A Brooklyn man fell four stories to his death when one of the scaffolds he was working on at the Ansonia gave way on Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at about 5:30 p.m. The former Brooklyn based clock factory building, located at 438 12th Street in Park Slope, was converted into luxury apartments. The workers were laboring on an exterior brick renovation project when the scaffolding collapsed beneath them. Henryk Siebor, a 42 year-old Polish immigrant from 100 Diamond Street in Brooklyn, fell to his death when the scaffold collapsed and his harness failed him. Two other workers were left dangling by their harness belts on the side of the six-story prewar building until firefighters with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) rescued the construction workers with a ladder truck.
As reported by the New York Times, firefighters courageously pulled the men in through the windows of the apartment building.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) http://www.cdc.gov/nisoh/ a division under the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) http://www.cdc.gov contends the construction field is one of the most dangerous industries for workers in America. Third to mining and agriculture, 15.2 construction workers per 100,000 die every year in work related accidents. With over nine million people employed in construction, the industry only accounts for 6% of workers in the United States yet accounts for 20% off all work related deaths. Throughout the U.S., falls are the number one cause of construction accident fatalities with 540 workers dying every year. Falls from scaffolds, a temporary platform allowing workers to labor above ground level, are the second cause of deaths from falls.
New Yorkers throughout the state witnessed several terrible construction site tragedies in the month of August involving construction worker falls. In addition to the death on Tuesday of Mr. Siebor in Brooklyn, federal regulators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) http://www.osha.gov continue to investigate an incident where a worker fell over 80 feet at Empire Generating Company’s 635 mega-watt power plant construction site, located at 75 Riverside Avenue in Rensselaer in upstate New York. Liam M. Haley, a 47 year-old, Scotia man was transported to Albany Medical Center on Thursday, August 20, 2209, for treatment of his critical injuries. Haley fell, struck I-beams, a crane, and plunged nearly 90 feet to the ground while working at the Empire Generating combined cycle, natural gas fired power plant in Rensselaer, which is under project management and operation by FirstLight Power Resources, Inc.
If you or loved one have been injured in a construction accident involving defective scaffolding equipment, improper maintenance, or any type of wrongdoing by an owner, operator, contractor, foreman, or worker, you may be entitled to compensation. A New York personal injury lawyer experienced in construction accident cases may help you and your family recover from the damages as a result of injury or death.
New York personal injury education by New York construction accident attorney, Jonathan C. Reiter, experienced in construction accident injury claims. http://www.jcreiterlaw.com/ Phone: 1-212-736-0979.
