One worker was killed and another was injured in a Midtown construction accident after a falling glass panel struck them the morning of May 26. According to an AMNY news report, an 8-by-14-feet glass panel was awaiting installation at what is anticipated to be the second tallest skyscraper on West 57th Street. The panel tipped over and fell on a security worker who suffered severe body trauma. The glass also struck a 27-year-old construction worker who sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The security guard was identified as a 67-year-old resident of the Bronx.
Full Work-Stop Order Issued
Both men were transported to an area hospital. The security guard was pronounced dead at the hospital. The city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) has issued a full-stop work order at the construction site. The DOB has also issued a violation to the property owners of the construction site for failing to safeguard it.
The owners are building a 99-story, mixed-use structure at that location, which is expected to be 1,550 feet tall when completed in 2020. The building that is to be named Central Park Tower will house 179 luxury condos and 50,000 square feet of amenities. However, at this point, the DOB is continuing to investigate the incident and is likely to take other enforcement actions.
Construction Accidents in NYC
According to the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, fatal injuries in the construction industry increased statewide to 71 in 2016 from 50 in 2014, although construction worker deaths in New York City declined to 21 from 28, respectively. The leading cause of construction accident fatalities in New York was falls, which accounted for 48 percent of the state’s construction worker deaths from 2007 to 2016.
The group also analyzed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections in New York State and found that these inspections went down 62.6 percent from 1986 to 2017. This decrease in inspections coincides with a construction boom in the city over the same period. In 2016, safety violations had occurred at 82 percent of the construction sites inspected by OSHA after fatalities. In many instances construction companies and contractors put workers in danger by disregarding regulations and workers suffer fatal injuries as a result, according to the report. In addition to falls, some of the most common causes of construction accidents and deaths include struck-by incidents, caught in/between objects or equipment and electrocutions.
In the aftermath of a construction accident, it is important to determine precisely what occurred or what caused the deadly accident. There are a number of questions that must be asked. Were the construction workers at the site properly trained to do their jobs? Did they receive job safety training in a language that they know and understand? Did the property owners and/or property managers ensure safe working conditions at the construction site? Were any construction safety laws violated? Did workers get the personal protective equipment that they need to do the job safely such as fall protection, guard rails, safety goggles, etc.? These are some of the questions that must be answered in order to determine precisely what occurred and who should be held liable.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
Construction accidents often result in life changing injuries that may result in permanent disabilities. Some of the most common injuries sustained in construction accidents include, but are not limited to, brain injuries, spinal cord trauma, internal organ damage, broken bones, lacerations, amputations, etc.
Workers who are injured in construction accidents can seek workers’ compensation benefits. Families of workers who are killed in construction accidents may be able to seek death benefits as well. In addition, victims may be able to file a third-party claim for significant money damages against a party other than an employer or co-employees and seek compensation for their injuries, damages or losses. This allows victims and their families to have two sources of compensation available to them. Examples of third parties include general contractors, sub-contractors, building owners, property managers, etc.
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. 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 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://www.amny.com/news/construction-accident-midtown-skyscraper-1.18772646