Recently, a construction crew was using a drilling rig at a construction site in Long Island City when the rig hit a high-pressure gas line. According to the New York Post, a “geyser of flame erupted” after the gas line was hit. Fortunately, the two-alarm fire was contained in the rig and the fire did not spread. The fire burned so hot that the windows on a factory nearby melted. Workers were able to flee the area when the drilling rig hit the gas line because they smelled the gas. Only one worker sustained a minor injury and none of the other 40 workers who were at the construction site at the time of the incident were hurt.
The workers were lucky, as burns and fires cause a significant number of injuries each year at construction sites, as well as in other professional fields. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that thermal burns from heat caused 14,120 injuries in 2014, necessitating an average of five days away from work when the injuries occurred. Burns can be very painful and cause disfigurement, but they can also be fatal.
If you sustain a burn at a construction site, you need to determine how the burn occurred. In any situation where the burn was work-related, you should be entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits. New York injury attorneys can assist you with claims to workers’ comp insurers. If the burns happened because of a malfunctioning product or due to negligence of any non-employer, it may also be possible to secure broader compensation for burn injuries through a personal injury case. Employers may not be sued in most circumstances as workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy for most workplace injuries, including those resulting from burns.
Burn Injuries on Construction Sites
In the recent case of the two-alarm fire at the construction drilling site, the West Chemical Company indicated that the gas line was not marked. Appropriate marking of underground gas and utility lines should be undertaken before any drilling takes place.
This recent incident is not the first and was not the last to involve a problem with a gas line at a construction site. Such incidents occur all throughout the country. In January of 2016, CBS reported on a fire at a Ft. Worth construction site when a gas line was struck. The fire caused one worker to suffer first-degree burns to the hands. KQED also reported that San Francisco had to fire a contractor this past January because the company breached gas distribution lines five separate times. In 2014, a crack in a gas pipe also led to a massive explosion of two five-story buildings in East Harlem, which the New York Times reported caused eight deaths.
When a gas line is punctured, methane gas is released, which can be dangerous to breathe. A fire can also erupt quickly, creating the potential for serious injuries and extensive property damage. Extreme care needs to be taken to prevent these and other undesirable outcomes from occurring when working around gas lines. When a failure to ensure safety occurs, contact Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff for help. Our attorneys can help victims hurt by gas line fires or explosions understand their options for pursuing claims for benefits or damages.
