A construction worker was killed earlier this month in a deadly fall from heights in Corona. The 60-year old man was installing the roof unit of a solar system on top of an apartment building when he slipped and fell to the pavement below. The victim was rushed to nearby Elmhurst Hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
These types of falls from heights in New York are all-too-common on construction jobsites. When contractors or companies are employed to do dangerous renovations and improvements, they are required to follow strict safety guidelines imposed by the New York Labor law, NYC regulations and federal laws. Any compromise to the workers’ safety can prove deadly. Tragically, avoidable accidents claim the lives of innocent construction workers at the rate of one death every 9 days (based on stats from 2015). In addition, non-fatal construction accidents in New York, by some estimates, are at least three times as high.
While a permit for the installation of the roof unit had been filed, when the NYC Department of Buildings came to investigate this deadly construction accident in New York, they found illegal apartments in both the attic and the basement of the building. The owner was cited and ordered to vacate all of the apartments.
The DOB and OSHA will likely be looking at whether or not proper safety equipment and fall arrest equipment (including harnesses) were being used at the jobsite. Such equipment is required whenever workers are employed above ground level. If there was a violation of the New York Labor Law, the property owner and general contractor for the project could be held financially responsible for the pain and suffering for the time the worker survived and all the income the worker would have contributed to family over his lifetime.
If you’ve been injured in a fall at a jobsite anywhere in the city, contact an experienced fall from heights attorney in New York City today. Call The Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel at 800-734-9338 or 212-385-1122 to get the compensation you deserve.