Construction workers provide an important service. They dig the tunnels, they pave the roads, they build the buildings. Without construction workers, New York would not be the great city that it is. But while construction workers provide a critical service to the city, they do not have the safest job. Far from it. Accidents at construction sites claim too many lives every year.
Take an example. A family sat down to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. It was the last meal the whole family would enjoy together. The following morning, the construction worker father died when a roof collapsed on top of him.
Unfortunately, the man’s story is not unique. According to a study by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, at least 15 construction workers died on the job last year. And this year may be worse. Nine construction workers have already died, including a worker who recently died when he fell down an elevator shaft, plummeting to the cellar of a luxury hotel building.
What else has that study revealed? That New York is not nearly as safe as it should be for construction workers. The city is rife with construction-site fatalities. Those need to stop. Worker safety has to become a bigger priority. For example, while there are hundreds of work sites across the city, there are only about 70 inspectors to monitor that those sites are taking appropriate safety precautions.
Systemic changes are important, but they do not address what has already happened to those individuals hurt or killed in a construction-site injury. These workers, or their loved ones, may benefit from understanding their legal options and seeking compensation to help address their losses.
Source: dnainfo.com, “Construction Worker Deaths Show Need for Safer Work Sites, Advocates Say,” Sybile Penhirin, May 12, 2015