A tragic construction accident in New York City has claimed the lives of two workers at a jobsite in Queens. The individuals were crushed by a 6,500 pound steel beam that fell as it was being lifted by a crane. The first victim, 47-year old George Smith, was operating the crane. The second man, 43-year old Alessandro Ramos, was working as Smith’s signal person at the time of the accident.
First responders were dispatched immediately but when they arrived on the site of this terrible falling objects accident in Queens it was clear there was nothing they could do. Both victims were declared dead on arrival.
The jobsite the men were working on is under the supervision of The Musso Group-contractors tasked with enlarging a residential building at 134th Street to add an additional 50 units.
A preliminary investigation into the falling objects accident in Queens suggests that faulty rigging could be to blame for the two men’s deaths. Though there had been a wind advisory posted earlier in the day warning of gusts up to 40 miles per hour, a spokesperson from the Department of Buildings told news outlets that equipment “failure” likely resulted in the beam falling. If that is the case, the New York Labor Law will hold the property owner and general contractor for the project strictly liable for the workers’ deaths.
There have been 28 fatal construction accidents in New York City in the last two years. A significant portion of them involving falling objects. In fact, falling objects remain one of OSHA’s “Fatal Four”-the four most deadly types of accidents on job sites killing more construction workers than any other types of incident by far. Though New York City strengthened crane regulations to protect construction workers, it’s clear that human error will always play a fateful part in these types of deadly construction accidents in New York City.
If you have been injured by falling material or debris at a jobsite, contact an experienced New York City falling objects accident attorney. Call the Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel at 800-734-9338 or 212-385-1122 today.