Construction Worker Injured at Upper West Side Job Site
A construction worker suffered serious facial injuries while working in a four-story building on the Upper West Side. The construction accident occurred at West 86th Street and West End Avenue in New York City. Officials say the worker on the second floor was struck in the face by a falling piece of construction material dropped by a co-worker. His facial injuries are considered serious. The city’s Buildings Department has issued a violation for “failure to safeguard” as well as a partial stop-work order for scaffold usage.
Brooklyn Contractor Cited for Fatal Fall
A Brooklyn contracting company has been cited in connection with a construction site accident where a 51-year-old laborer was killed after falling while pouring concrete.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the laborer was killed while working at a construction site on Neptune Avenue in Brighton Beach back in April 2015. Officials say he fell while raking freshly poured concrete from the sixth floor.
OSHA has determined that his tragic death could have been prevented had proper safety precautions been taken. Investigators believe that the victim and his co-workers were not provided fall protection equipment such as harnesses or lifelines. Furthermore, their employer had not trained them on how to reduce fall hazards. OSHA ultimately decided to cite J&M Metro General Contracting for one willful violation for the lack of fall protection and five serious violations for other hazards.
Queens Construction Worker Death Leads to Manslaughter Charge
We now know more about the death of a 22-year-old laborer from Queens killed while working at a Restoration Hardware store construction site on Ninth Avenue in Manhattan on April 6, 2015.
According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the general contractor and the victim’s employer failed to provide cave-in protection, which could have prevented the fatal trench collapse. Harco Construction LLC and subcontractor Sky Materials Corporation didn’t install cave-in protection, or brace a section of undermined sidewalk to prevent it from collapsing.
Officials with OSHA say the managers associated with the construction site were aware of the dangerous conditions and failed to remove their employees from the trench. After the construction site accident, OSHA issued each employer two citations for willful violations of safety standards. Officials from both companies have also been indicted for manslaughter in the New York State Supreme Court.
Car Plunges Into Yonkers Construction Site
A woman was injured when her vehicle plunged about 40 feet down into a construction site. According to a CBS New York news report, the car crash took place near the victim’s home in Yonkers.
Officials say her gray Toyota accelerated suddenly, forcing her vehicle through the chain link fence and over the cliff. The vehicle landed on its nose and flipped over onto its roof. The driver suffered a deep cut and lost some blood, but survived the crash. It’s unclear what caused the accident.
New York Construction Injuries Jumped 34 percent Over the Last Year
Recently, a construction worker fell to his death 30 feet down an elevator shaft at 577 Ninth Avenue, where a hotel is currently being built. The family of another worker who died after falling 24 stories down an elevator shaft in May just announced that it will sue companies involved at that construction site. Across the country, construction site injuries and deaths are rising, but the problem is especially bad here in New York.
What Do New York Construction Labor Union Lawyers Do?
Throughout New York, construction workers rely on their union to help them in many ways. The union advocates for better wages and safer working conditions for every person it represents. When an employer treats an individual worker unfairly, the union steps in. In some cases, however, the union’s expertise is not enough. When a specific legal issue threatens the safety or livelihood of one or more of its construction worker members, the help of an attorney may be required.
Crane Accident Demonstrates the Risks of Working on Construction Sites
A recent crane accident on a New Jersey construction site demonstrates that while cranes can be indispensable for working on large projects, they also pose serious risks when proper safety precautions are not taken.
New York City Provides Month by Month Overview of Construction Site Accidents
New York City’s Buildings Department provides detailed monthly reports available at its website for interested residents and construction site accident lawyers concerned about the rate of serious injuries and deaths on the city’s many buildings projects. The information available includes statistics drawn from the construction-related accident reports filed each month with the city.
Federal Wage and Hour Violations Increase in Recent Years According to Department of Labor
The number of federal wage and hour violations, as well as the amount of back wages being unfairly withheld, has increased over the past several years, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL). Since wage and hour disputes are among the most common types of labor disputes, experienced New York construction union attorneys keep a close eye on these numbers as a way to track whether enforcement and education efforts are working.
According to the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) statistics on enforcement, in 2009, employers found guilty of wage and hour violations paid back wages of over $172 million. In 2010, that number jumped to $176 million, and by 2014, employers were paying over $240 million in back wages to over 270,000 employees.
Construction Site Safety a Major Focus for OSHA in Recent Years
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has begun compiling statistics on the most common accidents and injuries that occur on construction sites nationwide. Private construction sites accounted for 828 of the 4,585 workplace deaths suffered in the U.S. in 2013, according to OSHA. This means that construction sites were the location for one in every five worker deaths.
Just four accident categories account for more than half of construction worker deaths. OSHA calls these the “Fatal Four” and says that if these four causes were eliminated, workplaces would save the lives of nearly 500 workers every year.