Don’t Settle For Less

Don’t Settle For Less

Injuries Narrowly Avoided in Construction Accident in Manhattan

On Behalf of | Aug 7, 2017 | Construction Accidents

A large steel plate that was being lifted up the side of a building under construction in Manhattan came crashing down to the sidewalk below earlier this week, terrifying passersby and causing construction at the “mega site” to be halted for hours while investigators puzzled over this nearly disastrous construction accident in New York City.

Shocking as it was, this fall from heights in Manhattan was just the beginning of the problems at the massive construction project. When FDNY arrived, they found a two-ton chunk of glass had somehow become trapped between the 17th floor of the building and a construction elevator. The angle was perilous and workers were worried that the load would shift as they attempted to reel the glass back in. It took them nearly two hours to get the glass back on the stable footing of the 17th floor.

Fortunately, the glass remained steady during the process but the metal panel and parts of a hoist came tumbling down, narrowly missing pedestrians and automobiles below on a busy stretch of West 57th Street.

Falls from heights in New York City are one of the deadliest construction accidents in The Big Apple. One of OSHA’s “Fatal Four,” these devastating jobsite tragedies often end with victims suffering horrific injuries and life-long consequences even after they survive.

And, as this latest fall from heights in Manhattan’s crowded streets demonstrates, it’s not just construction workers who are at risk. Innocent bystanders-people simply walking down the sidewalk or driving to work-can be injured or killed in an instant when these overhead loads become unstable.

The New York Labor Law protects injured workers and holds property owners and general contractors for the site strictly liable for these kinds of accidents, regardless of whether the worker contributed to the accident in any way.

If you’ve been injured near a jobsite in NYC, contact an experienced New York City fall from heights attorney immediately

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