Four men were injured-one seriously-in a construction accident in New York City earlier last month. The scary scaffolding accident in Manhattan sent three men to the hospital with minor injuries and but one was listed in serious condition with potentially life-threatening injuries. The accident happened on November 11th around 7:30 in the morning at a construction site in Hudson Yards-near the intersection of 10th Avenue and 33rd Street.
The initial investigation revealed that two of the men actually fell from scaffolding on the 18th floor of the job site and landed one floor below. It wasn’t immediately clear how the other two men were injured but it could have been from falling debris from the scaffolding. Similar accidents have resulted in pipes, planks, tools and other materials raining down on workers below when the support structure above them gives way.
All of the individuals involved in this latest scaffolding accident in New York City are expected to recover. However, if the Department of Buildings or OSHA investigation reveals that lack of proper safety equipment, inspections, or adherence to regulations played any part in these work-related injuries, the general contractor and property owner can be held financially liable and be ordered to pay the injured men compensation for their injuries and lost time from work. More importantly, under New York’s Labor Law, if the proper safety equipment (as stated in the law) was not provided or failed, the property owner and general contractor will be held absolutely responsible for the accident regardless of how the accident happened or if the workers themselves contributed to the happening of the accident. New York’s Labor Law is somewhat complex and it takes a skilled and experienced construction accident attorney to effectively prosecute this kind of case.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a similar accident at a construction job site in NYC, contact the experienced New York City scaffolding accident attorneys at the Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel today. Call 800-734-9338 or 212-385-1122 for your free consultation.