A man was hospitalized after a fall at a job site earlier this month. The man was laying masonry on the third floor of a building under construction in Williamsburg when he lost his balance and fell down an interior shaft inside the structure. He tumbled roughly 10 feet and landed on concrete below. EMTs were summoned and the man was rushed to a nearby hospital with unspecified injuries.
Fall from heights accidents in New York are some of the most common construction accidents in the city. OSHA regulations exist specifically to protect construction workers from such accidents. These include:
- Mandating the use of barriers around potential fall hazards to warn workers of the danger
- Use of harness systems to keep workers from falling
- And the use of external netting and other fall arrest devices to stop workers from plummeting to the ground if they do fall
However, many times those regulations are overlooked because of time constraints, cost cutting, or just plain negligence.
If the construction site did not have the proper safety equipment, when a worker is injured in a fall from heights at a New York construction site, the contractor and property owner can be held legally responsible for any injuries or deaths. The New York Labor Law holds the general contractor and property owner absolutely liable if the failure to provide the proper safety equipment contributed to the worker’s accident.
In this specific case the New York City Department of Buildings was called in to investigate the fall from heights in Brooklyn and found several safety violations. The agency issued a full stop work order and six citations.
If you or a loved one has been injured while at work because of the failure to provide the necessary safety equipment, you may be able to hold the general contractor and property owner financially responsible for your injuries, lost wages and all health related expenses. Contact an experienced New York City fall from heights attorney immediately. Call the Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel at 800-734-9338 or 212-385-1122 today.