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

Your first reaction may be, “You mean right now they’re not?!”  After three accidents, two of them fatal, in six months, the City Council is considering licensing elevator mechanics for the first time. The council is also considering a bill to require safety devices in some residential buildings to prevent elevators from skyrocketing to the ceiling.  New York is among just 14 states that do not require that elevator technicians be licensed.  Three-dozen other states already license elevator mechanics.  According to the International Union of Elevator Constructors, 25 percent fewer elevator accidents occur in states where licensing and mandatory inspections are required.  There are about 60,000 elevators in the city, and about four elevator fatalities a year.  In 2011 in the city there were 43 elevator accidents, compared with 105 in 2007.

The 2011 Annual Report, released last month, touts New York City as the nation’s safest big city in 2011.  2011 marked a near-historic low number of fire fatalities, a 10th consecutive year of fewer than 600 murders, a record-breaking low number of traffic deaths — and an 18% decrease in construction-related accidents, which follows an almost 28% reduction in 2010 from 2009.  Construction-related injury rates also continue to improve. There were approximately 8% fewer injuries in 2011 over 2010, following a nearly 32% decline in 2010 from 2009. Construction-related fatalities remained low, with five caused by falls or shoddy construction.  The Buildings Department issued 23% fewer Stop Work orders.

In Dahar v. Holland Ladder & Manufacturing Company, the plaintiff was injured when he fell from a ladder in a factory while cleaning a product manufactured by his employer.  The product was a steel wall module that was at least seven feet high. After the module was fabricated, it had to be cleaned before it was shipped. Plaintiff was cleaning the unit while standing on a ladder when it broke and he fell to the ground. Plaintiff claimed that the ladder failed to provide “proper protection”; and liability should be imposed under Labor Law 240(1). The Court of Appeals rejected the plaintiff’s contention that the product was a structure within the meaning of the statute and held that his activity was not protected by Labor Law 240(1). The decision is important for plaintiff’s personal injury lawyers because it contains helpful language that should be cited in every motion, brief or legal writing involving a Labor Law 240(1) claim.

There was an 18 percent decrease in construction-related accidents in New York City for 2011, despite a 7.7 percent increase in the issuance of construction permits citywide. Construction-related injuries also decreased across the City last year – falling from 165 reported accidents in 2010 to 152 in 2011, a reduction of 7.8 percent. In total, there were five construction-related fatalities in 2011, a slight increase from four fatalities in 2010, but a 73 percent decrease when compared to 2008.  While the most common construction accident remains workers falling, the number of workers who were injured in a fall declined from 66 in 2010 to 52 in 2011, a 21 percent decrease.

In reviewing the many ways that New York City is planning for Hurricane Irene, including mandatory evacuations and a total shutdown of the subways and trains, it was noticed that there is a concern for the 26 tower cranes presently located in the city. 13 of the cranesare at the World Trade Center construction site. They are only built to withstand winds of 65 mph or less. They do not disassemble quickly and may not be able to be taken down in time for the storm. In light of the forecast for winds in excess of 65 mphthe cranes seem more like sitting ducks. Not that anyone needs to be told, people should stay far away from all Tagged with: Events Construction Accidents Crane Personal Injury Lawyer Accident Attorney

There are 21 federal statutes that the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforce to protect employees who report violations of workplace safety, airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation agency, railroad, maritime, and securities laws. The whistleblower provision laws inhibit an employers ability to retaliate against any employees that bring up concerns with the workplace or give protected information to the employer or the government. Based upon the findings of an audit of OSHAs whistleblower program performed by the Government Accountability Office in 2009 and 2010, as well as an OSHA internal review, significant changes were made to the Whistleblowe

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