Preventable Accidents in the Job Site

New York Construction Workers deserve the best lawyers when they get injured.

New York City is constantly renovating itself, and every day tens of thousands of our citizens go to work on construction sites. Their work is necessary for our city to move forward. And while the work is necessary, it is very dangerous. Construction workers spend their days sometimes hundreds of feet above street level. They work with heavy machinery in enclosed spaces. They repair roads at all hours of the day and night, often performing their jobs mere feet from cars that are moving at forty miles an hour.

When construction workers get injured, it would seem obvious that the insurance companies that cover the job sites and the workers themselves would own up to the promises of their policies, but that sort of honesty seems increasingly rare these days. Insurers go out of their way to delay payment, deny claims, and claim that necessary treatment is “unnecessary.” This sort of behavior grows exponentially if the injury was the fault of someone else on the job site, or was due to negligence or incompetence by another employee.

At Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine, we have real experience in defending the rights of injured construction workers. We know that there are several types of construction accidents that recur with tragic frequency, and we have the expertise needed to secure the compensation that you deserve in the event of an accident.

Below is a list of common construction site accidents. If you or a loved one has been the victim of any one of these, contact our offices for a free legal consultation today.

Construction Site Falls

Nearly 1,000 construction workers are killed each year while on the job. Of these, over 300 deaths will result from construction site falls. That equals one third of construction deaths. Many of the deaths or injuries that result from these falls can and should be prevented.

Common construction site falls include roof related falls, crane falls, scaffolding falls, elevator shaft falls, falls resulting from holes in flooring, and falling objects. Proper protection equipment and safety precautions are necessary to protect the lives of workers and preserve the well-being of their families.

Roof Related Falls

Roof-related jobs pose great risk for even the most experienced experts. These may include communication tower falls, skylight falls, falls off of roof structures, or falls through existing openings, With proper safety precaution and equipment, many of these injuries can be avoided.

Crane Falls

Crane operators are specially trained to control enormous pieces of powerful machinery that can accomplish seemingly impossible feats. Unfortunately, there are times when the use of cranes results in injury or even death. Operators can fall from their cranes, and cranes can also lose their balance and topple, resulting in injuries or death. The recent crane collapses in New York City are a sad example of what can go wrong.

Scaffolding Falls

Scaffolding might be a temporary structure, but its integrity and safety is incredibly important. Workers spend a great deal of time on these structures, and all standards and safety precautions should be followed to the letter.

Elevator Shaft Falls

While they might be a rarity when a building is completed, elevator shaft falls can take place with both stunning regularity and fatal results. Although there have been reported cases of individuals surviving falls from dramatic heights, a plunge of only ten feet can be fatal. Tragically, many elevator shaft falls can be easily prevented through proper training and safety precautions.

Falling Objects

Construction workers are at risk from falling objects at almost every conceivable job site. While there are of course times where falling objects are purely accidental and no one is at fault, there are a substantial amount of injuries that take place due to negligence or a lack of attention to safety protocols.

Crane Accidents

Cranes are everywhere and are relied upon to create residential and commercial buildings. Although cranes have improved along with technology over the years, crane accidents still occur that can result in injury or death. There were over 140 crane accident deaths in 2004. Crane accident deaths can arise from a number of factors, including lightning, high winds, defective cranes, falls, electrocution, and other hazards associated with construction at heights.

Scaffolding Accidents

Most accidents involving scaffolding result from planks or supports giving way or the employee slipping or being struck by a falling object. These are circumstances that should not occur when sites are adhering to OSHA safety regulations.

Improperly Assembled Scaffolding

Improperly assembled scaffolding may result from laziness, hastiness, incompetence, or innocent mistakes. When these factors go unnoticed the safety and lives of everyone on a construction site are endangered. It should never happen. Period.

Hit by Operating Equipment

The construction site is an extremely busy work environment. With movement by workers and vehicles, everyone has a responsibility to look out for each other's safety. Supervisors and foremen have the duty of promoting effective safety procedures and practices at the construction site, and that includes the movement of machinery and operating equipment.

Hit by Highway Vehicle

Believe it or not, construction workers on the job in a skyscraper are statistically less likely to get injured than those who work on the road. The reasons for this are fairly simple. While skyscraper workers are high up, they aren’t passed every two seconds by a car going 45 miles an hour of faster. It is the law for drivers to slow down while passing through a construction zone, and when they don’t, workers get injured or worse.