Employers are expected to maintain a safe worksite for their employees. This is especially important on a construction site where there are a huge number of potential risks that workers face as they try to perform their jobs. While injured workers can get help from New York City construction accident lawyers regardless of whether their employers are negligent or not, negligence still has consequences for construction companies.
One construction company, for example, has now been barred from performing work in New York City. According to Sun News, the company has had so many violations that its registration has been suspended and it can no longer perform construction work within the city.
Construction Company Was Issued 14 Safety Violations Over a Period of Two Years
According to the Sun News, the contractor which has been barred from working in the city of New York was issued a total of 14 public safety violations over just the past two years alone. Previously, the construction company had not had any injuries among employees, but its violations were still considered serious. Then, in June of this past year, workers at the company did get hurt.
A tragic incident occurred when the construction company piled heavy construction material on the third floor which was being added onto a two-story home. The construction company had not gotten an assessment from an engineer first before piling up the construction material, and it turned out the floor could not hold the material. The city requires an engineer to conduct an assessment specifically to avoid incidents like this one. Unfortunately, without the confirmation from an engineer that the floor was structurally stable, the material was too heavy and a collapse occurred.
Heavy construction materials fell onto the workers who were in the building, two of whom became trapped including one worker who took hours to free because he was stuck under several thousand pounds of material. Serious injuries were sustained by the workers.
After the workers sustained these injuries, the Department of Buildings reviewed the safety record for the construction company. In light of the many past violations, along with the serious injuries, the Department of Buildings determined that the company posed “an unacceptable risk to workers and the public.” As a result, the company’s registration was suspended and the registration of the construction superintendent was also suspended as well. Inspectors found that the superintendent was overseeing more than 10 buildings at the time of the incident, while city law limits him to overseeing a maximum of 10 jobs at the same time.
While this dangerous company and contractor should no longer put workers at risk, construction sites unfortunately continue to be worksites where many safety issues exist. New York City construction accident lawyers can provide help to injured workers and their families when something goes wrong on a construction site. It is important to get legal help as soon as possible after an injury, so contact an attorney at Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff for help if you or someone you love is hurt on a construction site.
