A worker was killed in a construction accident after he fell from a scaffold. According to an Associated Press news report, the 32-year-old worker fell from a scaffold the morning of May 22 as he was attempting to remove a ladder on the sixth floor of a building on Court Square in Maspeth. He was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Fatal Construction Accident
The New York City’s Department of Buildings (DOB) is investigating this fatal
construction accident. A department spokesman stated that safety is a top priority and that they will conduct a thorough investigation into how this deadly fall occurred.
This is the second fatal construction accident in four days. On May 19, a worker was killed and another worker was injured when an elevator in which they were working fell several floors at a building that was being renovated in the Bronx. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of this accident victim.
Falls from Scaffolds
According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), falls are the leading cause of injuries and deaths in the construction industry accounting for a third of all on-the-job fatalities. Falls from scaffolds is the third leading type of construction site falls. Scaffolds or staging devices are commonly used in construction sites.
A number of laborers – from painters, electricians and carpenters to bricklayers and ironworkers – work on scaffolds. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2011 and 2016, falls from scaffolds resulted in 298 construction worker fatalities and 7,450 injuries. Falls from scaffolds typically tend to occur when the scaffold collapses due to instability and/or overloading, a worker is struck by falling tools, work materials, or debris, when a worker is electrocuted due to the proximity of the scaffold to overhead power lines, or when workers lack fall protection.
Preventing Scaffolding Accidents
Here are some of the steps OSHA encourages construction companies, contractors and other parties to take in order to prevent falls from scaffolds:
• Have a qualified person train those who work on scaffolds to recognize the dangers and use scaffolds safely.
• Have a competent person inspect the scaffold and scaffold components for visible defects before each work shift and after any occurrence that may affect its structural integrity.
• Provide a safe way for workers to access scaffold platforms such as a ladder, stair tower, etc. that are more than 2 feet above or below a point of access.
• Provide fall protection equipment to workers. If the working deck on the scaffold is 10 feet or higher, employers must provide some type of fall protection for workers. This may include a guardrail system or a personal fall arrest system such as a harness.
Rights of Workers
Workers in New York are protected by New York’s Scaffolding Law (Section 240 of the New York Labor Code), which 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. Under this section of the labor code, workers injured in scaffolding accidents have the ability to bring civil actions against the general contractor and property owner/manager etc. responsible for the safety of the jobsite.
Workers who have been injured in a scaffolding accident can seek workers’ compensation benefits from their employer. In addition, they may be able to file a third-party claim for substantial money damages and thus have two sources of compensation. Such claims are filed against parties other than the employers or co-workers including, but not limited to, 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 been injured or have lost a loved one 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/or 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://apnews.com/article/queens-business-c8107b54fef9198135bf8ed170e1d7b9