Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Posted in Construction Accident

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scaffold.jpg New York Labor Law Section 240 or Scaffold Law was enacted more than 100 years ago to protect construction workers from elevated work related accidents. It holds general contractors, owners and others liable if unsafe conditions at the job site lead to a worker’s injury or death (to learn more about NY Labor Law 240 see recent presentation by NY Construction Accident Attorney Anthony Gair)

The construction industry has been trying to repeal and amend this law since it was created and the last attack came with a report entitled “The Costs of Labor Law 240 on New York’s economy and Public Infrastructure” and published by the The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public policy research arm of the State University of New York. The report uses questionable statistic methodologies to blame The Scaffold Law for creating more accidents and more injuries.

The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) discovered that the report was actually commissioned by the New York Civil Justice Institute, a front group that was specifically created for this purpose by the Lawsuits Reform Alliance of New York who paid $82,800 for it. The Lawsuits Reform Alliance of New York is well known for lobbying against laws protecting plaintiffs in favor of the construction industry and other corporate interests. The CPD and the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) just published a paper entitled “Fatally Flawed: Why the Rockefeller Institute’s Scaffold Law Report Doesn’t add up

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After a worker fell to his death at a NYC midtown construction site, the city issued a full stop work order at the site.

The Department of Buildings issued 41 violations including 6 for work without a permit. Other violations included failure to safeguard persons or property; failure to report an accident; no record of daily inspection of suspended scaffold; work doesn’t conform to approved plans; failure to provide approved plans; failure to provide guardrails; and failure to provide protection.

When the accident happened, the worker, 34 year old Lukasz Stolarski of Brooklyn, was doing facade restoration work. He wasn’t wearing a harness and fell from a ledge he was standing on between the roof and the penthouse. He landed on the top of the sidewalk shed at the 424 West 33rd Street construction site resulting in his death.

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Our partner, New York Construction Accident Attorney Anthony Gair was recently invited by the New York State Bar Association to speak about New York Labor Law Section 240 also commonly known as the scaffolding law. Here is his presentation.
To learn more about Construction Accident Law in New York visit our website

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Our partner, New York Construction Accident Attorney Chris Sallay was the chair of the Litigating Construction Site Accidents NYC 2014 seminar presented by the New York State Bar Association last Friday . In this video Chris Sallay provides tips and demonstrates how to present an opening statement in a New York Construction Accident case.
To learn more about New York Construction Accident Law click here)

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=P46y1a_5Mu4

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Sallay%20and%20Hershenhorn.pngNew York Construction Accident Attorneys Chris Sallay and Howard Hershenhorn from Gair Gair Conason Steigman Mackauf Bloom and Rubinowitz will be the Co Chairs of the Litigating Construction Site Accidents Seminar presented by the New York State Bar Association.

Our managing partner, Ben Rubinowitz will be the local chair for the Long Island Session and our Partner Anthony Gair will be a panel member for the NYC Session. Chris Sallay will also be a panel member at the Long Island Session.

New York Personal Injury Lawyers (plaintiffs and defense), liability insurance carriers in house counsel, workers ‘compensation lawyers, municipal lawyers as well as lawyers representing construction companies, general contractors and sub-contractors are invited to attend this program.

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How to prevent construction accidents in New York? The NYC Department of Buildings seminar “2014 Build Safe” is an event during which engineers, architects and construction experts will outline recent New York industry trends and discuss a vision for the future of construction operations in the City.

The program also includes several construction safety courses for professional credit.

Click here to register or learn more about it

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Sallay%20and%20Hershenhorn.pngIn a New York County Construction Accident case, a $1,150,000 settlement was obtained on behalf of a 67-year old Bulgarian painter who fell from a Baker’s Scaffold while painting the bathroom of a penthouse during a renovation project. The job foreman was supposed to lock the wheels of the scaffold before the plaintiff began painting. He failed to do so causing the plaintiff to fall to the floor and seriously injure his foot. The plaintiff sustained a fractured calcaneus which required an open reduction and internal fixation surgery. New York Construction Accident Lawyers Chris Sallay and Howard Hershenhorn successfully argued that the General Contractor was liable as a matter of law pursuant to the New York State Labor Law and the case settled shortly thereafter.

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To prevent construction accidents on the current and upcoming construction projects on Manhattan’s West Side related to the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project, the newly created “West Side Safety Team” will focus on cranes and derricks, excavations, scaffolds and construction hoists at New Building, major alterations and demolition projects.

HudsonYardsProject.pngHudson%20Yard%20Project%20Before.jpg

The Hudson Yard Redevelopment Project: after and before

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A man died in an elevator accident last July at the 49ers stadium construction site but OSHA recently concluded that Schindler Elevator Corp., the elevator Construction Company and project’s general contractor, Turner/Devcon, a joint venture between Turner Construction Co. of New York and Devcon Construction Inc. of Milpitas didn’t merit sanctions.

The victim, Donald White, who was 63 year old, had worked all his life in the elevator construction trade. He was hit with an elevator counterweight while on a ladder at the bottom of the shaft at the 49ers stadium construction site in Santa Clara.

Just before the accident happened, White communicated with another co-worker who was operating the elevator and asked him to go up in the elevator to retrieve a tool. As the elevator started to move, for some unexplained reason, White stayed where he was, standing or or sitting on an A-frame ladder in the pit. Nobody witnessed the accident.

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Dangerous%20Construction%20Site.jpg Among all construction accidents, falls are the leading cause of death. Contractors are required by law to protect their employees from falling by supplying and ensuring the use of legally required safeguards that can prevent personal injuries and save lives.

Flintlock Construction Services LLC, the Mamaroneck-based general contractor for the construction of a 23-story hotel in Midtown Manhattan at 325 W. 33rd St. (see picture) did not follow these rules and OSHA proposed a penalty of of $249,920 and cited for seven violations of OSHA‘s fall protection and scaffolding standards that involved workers exposed to scaffolding accidents and potential fatal falls of up to 26 feet. Flintlock failed to provide and ensure the use of fall protection for workers on the scaffold. The scaffold lacked a safe means of access, the work platforms were not fully planked and the scaffold was not tied off to restrain it from tipping. Flintock also failed to provide training on the hazards associated with erecting scaffolds and failed to have a competent person determine the feasibility of providing fall protection for workers erecting and dismantling the scaffolding. Additionally a scaffold walkway was found too narrow and an anchorage was found inadequate for the fall protection system.

3 other contractors were also cited. V&P Altitude Corp., a Brooklyn-based siding contractor was cited for lack of fall protection; no safe access to the scaffolding; not fully planking the scaffold platforms; failing to tie off the scaffolding; and not locking mobile scaffold wheels and casters. SMK Associates, a masonry contractor, was cited for electrical hazards and failing to provide eye and face protection and Maspeth Steel Fabricators Inc failed to provide training on the hazards of working on scaffolds.