Personal Injury Attorneys - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and the Bronx

Entitled Experience Is Not Enough, the new multi-lingual campaign is designed to emphasize that all workers must use proper fall protection, such as safety harnesses, guardrails and netting, regardless of how long they have worked in the construction trades and how much experience they possess. A worker falling is the most commonconstruction related accidentin New York City, representing 42% of all accidents reported to the Department in 2010. Since 2008, 16 construction workers have lost their lives due to the lack of basic fall protection. In February, two ironworkers, ages 49 and 51, were killed when they fell approximately 65 feet while installing a steel beam at a job site on West 83rd Street i

Quick Response (QR) codes provide smartphone users who have downloaded a free application with immediate access to data by scanning the displayed code with their device. Similar to how a barcode provides information through a scanner, scanning the QR code of any construction permit willallow the user to learn details about the ongoing project including the approved scope of work, identities of the property owner and job applicant, other approved projects associated with the permit, the complaints and violations related to the location and user will have the ability to click a link that will initiate a phone call to 311 to make a complaint. The New York City Department of Buildings announced that QR codes will be placed on all permits it issues. New York is the first major city in the nation to use QR codes on permits. All permits are expected to have QR codes by roughly 2013.

On January 11th, 2011, the New York City Buildings Department announced that there was a 28% decrease in construction-related accidents in New York City in 2010 when compared to the previous year. In 2010, there were 157 reported construction-related accidents compared to 218 in 2009. There were four fatal construction-related accidents in 2010, a 78% decrease when compared to 2008. The total number of reported construction-related injuries also dropped from 241 injuries in 2009 to 165 in 2010, a 31% decrease. All four of the fatal construction-related accidents in 2010 - two in Brooklyn and two in Manhattan - involved workers who fell due to a Tagged with: Construction Accidents Building Code Violation Construction Accident Personal Injury Lawyer Accident Attorney

The 39-foot, 1,300-pound rail fell only 12-16 inches onto plaintiffs right leg. It occurred when the plaintiff and his coworkers were using rail hooks to move the rail on top of another rail at the Steinway subway station in Queens. Upon the callman's signal, the plaintiff's coworkers began lifting the rail off the ground, but the plaintiff's hooks were not in place and he was not ready to begin lifting. This allegedly caused the team to lose control of the rail and resulted in the rail falling. Under this scenario, there is an issue of fact whether Labor Law 240(1) applies, holds the Second Department in Gutman v. City of New York, 2010 WL 4678914 (November 16, 2010).

The defendants contended that the 12-16 inch height differential was insufficient to implicate the Tagged with: Personal Injury Construction Accidents Construction Accident Labor Law Personal Injury Lawyer

Over the past seven years, 109 children have been injured in elevator and escalator incidents in the City, including one fatal accident in 2008. In an effort to prevent injuries, since 2004, inspectors from the New York City Buildings Departments Elevators Unit have taught thousands of students how to safely ride the Citys 60,000 elevators and 2,200 escalators and what to do in the event of an emergency. This week, inspectors will be providing critical safety tips to more than 2,300 first, second and third graders in 16 schools throughout the Citys five boroughs. For the first time since the Departments annual educational prog

The case involving a 47-story fall of a scaffold where one of two brothers on it died and the other lived (albeit with catastrophic injuries) is wending its way through the court. This past week the estate of the deceased window washer was granted summary judgment pursuant to Labor Law 240(1) (the scaffold law) in Cumbicos v. Tractel Inc., 103247/08, NYLJ 1202473921555, at *1 (Sup., NY, Decided October 25, 2010). The decision highlights the utter carelessness of the company hired to maintain the scaffold for attempting to repair the ends of brand new cables that were delivered in defective condition rather than replacing the defective cables with new ones in good

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (B.L.S.) of the U.S. Department of Labor released its preliminary results of its 2009 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries last month. A preliminary total of 4,340 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2009, down from a final count of 5,214 fatal work injuries in 2008. The 2009 total represents the smallest annual preliminary total since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program was first conducted in 1992. The B.L.S. suggested some economic explanations rather than better safety practices for the results. The B.L.S. noted that total hours worked fell by 6 percent in 2009 following a 1 percent decline in 2008. In addition, some industries that have historically accounted for a significant share of fatal work injuries, such a

We've returned from Japan and notice other differences concerning safetybesides the seat belt requirement in motor buses. For one thing, at every construction site there was one and sometimes two men in official looking outfits that somewhat resembled police uniforms, wearing helmets, standing on the street or on the sidewalk to direct vehicular and pedestrian traffic.They were there even if nothing going on inside the work-site appeared to be effecting the street or sidewalk. Although I've noticed workers on 0ccasion positioned at an entrance to a construction site, they only seem present when something directly affecting the adjacent sidewalk or roadway is going on, and they wear the regular a

Earlier this year the New York City Department of Buildings had a No-Penalty Retaining Wall Inspection Program, in which homeownerscould call 311 to request an inspection of their retaining wall without the penalty of violations. Retaining walls are important because they are designed to hold back soil that would move to a more natural slope or incline if the wall was not in place. Were that to occur, damage could be sustained not only to the building's foundation, but to the foundation of an adjacent property. Additionally, there is a potential for injury or even death where construction work is being done below street level of the adjacent property and a retaining wall collapses.Similarly, when major excavation causes damage to adjacent structures, Administrative Code of the City of New York 27-1031(b)(1) (now Administrative Code 28-3309.4) imposes liability on an owner and contractor for s

Every homeowner is required by law to maintain their decks and their properties in a safe condition at all times. To prevent accidents from occurring, on June 21, 2010 the New York City Buildings Department launched the No-Penalty Deck and Porch Inspection Program, an initiative to help property owners throughout the City ensure their decks and porches are structurally sound and in compliance with City regulations. Under the program, there is no risk or violation for the initial visit by the Department. In the event that repairs are needed, or unsafe conditions that do not present an imminent danger are found, inspectors will defer issuing violations to allow property owners sufficient time to take corrective action. The program ends on August 1, 2010. The No-Penalty Deck and Porch Inspection Program is timed to coincide with the summer months when these structures will be used more frequently. Aging and seasonal changes in weather are significant factors that can make t