Falls from scaffolds are among the most common causes of catastrophic or fatal construction-related injuries. A number of construction accidents that result in major injuries in New York City involve workers falling from scaffolds. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) more than 65 percent of laborers and workers in the construction industry, from painters and electricians to bricklayers, demolition workers, ironworkers and steelworkers – use some type of scaffolding to do their jobs. These jobs are often performed from heights, which means they are at risk of falling.
Falls from Scaffolding
Scaffolding is temporary support structure that enables workers to reach required heights while working on construction projects. On the one hand, scaffolding offers the convenience of accessing hard-to-reach heights and places as opposed to working from ladders, leaning over edges and stretching overhead. However, there is a definite risk of a fall-related accident, especially when building owners, general contractors, and contractors ignore safety regulations when working on a scaffold.
What Causes Scaffolding Accidents?
Here are some of the most common causes of scaffolding accidents that involve falls and serious injuries:
Lack of sufficient training: Many workers are not provided the job training and safety training they need to do their work in a safe and efficient manner. In New York City, a number of immigrant construction workers are not provided training materials in their native languages, which makes it difficult for them to understand safety procedures and protocols. It is the duty of building owners, general contractors, and contractors to ensure that all workers are properly trained.
Inadequate protection: Companies are also required to provide workers with fall protection and safety devices such as goggles to prevent debris from entering a worker’s eyes, harnesses, safety nets and guardrails. OSHA requires that fall protection be provided at elevations of four feet in general industry workplaces, five feet in shipyards, six feet in the construction industry and eight feet in longshoring operations. In addition, OSHA requires that fall protection be provided when working over dangerous equipment and machinery, regardless of the fall distance.
Poor scaffold construction: It is critical that a professional oversees the construction of scaffolding to ensure that it is safe and compliant with OSHA standards. However, it is common for a number of companies and contractors to use shoddily constructed scaffolds that lack safety features. A safety specialist is required to check and approve all structures including scaffolding before workers begin the job. When a scaffold is constructed with substandard materials, or in such a way that it is unable to withstand the weight of the workers, it may cave in or collapse. Weak planking, failures at attachment points, parts failure and defective equipment are all commonly cited as causes for scaffolding collapses.
Environmental factors: It is the job of supervisors at a construction site to keep track of weather conditions such as high winds, which may cause scaffolds to collapse and lead to serious injuries and fatalities. Work should be suspended or stopped when dangerous conditions pose such hazards to workers on scaffolds. Work should be resumed only when conditions improve.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
Workers who are injured in construction accidents may be able to seek workers’ compensation benefits, which typically cover medical and drug expenses and a portion of lost wages. Families that have lost loved ones in a construction accident may be able to seek death benefits. In addition, workers and their families may be able to file a third-party lawsuit for substantial money damages against a number of parties, and therefore 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. Injured victims can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost income and benefits, hospitalization, cost of rehabilitative treatment, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
If you have suffered injuries 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.
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 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.
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