Construction spending is reaching record highs in New York. This is good news. However, with more construction going on within New York City and surrounding areas, there is likely to be an increase in the total number of construction workers who get hurt or who are killed while doing their jobs. If injuries occur on construction sites, including fatal injuries, victims or their families should consult with a New York workers’ compensation law firm to discover what options may be available to them.
A Rise in Construction Traditionally Causes More Accidents
According to Bloomberg, construction spending within New York City is expected to increase 26 percent over the course of the year. If expectations are met, spending will reach $43.1 billion. This would be the first time that spending on construction exceeds $40 billion in annual construction costs. This spending would also beat the prior record set in 2007, after adjusting for inflation. Private sector spending is responsible for much of the increase in construction spending.
In response to the high spending amounts and the substantial number of construction projects that will be occurring over the next year, the president of the Building Congress indicated: “The demand profile for development activity in New York City has probably never been greater in the last 50 years.”
All of this is great news for people looking for work in the construction field. Bloomberg indicates there are likely to be 147,100 construction jobs available over the course of the year. This would mark the first time in more than 20 years of keeping records that the number of construction workers in the city surpasses 140,000.
Unfortunately, the news is not all great. When there is a big increase in construction work being performed, this is traditionally accompanied by a rise in construction accident injuries and fatalities. In fact, accident rates have been steadily going up within New York during the building boom that has come along with economic recovery over the past several years.
There are many reasons why rates of injury and construction deaths rise along with an increase in spending and a greater demand for construction work. The obvious issue is, more people doing work simply means that accident rates rise since there are more people who could possibly get hurt.
There are also other possible factors contributing to rising accident rates as well. More demand for construction workers could mean less experienced people are hired, and could mean that in-demand professionals are pressured to work faster in order to meet demand. Speeding up the pace of work and bringing in less experienced construction professionals both can increase the chances something will go wrong that results in a worker getting hurt or killed.
If accidents do happen on construction sites, workers who are hurt or families of workers killed will need to know what their rights are. Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff can offer assistance in seeking benefits and compensation both for those who are hurt and for family members of workers who were killed while performing work tasks in the construction field.
