Those with close ties to construction and trades industries understand that construction workers deal with significant risks at work. Some of those risks are compounded for workers in busy urban areas like Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and other areas of New York City. Where so many building projects happen in a congested, busy environment, there’s less room for mistakes.
That being the case, personal injury lawyers who deal with construction accidents know that many of these accidents are, to some extent, preventable. Most of the accidents that injure construction workers in New York City and elsewhere throughout the state are not ‘Black Swan’ events — they don’t happen because of some extremely unusual activity like an earthquake, unusually high winds or some type of unanticipated intrusion into the workspace.
Instead, they often happen in mundane and simple ways. For example, a heavy item might fall from a truck or someone slips and falls on a scaffold. Someone might get injured moving heavy building materials. None of these are extraordinary types of accidents. All of them, however, are on the radar of risk management professionals. And many of them can be avoided by the stricter application of safety guidelines, protocols and equipment.
What Should Be Done?
An appropriate response to a construction trip and fall injury may be to secure areas of the building and ensure the existence of even walkways. The response to a heavy materials injury might be to reinforce standards for materials management and add safety equipment that helps take some of the burden off of frontline workers.
Construction workers themselves will be familiar with the long list of situations that can lead to injury if not properly set up and supported by good workplace management. Most managers and supervisors are familiar with them, too, to some extent. The difference sometimes lies in how people view risk from their various perspectives.
Some would say that many of those in positions of authority and responsibility don’t “have enough skin in the game.” They may not frequently be present on the work site. They may be distracted by other goals and objectives, or they may fail to see the need for safety options because of some personal opinion or a lack of empathy and understanding for others. Regardless of the cause, the effect is clear — businesses put themselves and their employees in peril when they fail to promote safety on a job site.
Personal injury lawyers often have to come in and help an injury victim seek fair compensation. In some cases, this compels companies to clean up their acts and implement best practices. Either way, a construction company should not wait until something bad happens to do something good.
Call New York City Construction Accident Lawyers Today
Hurt on the job in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten, or anywhere in the New York City area? Injured workers can call the Law Offices of Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff for experienced lawyers who are dedicated to helping individuals obtain just compensation for medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. We stand with injured workers and their families to address aspects of New York Labor Law 240 and other federal, state and local laws to help victims pay for the costs of care and recovery.