New York Construction Accident Law Blog : New York Construction Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Turley, Redmond & Rosasco Law Firm : Injuries & Scaffold Accidents : Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Nassau, Suffolk, Bronx, Staten Island

(Courtesy of Your Nabe.com)

The Queens Borough Commissioner for the NYC Department of Buildings recently took a break from his office in Kew Gardens, New York. Mr. Ira Gluckman put on a hard hat and rode a hoist to the 14th floor of a building under construction in Flushing, Queens.

When Mr. Gluckman reached the 14th floor of the building, he climbed out of the hoist to talk to the construction workers about workplace safety   According to an article in Your Nabe.com, Mr. Gluckman told the workers: “Safety is the number one thing, We want everyone to be able to go home every night to their families and to collect a paycheck and to be able to return to work in the morning.”   Mr. Gluckman's visit to the construction site was part of Site Safety Week, an effort by the Department of Buildings to raise awareness about Queens construction worker accidents across the city.

Mr. Gluckman is right - construction site safety is number one.  But while chatting with construction workers at a building under construction might make for a " good photo op" , it isn’t doing much towards making New York’s construction sites safer.

That’s because the real problem is not whether construction workers are wearing their hardhats or not - it's unscrupulous general contractors who risk the lives of the city’s workers for the sake of profit, and who see paying fines issued by the Department of Buildings simply as part of the cost of doing business.

The facts speak for themselves.  After a crane accident in March, 2008, in which seven people were killed, the Bloomberg administration responded by issuing new protocols, increased inspections, and a new commissioner of the Department of Buildings.  And yet, only a few months later in May 2008, another crane collapsed in New York's Upper East Side, and killed two more people. And sadly, that dangerous trend is continuing.

Our new Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is taking the right approach. He’s not just talking tough, he recently threw the book at the crane company owner  from the May 2008 crane crash and charged him with manslaughter.

It’s a nice gesture for the Queens Borough Building's Commissioner to chat with construction workers about construction accident prevention.  But until the Department of Buildings starts taking accident prevention seriously, more New York construction workers are going to continue to suffer needless injuries and deaths.

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(courtesy of DNA Info/Patrick Hedlund) The Grand Street apartment buildings that were gutted by fire.

The Department of Buildings recently approved the demolition of two buildings in Chinatown, that were were gutted following a recent seven alarm fire on Grand Street. This is a cause for concern since New York City’s regulatory agencies have a poor track record when it comes to ensuring that its demolition sites are safe.

Just look at what happened after the tragic 2007 fire at the former Deutsche Bank tower in which two firemen were killed.  Following that fire, the Deutsche Bank building was gutted and had to be demolished. Although New York law requires that a contractor obtain a permit from the Department of Buildings before it begins a demolition project, when the Occupational Safety and Health Adminstration (OSHA) inspected the Deutche Bank demolition site, it turned up several major safety violations at the demolition site.

In fact, according to an article in the Downtown Express, the problems on the Deutsche Bank demolition site were just the tip of the iceberg.  According to the article, a few years ago, OSHA did 45 site inspections of demolition work in the city. At 38 of those sites, inspectors issued a total of 175 violations. That’s almost 4 violations per inspected demolition site, almost 25 percent higher than OSHA’s average of just over 3 violations per general construction site!

What's worse, I called OSHA and discovered there were even more problems at New York City demolition sites in 2009!  Last year, OSHA did 54 site inspections of demolition work in the city and there were problems at 45 of the sites, for a total of 225 violations, averaging 4.2 violations per inspected construction site. This is simply unacceptable!

Following the major safety problems connected to the Deutsche Bank tower fire, Mayor Bloomberg assigned a working group to investigate how the FDNY and the DOB - agencies which regulate demolitions in New York - were handling demolition, construction and abatement safety. The reason for creating the working group was because a “more comprehensive approach was needed.”

The working group made 10  recommendations, specifically regarding demolition safety, such as that the DOB require additional site safety for buildings that are 25 stories or more, and that the DOB require that site safety managers conduct daily checks of standpipe connections and valves.

I called the DOB and asked them how many of the working group’s 10 recommendations regarding demolition safety have been implemented by the DOB. They said they would look into it, but no comment was received prior to this post.

The point is NY construction accident lawyers  like me can only help so far as obtaining damage awards for construction accidents injured people wish would have never happened in the first place.  The focus of the DOB has to be on accident prevention, and not simply handing out fines which many companies see, sadly, as just one of the the costs of doing business.

I commend Mayor Bloomberg’s office for creating a working group to make recommendations regarding safety at demolition sites in New York.  But making good recommendations can only go so far- the Department of Buildings has to implement them to make construction sites safer.  Based on how OSHA keeps finding serious problems at New York emolition sites, they don't appear to be doing that.

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The winter of 2010 is turning out to be particularly hazardous to New York City construction workers who regularly work outside or in unheated enclosures. This year's unusually low temperatures, when combined with large snow falls, lingering ice, and frequent downpours of rain, have created a "perfect storm" causing untold numbers of carpenters, iron workers etc. to have accidents on construction sites that would not normally have occurred during a milder winter. 

Just yesterday, Turley , Redmond, Rosasco & Rosasco was retained by a worker who stepped off a hi-lo onto ice that should have been cleared, sanded, or salted by the owner of the property where he was working. Our client fell directly on his rear end and suffered a severely fractured  coccyx bone (more commonly known as the tail bone and almost impossible to repair surgically). His orthopedic doctor at a university hospital said he had only seen such a severe break of the coccyx bone in professional athletes.  He was told he would be out of work for at least six months to see if it will heal on it's own. Otherwise, he will have to consider surgery and Social Security Disability.

The sad part of this story is that this injury was entirely preventable. Our client, along with numerous other employees, had complained to the property owner about the dangerous ice conditions for weeks after the large snow storm earlier this winter. The property owner had piles of salt and sand stacked on the work site, but failed to use it.  It was as if the sand and salt were there just for show!

For his immediate money and medical needs, the worker will have to live on New York workers' comp benefits for the foreseeable future. Luckily, since the property owner was not his employer, we will be able to sue for additional economic damages and pain and suffering.  However, in order to get the client the maximum potential recovery at trial, it is likely that  the client will be waiting for at least a few years. All of this could have been prevented had the property owner simply spread a little sand and salt on the ground! Silly!

In this frigid weather, according to OSHA, there are many things construction workers can do to protect themselves in cold weather. Please remember to dress properly (layers, hats, gloves, Vaseline on your toes before putting on socks), take frequent breaks, and avoid drinks with caffeine or alcohol.  Despite what others might say, a warm cup of "Joe" or a small nip of brandy will only make you colder.  Better to drink a warm sports-type drink.

Finally, there is no better protection than being alert at all times on a construction site. This means getting a good night's rest before working outside the next day in the cold.  Experienced New York construction accident lawyers  know that extremely cold weather and outside work is often times a recipe for unfortunate accidents. Be careful out there! 

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