Oresky & Associates, PLLC., are construction accident lawyers, representing accident victims for over 30 years. Call us for a free consultation at 718-993-9999.
For three weeks into the new year, New York City had made it through with no fatal construction accidents. Unfortunately, that changed on Jan. 23, as the city logged its first two construction deaths of 2018. This marks the second time in less than six months when multiple construction deaths happened on one day. As with the last time, both deaths were falls. Whatever the cause, if you are injured in a construction accident, you should retain a knowledgeable New York construction accident attorney to help you get what you deserve.
The first of the day’s two fatal accidents took place in the Gramercy Park neighborhood. Workers for an elevator installation company were putting in an elevator car in the 12-story hotel project when one of the crew plunged nine stories, or nearly 100 feet, to the ground. The New York Daily News indicated that the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Daily News reported that the hotel project had a history of complaints. Specifically, the project had racked up 17 other complaints in the past year. At least one of those complaints asserted that workers were not wearing proper safety gear. The man who died recently was not attached to a safety when he fell, according to the Daily News report.
The president of the Building and Construction Trades Council made a statement calling for action in the wake of this most recent death and one in December. The president stated that the council was “asking the City to immediately convene the Construction Safety Task Force that was part of legislation passed in the City Council last year and address this out of control epidemic,” according to the Daily News.
Unfortunately, though, the Gramercy Park incident would not be the day’s only construction death. In Rego Park, Queens, a 26-year-old man plunged six stories to his death just a few hours after the first man died. He, his father, and another man were doing work on a bathroom and other parts of a co-op unit when he fell through the opening of the window he was renovating. Although the work was not permitted, the Department of Buildings declared it an official construction death and cited the unit owner for unsanctioned renovations and failing to protect workers, the Daily News reported.
Jan. 23, 2018 was not the first day in recent memory to log multiple construction deaths on a single day. Just four months earlier, on Sept. 21, 2017, two construction workers died on a single day. The September accidents, one in the Financial District and one in Midtown, also both involved falls. One worker fell 29 stories while working on a condo project. The other fell three stories out of a bucket lift. Fire officials indicated that the condo project worker was wearing a harness that wasn’t clipped in. Witnesses to the second accident described something similar, claiming that the worker was wearing a harness, but it wasn’t tied to the bucket.
Unfortunately, fall-related construction injuries and deaths, including those in which the workers didn’t have proper fall protection, are all too common.
More Blog Posts:
Construction Worker in Chelsea Dies After Being Hit by Falling Metal Scaffolding Bracket
Using Proof of OSHA Violations to Strengthen Your New York Construction Accident Case
Construction Workers Die on the Same Day in Separate Workplace Accidents in Manhattan
Photo Credit: Public Domain, via goodfreephotos.com
Contact Our Construction Accident Law Firm in Bronx, NY
The hardworking New York City construction accident attorneys at the law offices of Jacob Oresky have been providing compassionate and diligent representation to injured construction workers and their families throughout the New York metro area, including in Westchester County and on Long Island, for many years.
If you need legal assistance, contact the Bronx construction accident lawyers at Oresky & Associates, PLLC at your nearest location to schedule a free consultation. Contact us online or call our office. Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
We have two convenient locations in New York:
Oresky & Associates, PLLC – Bronx Office
149 E 149th St
Bronx, NY 10451
(718) 993-9999
Oresky & Associates, PLLC – Queens Office
104-09 Roosevelt Ave
Queens, NY 11368
(347) 507-3884
