GARDEN CITY, NY – A worker suffered serious injuries on Tuesday morning after falling off the roof at the Covanta Plant.
(Courtesy Nassau County Police Department)
The incident occurred at 10:45 a.m. on June 23. A 53-year-old construction worker was repairing the roof at the Covanta waste-to-energy plant at 600 Merchants Concourse. The worker fell through an open hatch and plummeted 20 feet to a lower level of the roof.
The Nassau County Police and the Westbury Fire Department arrived on the scene shortly after the accident, to rescue the worker. Firefighters used a ladder and a rescue basket to reach the man and lift him from the roof hatch.
The worker sustained a serious head injury during the fall, and he was transported to a local hospital for treatment. A police medic was also injured during the rescue and was transported to the hospital with a minor injury.
The police are still investigating the accident at this time.
New York Roof Construction Injuries
Construction work comes with greater hazards than most other professions. This is especially true for roofers, who must work on an elevated platform. Nearly one-third of all fall-related fatalities on a construction site occurs during roof construction.
When an individual falls from elevation, they could sustain severe trauma to the head, back, internal organs, arms, and legs. They could also sustain secondary injuries from any debris or construction materials that they may fall onto or that fall on top of them.
Mot construction companies implement strict safety requirements to prevent roofing accidents whenever possible. However, if even one person on the construction team neglects to perform their duty, they may cause a life-threatening roofing accident.
Some of the most common causes of roof construction accidents include:
- Inadequate wall or ceiling support
- Failure to secure a construction platform
- Overloading construction platforms
- Excessive moisture that makes the roof slippery or unstable
- Design flaws in the roof
- Defective equipment or heavy machinery
- Damaged or old building materials
These problems are preventable when every member of the construction team performs their work carefully and safely. However, with so many different people and organizations working on a construction project, the risk of a serious mistake greatly increases.
Unfortunately, roofing accidents are incredibly common in the construction industry, and many of these accidents are fatal. According to the National Census of Fatal Occupational injuries, 96 roofing contractors were killed on the job in 2018. This makes the fatality rate for roofers 10 times higher than the national average.
Contact Our Construction Accident Law Firm in Bronx, NY
If you or a loved one were injured in a construction accident, you have the right to take action and seek the compensation that you deserve. In addition to filing a workers’ compensation claim, you may be entitled to seek compensation for pain and suffering, lost union benefits, future damages, and other losses from the project site owner, the general contractor, or other responsible third parties. The best way to find out what you are entitled to is to consult with an experienced construction accident law firm like Oresky & Associates, PLLC.
If you need legal assistance, contact the Bronx construction accident lawyers at Oresky & Associates, PLLC at your nearest location to schedule a free consultation. Our attorneys have decades of experience protecting construction accident victims, and we are prepared to fight for the maximum compensation available for you.
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
