to a 40-foot fall hazard as they stood near the edge of a roof to guide a crane’s operation.
OSHA inspectors found that workers performing roof work on a municipal building were not using required fall protection equipment. The company contested the citations before the review commission. After a trial at the commission, the judge announced that the company was aware of the fall protection violation and had failed to implement its own safety program adequately, and that the violation was readily visible to the company’s foreman.
Falls from Roofs in Construction
Falls from roofs are a leading cause of fatalities and severe injuries in the construction industry. These construction accidents often stem from safety violations and insufficient adherence to regulations designed to protect workers. Preventing such accidents requires strict compliance with safety protocols, proper training, and the use of protective equipment.
Common safety violations resulting in falls from roofs include:
- Lack of fall protection systems: Many falls occur when workers are not provided with fall arrest systems, guardrails, or safety nets.
- Unsafe ladders or scaffolds: Unsafe placement, unstable ladders, or overloading scaffolds are frequent causes of roof access accidents.
- Unsecured work areas: Cluttered or poorly maintained roof surfaces increase the risk of tripping or slipping.
- Insufficient training: Workers often lack proper training in recognizing hazards or using fall protection equipment.
- Failure to inspect equipment: Worn or damaged harnesses, lanyards, or anchor points compromise worker safety.
OSHA Standards and Requirements
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) outlines strict regulations for roof work.
• Workers must be provided with personal fall arrest systems (PFAS) when working at heights of 6 feet or more.
• Guardrails and safety nets are required when roof edges or openings present hazards.
• Companies must ensure that all workers are trained to recognize fall hazards and use protective equipment properly.
• Secure and appropriately rated anchor points are mandatory for all fall arrest systems.
Failure to comply with safety regulations can result in severe consequences. For example, falls from roofs often lead to fractures, head injuries, or death. OSHA imposes substantial fines for non-compliance, with higher penalties for repeat violations.
Compensation for Injured Workers
Injured workers in New York City may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, regardless of who was at fault for the accident. Workers’ compensation provides medical treatment, some wage replacement, and other benefits to employees who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses. In addition, victims may also be able to 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.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
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, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. 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. 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://ehsdailyadvisor.blr.com/2024/11/alj-orders-roofing-contractor-to-pay-osha-fine/