A worker suffered a leg injury in a construction accident in White Plains, New York, while working on a crane boom. According to ABC7 New York, the incident occurred at a construction site on 200 Hamilton Ave. The man was working on a crane boom at the site of an apartment building construction project when he suffered what firefighters call a “crushing” injury. He suffered a compound fracture and was unable to get down from the site on his own.
Officials said he broke his tibia and fibula in his leg. White Plains police and fire department worked together to get the injured man down to the ground, gently lowering him nearly 200 feet to the roof of the building that is under construction. Officials are still looking into what happened up on the crane that led to the accident and injury. Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured construction worker. We wish him the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.
What is a Crush Injury?
A crush injury or crushing injury often occurs when a body part is caught in machinery or equipment. It may also occur when a worker is struck by an object or equipment at a worksite. According the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), crush injuries are those injuries that occur as the result of a person being caught, crushed, squeezed, pinched or compressed between two or more objects.
Workers may potentially get caught or crushed by equipment that is operating, between a moving and stationary object, or between two or more moving objects. Accidents that lead to crush injuries are often the result of poor safety standards and lack of safeguards in the workplace. Crush injuries are among the “fatal four” leading causes of construction accident fatalities in the United States along with falls from heights, struck by objects and electrocutions.
Crush injuries are also common in industrial settings where heavy machinery and equipment are routinely used. Such injuries can be catastrophic, resulting in the loss of limbs etc. and require a long period of recovery. In many cases, victims may not be able to recover fully or return to work.
Injuries from Crush Accidents
The nature and severity of a crush injury depends on the force of the object involved in the incident, its mass and the part of the body affected. If the individual is stuck between two objects for an extended period of time, the injuries may become fatal. If an extremity is involved in a crush accident, it may result in an amputation. Other injuries that can occur as a consequence of crush accidents include:
• Traumatic brain injury
• Spinal cord trauma that results in paralysis
• Muscle damage
• Nerve damage
• Damaged skin tissue
• Broken bones or compound fractures
• Internal organ damage
• Severed limbs or amputations
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
Workers who have been injured in crush accidents on the job may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits, which covers medical expenses and a portion of lost wages. In addition, workers 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.
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 51 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.
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Source: https://abc7ny.com/construction-worker-rescued-from-crane-white-plains-man-with-broken-leg-rescue/13624890/