New York, NY- The upward trend in workplace fatalities in New York’s construction sector continued to grow in 2008, with an increase to 31 construction-related fatalities up from 24 in 2007. On Wednesday, October 28, 2009 the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a total of 90 workplace fatalities in 2008, with one third contributed by construction-related deaths.
The construction industry in New York City continues to rank among the most dangerous jobs in the city. Falls at worksites accounted for 25 deaths in 2008, which is an increase from 21 in the prior year. In 2008, nine workers were fatally injured by being caught inside or crushed by collapsing materials, six others were killed by fire, and four more died from contact with electrical current. There were no reported fatalities of these types recorded in 2007. The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), a non-profit workers rights organization, claimed the number of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) http://www.osha.gov/ inspectors assigned to the state of New York is hardly enough to ensure the protection of construction workers, stating the government agency had fewer OSHA inspectors in New York in 2007 than in 2001.
The national trend proved to be quite the opposite; on the whole the national total dropped from 5,567 fatalities in 2007 to 5,071 fatalities in 2008. Fatal falls to a lower level decreased by more than 20 percent from 746 to 576 from 2007-2008. This was the lowest preliminary annual total recorded since the census of workplace deaths were begun in 1992.
The legal team of the highly respected law firm of Jonathan C. Reiter contends that state and federal laws that require owners and general contractors to provide and maintain a safe working environment for all construction workers, and to ensure all safety regulations and protocols must be properly implemented. The leading New York workplace accident lawyer maintains that the families of wrongfully injured or killed construction workers may be legally entitled to pursue compensation for employees pain, suffering, medical costs, rehabilitation, psychological distress, lost wages, financial hardship, and any other expenses that may occur from injury, deaths, or accidents. Mr. Reiter and his professional legal team use their experience and knowledge of personal injury law to successfully fight for their client’s injury compensation, and attempt to resolve each case in a timely and efficient manner.
With more than 30 years experience as a New York construction accident attorney, Mr. Reiter is familiar with the injured victim’s needs and those of their families.
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Media Contact: Jonathan C. Reiter
New York Construction Accident Attorney
350 5th Avenue · Suite 2811
New York, NY 10118
Phone: (212) 736-0979
