Construction Workers Injured in Scaffold Collapse

A Hackensack construction accident led to the injury of seven workers when a scaffolding collapsed, sending the men plummeting 45 feet to the ground below.  Two of the workers were listed in critical condition after the accident, which took place at an apartment complex on Tracy Place.  There is no word yet on the cause of the accident, although an investigation is ongoing.

Construction Accident Liability

Negligence in a construction accident can usually be attributed to one or more parties.  The property owner may have been negligent in providing a safe environment for construction workers.  The employer may have forced the employee to perform his or her job without proper equipment or under dangerous circumstances.  The inspectors charged with inspecting the site may not have ensured it was safe.  The companies fabricating the equipment or supplies may have been negligent.  Other employees may not have used proper safety precautions.

Ultimately, a construction accident is usually the result of someone not doing what he or she should have done to keep the area safe.  When that happens, the person, company, government agency or other party may be liable for damages.

The Fatal Four and Other Construction Accidents 

The “Fatal Four” is the name given by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to the four most common types of fatal construction accidents:  falls, caught in/between, electrocutions and struck by an object.  Every year, hundreds of people die on construction sites due to these causes and thousands are injured.

In 2014, there were 4,251 deaths on the job in the United States, or more than 10 per day.  Of these, nearly 21 percent were construction workers, for a total of 874 fatalities on construction sites.  The Fatal Four represented the cause of nearly 60 percent of these fatalities.

What is ironic about the Fatal Four is that these types of accidents are some of the most easily prevented construction problems.  When workers, employers and property owners work together to ensure that work-sites are safe, falls, electrocutions and injuries from objects or machinery are much less likely to happen.

If you have been injured in a construction accident, call the personal injury attorneys at Fitzgerald Law Firm in New York.  We have years of experience in helping people like you recover compensation for their workplace-related injuries.  Call today for a free consultation and let us review your case before you accept any settlement.

print