A building façade accident in Manhattan was the third such incident in just two days. All three accidents in New York City happened less than a week after the city’s Department of Buildings announced that they would be stepping up façade inspections in the wake of a fatal incident during which a woman was killed by part of a façade that fell from a high rise. Not only will the agency inspect over 1,300 facades, now, instead of simple visual inspections, it will require an engineer to use scaffolding in some instances to verify the safety of suspect construction.
This latest façade accident in Manhattan happened on January 17th near the intersection of 61st Street and Park Avenue. At around 9 in the morning, building inspectors were called to assess the potential danger when a passerby noticed that a piece of decorative metal cornice atop the building had become loose and was barely hanging on. The area underneath the façade was immediately blocked off and pedestrian traffic was rerouted.
The FDNY was called to secure the dangling piece of metal until it could either be properly removed or repaired.
Façade accidents in New York City seem to be becoming more and more common as the high-rise buildings that make our city so spectacular age. Building owners are responsible for inspecting and repairing their buildings to guard against the potential hazards caused by loose or damaged facades. However, when these individuals fail to do so, fatal accidents will occur.
In such cases, victims or their surviving family members are able to hold the property owners responsible for the financial impact of the accident, which means compensation for the pain and suffering of the injuries and lost time from work. However, navigating a successful lawsuit against these property owners is complex and time consuming. Not easily accomplished without the help of an experienced building façade accident attorney in New York City.
If you’ve been injured in such an accident, contact the experts at the Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel today. Call 800-734-9338 or 212-385-1122 right now.