According to those who were there for the accident, a retaining wall at the construction site collapsed. This wall was supposed to hold back soil around the perimeter of the building. The wall collapsed as the three men were working at the site, which was not supposed to happen. Once this occurred, fellow workers stood in shock and emergency personnel rushed to the victims’ aid and attempted to free them from the wall and the rubble. Once they were free, all of the men were rushed to area hospitals for treatment. A young 19-year-old victim was sadly pronounced dead at the hospital.
After looking furhter into this accident and its cause, critical details have emerged about an earlier complaint concerning the safety of a wall at this exact location which was made to a city municipal agency. Upon digging deeper, it was found that the Department of Environmental Protection received a complaint which alleged that a wall at this construction site was not stable. Was anything done about the wall after this first complaint was received? If not, this is an extreme downfall of the City of New York’s construction practices and law, and needs to be amended before any more tragic accidents occur at a construction city around the city.
Many items need to be addressed concerning the Department of Environmental Protection and the city’s construction rules and practices. They need to be held accountable for following through on issues/concerns/complaints to make sure that any issues are addressed after receiving any sort of complaint. In addition, the department and city need to make sure that there were in fact persons who were present that were responsible for safety at the construction site advised about any problematic conditions. Also, if concerns are raised, safety personnel need to amend these before letting workers continue doing their job so the unsafe problems do not lead to accidents or tragedy.
Throughout the summer, we have written about the influx this year of construction worker and construction site accidents and deaths that are mostly completely avoidable. Here we are with another innocent construction worker having lost his life and leaving two others seriously injured. If the city would change its protocol and make construction sites safer for all involved, some of these circumstances and situations would not occur.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of all of the workers involved. The public and the dedicated construction workers of our city continue to be exposed to the perils of construction work. We here at the Law Office of Richard M. Kenny are passionate about and extremely dedicated to improving construction worker safety laws and practices. While this remaines a topic that is infrequently discussed in political circles and often ignored by the media, we are striving to change that.
If you or a loved one have been involved in a construction site accident, please call the lawyers at the Law Office of Richard M. Kenny today for a free consultation to speak about your options and next steps. Our attorneys specialize in New York area construction accidents and have been trying these cases for over 100 years, collectively. Our $250 million in settlements and verdicts proves our expertise and success rate in this area. Call our office today to speak to experienced and compassionate attorneys who are here to work for you and on your behalf to make sure you get the best results from your construction accident case.
