New York construction workers face a substantial risk of being injured on-the-job. When an accident occurs and a worker is hurt or killed, the injured employee or his family should consult with New York City construction accident lawyers for help.  An attorney can provide assistance in pursuing a claim to receive benefits and compensation that are necessary to cover medical bills, loss of wages, and other sources of financial loss after an incident on a construction site.

Unfortunately, incidents and injuries on construction sites are far too common, and workplace fatalities occur much more often than they should in New York. While no injuries or fatalities should ever happen, death rates and accident rates are higher in New York State because employers fail to follow required safety  precautions. In fact, a recent report from Claims Journal highlights some of the serious risks faced by construction workers in the New York area.

New York Construction Workers at Risk of Serious Injury

According to Claims Journal, the New York Committee on Occupational Safety and Health released a report entitled Deadly Skyline: An Annual Report on Construction Fatalities in New York State.  According to the report:

• There was a 60 percent higher rate of construction fatalities in New York State as a whole, compared with in New York City.
• During the past five years, the rate of construction worker fatalities within the state of New York increased by 29.5 percent.
• In total, 94.7 percent of the fatalities that occurred on private construction sites within the city of New York were not members of a union. In the state as a whole, 93.8 percent of the construction workers who were killed on construction sites were not in unions.
• The average OSHA fine that is imposed when a worker is involved in a fatal construction accident and the site is inspected and violations are found is just $20,217. This is a seven percent decrease compared with the prior year in the average OSHA fine that is imposed when OSHA conducts an investigation following a fatality on a construction site.
• Fall injuries were the cause of 48 percent of the construction fatalities that occurred within the state of New York. Falls are the leading cause of fatal injuries statewide, as well as in New York City. In the past decade, there have been more than 100 workers in the city of New York alone who died because of fall injuries.

The report revealed that OSHA is underfunded and doing far too few inspections, as well as revealing that fines are too low when problems are found. This leaves employers free to violate workplace safety laws with virtual impunity, which could help to explain why there are so many injuries and fatalities on construction sites within the state of New York.

If you are hurt on a construction site, it is important to reach out to New York City construction accident lawyers for help pursuing a claim for compensation.