A 51-year-old Spring Valley resident was working on a three-story home’s roof on Sunday afternoon when he suddenly fell 30 feet to the ground below. Tragically, the man did not survive the fall.
The incident occurred at the 400 block of Park Hill Avenue in Yonkers, New York, where the deceased was completing a job as a roofing contractor for FH Renovation LLC. Investigators are uncertain of what caused the fall at this time but will continue to search for answers.
Fatal Construction Falls and How to Prevent Them
Fatal falls are all too common in the construction world, an already dangerous professional sphere that experienced its highest annual death rate in 2021 in five years. In 2021, a construction worker lost their life every 101 minutes from a work-related injury. That same year, construction industry work-related fatalities caused by falls, trips, and slips increased by nearly 8 percent, resulting in 370 fatalities among construction workers.
Falls are considered to be the most dangerous category of accidents known as the “Fatal Four,” a term coined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to describe falls, electrocutions, caught-in/between accidents, and struck-by-object accidents. These four incidents account for the most fatalities in construction accidents, with falls comprising about 35% of these deaths.
Those in the roofing profession face a higher risk of falling on the job due to the fact that working at an elevation is a key element of their occupation. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health concluded that falls from roofs account for one-third of all construction fall fatalities. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 60 roofers were killed by work-related injury for every 100,000 roofers in the United States in 2021.
Even when construction workers survive falls on the job, they are often left with devastating injuries such as musculoskeletal injury, soft tissue damage, full or partial paralysis, and traumatic brain injury. Injuries such as these can change a construction worker’s life forever, as they often result in the injured no longer being able to work in their field while battling physical pain and financial stress.
It is imperative that workers take every precaution available to prevent potentially fatal falls. Workers can do this by guarding openings, properly constructing scaffolding, installing guardrails where necessary, guarding protruding ends of rebar, and securing ladders properly. Even more importantly, employers must provide adequately maintained equipment and safe work environments for their employees. If your employer fails to provide you with these elements, they may be held liable for damages you incur if injured on the job.
New York Construction Fall Accident Attorneys
If you or a loved one has been injured after falling on the job site, you may be entitled to financial compensation. The experienced and knowledgeable attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy are ready to assist you in achieving maximum compensation for your injuries.
Our lawyers have achieved significant compensation for clients injured after falling on the job, resulting in several multi-million-dollar recoveries, including:
- $11,000,00 settlement for a masonry foreman who fell three stories and suffered serious pelvic and spinal injuries, disabling him from all further construction work
- $5,750,000 settlement for a laborer who fell two stories during a demolition project, causing him injury to his shoulder, knee, and spine
- $5,030,572 verdict for a construction worker who fell from tipping scaffolding and suffered damage to his knee and spine
- $4,995,000 settlement for a construction worker that fell twenty feet and experienced a spinal disc herniation and multiple bone fractures due to a lack of proper safety devices
- $4,250,000 settlement for union excavator who suffered shoulder and spine injury after falling twenty feet into a trench
- $4,000,000 settlement for a laborer who fell off a roof and sustained a burst fracture to his spine while working in the rain without safety equipment
- $3,750,000 settlement for a construction worker who suffered a dislocated shoulder, elbow fracture, and herniated disc after falling thirty to forty feet due to an unsecured ladder
To receive a free consultation, contact a Block O’Toole & Murphy lawyer today at 212-736-5300 or fill out our Contact Form. We serve New York and New Jersey.