New York City and its surrounding areas are constantly evolving and being built up. Thus, many construction projects are seen throughout the area. While this means for new structures or repaired buildings, it also means construction workers placed in situations where they work at great heights, deal with heavy machinery or work in old structures. Thus, there are a wide range of risked faced by construction workers that could result in serious injuries or even death if a construction accident were to occur.
Safety violations
Based on recent reports, the shutdown of 69 construction sites throughout Queens occurred due to safety violations. It was further reported that the Department of Buildings shuttered 322 sites last month during a safety sweep. The goal of this sweep was to limit construction deaths across the nation.
Fatal construction site accidents
The push to increase the safety of construction sites comes after the past year experiencing seven fatalities in the industry. In one of those incidents, a 35-year-old construction worker fell from the sixth floor to the second floor in the elevator shaft while working at an existing building that was being expanded.
The incident was investigated; however, the details of that report were not available at the time of this reporting. Thus, it is not entirely clear what caused the accident. Nonetheless, the Department of Buildings is pushing to not only reduce these types of work accidents but also determine whether safety rules were ignored, resulting in the incident.
Workplace safety is important in any work environment; however, it is especially important at high-risk jobs, such as construction. While training and safety equipment can help avoid accidents from happening at construction sites, negligence or carelessness could lead to a serious or fatal construction accident. If a worker or a loved one is harmed or killed in a construction site accident, it is important to understand what options and rights one has. It is possible to file a workers’ compensation action, helping one address the injuries and losses suffered.