A worker at a home under construction on Dune Road in Westhampton Beach,
New York, was injured after he fell through a hole, fire officials said. According to Patch.com, the fire department responded to a call and arrived at the scene to find the victim had suffered serious injuries in the construction accident after he had fallen through a hole on the first floor and landed on the basement floor.
The victim’s injuries were said to be non-life-threatening. He was stabilized and transported by ambulance to a local hospital. His current condition is not known. We are relieved to note that the construction worker’s injuries are not life threatening. We wish him the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.
Construction Falls
Falls are among the most common causes of serious work-related injuries and deaths particularly in the construction industry. Many construction workers in New York City such as ironworkers, steelworkers, carpenters, masons, bricklayers, painters, window washers, and electricians etc. suffer serious or even fatal injuries when they fall from an elevation. A lot of these laborers carry out their tasks while on scaffolds, ladders, platforms, etc.
New York law requires worksites to have safety measures in place to prevent workers from falling off overhead platforms, elevated workstations or into holes or shafts. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that fall protection be provided at elevations of 4 feet in general industry workplaces, 5 feet in shipyards, 6 feet in the construction industry and 8 feet in long shoring operations.
In addition, fall protection must be provided when working over dangerous equipment and machinery, regardless of the fall distance. This type of personal protective equipment should be provided at no cost to workers. Construction workers should also receive proper job training, safety training and adequate supervision on the job.
There are local, state and federal laws that protect workers who have been injured in falls at construction sites. Section 240 of the New York Labor Law is commonly known as the “Scaffolding Law.” This statute governs the use of scaffolding in work sites and provides several specific categories of construction work to which it applies, including erection, demolition, repairs, altering or remodeling, painting, cleaning and pointing.
Compensation for Workers and Families
Construction accident injuries can be debilitating and sometimes, even catastrophic or fatal. Workers who have been injured in a construction accident can seek workers’ compensation benefits from their employer. 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 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/or file a wrongful death claim against a third party.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
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 and/or 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.
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://patch.com/new-york/westhampton-hamptonbays/worker-injured-fall-dune-road-house-under-construction-fd