New York Construction Accident & Safety News

Drinking while on the job may be responsible for recent construction accidents. CBS Chicago highlights:

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Construction accidents have claimed the lives of 20 in New York City this year alone. As federal safety watchdogs kick off a two-week crackdown on high-risk building sites, CBS station WCBS-TV in New York found it wasn’t hard to find workers having a liquid lunch, then heading back to work where they may be putting everyone around them in harm’s way.

At one Upper West Side watering hole, it seems like it’s happy hour, with patrons clinking glasses and guzzling booze - except it’s noon, and the construction workers having some drinks still have to go back to work building a high-rise condo complex nearby.

Construction while under the influence is playing russian roulette with your future and the safety of New York City residents.

Tuesday Robert LiMandri announced new regulations for contruction cranes in an effort to lower the number of citywide construction deaths in New York City. The New York Times reports:

Another unfortunate construction accident to report in New York City. WNBC reports:

NEW YORK — A steel worker fell from a fifth floor platform to a third floor setback on Saturday as he was trying to bolt steel, according to the New York City Buildings Department.

The accident occurred at the construction site of a steel residential building at 452 East 23rd St.

Apparently, the safety harness was not properly sealed. We hope he’s better now.

Its not surprising that legal action is following in the wake of injuries resulting from the recent crane collapse in NYC. The Associated Press points out:

NEW YORK (AP) — The owner of a building that was badly damaged in a deadly crane collapse has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the crane owner, contractor and others working on a new 32-story apartment tower across the street.

The company, First & 91 LLC, says in court papers filed in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court that it lost tenants and rent revenue, faces additional costs including repairs, and will suffer because the Upper East Side building has been “stigmatized.”

The lawsuit names crane owner New York Crane & Equipment, crane lessee Sorbara Construction, general contractor Leon D. Dematteis Construction and the owner of the building under construction, 1765 First Associates LLC.

Hopefully justice will be done public safety is affirmed by the precedent.

The trend in construction crane accidents is not just a regional problem isolated to New York cities. Contrarily, a recent crane accident in Colorado proves one in a number of nationwide crane accidents. The Times highlights:

Crane safety has become an issue of concern in the construction industry this year after a high-profile crane collapse in New York City killed seven people. That accident was followed by another collapse in New York City, as well as collapses in Miami, Dallas, and Kansas City, Mo.

It is a time of sorrow and empathy for crane accident victims nationwide, I’m sure New Yorkers and other American can identify with the high profile cities like Miami, Dallas, and Kansas City that should be the canary’s in the cave pointing toward a safer and accountable system of crane worker safety. Federal action on the issue, whether through a national counsel or merely implementing the guidelines the Federal government has already outlined. Once the Iowa flood disasters subside, urgent action is needed on the issue of crane safety. We cannot be silent.

The New York Times points out:

The city revoked the construction permit on Friday for the high-rise building on East 51st Street where a tower crane toppled and killed seven people in March.

Officials said that revised plans recently submitted by the developer did not resolve zoning violations that had led the city to question the project’s status even before the crane accident on March 15. The accident was the first of two fatal crane collapses this year that have raised questions about the safety of high-rise construction sites and the Buildings Department’s ability to oversee them amid a building boom.

The Buildings Department said the developer, James P. Kennelly, could either apply for a new construction permit or appeal its decision to the Board of Standards and Appeals.

Work has been stopped at the building site, at 303 East 51st Street, between Second and First Avenues, since the collapse, and the decision to revoke the permit suggests it could be a long time before construction resumes.

Seeing the city crack down and step up accountability seems to suggest that New York City and the Buildings Department may begin to actually take these construction safety and workers’ rights issues seriously.

The construction debacles of New York City construction companies continue to make headlines. The New York Times reports:

The owner of a Brooklyn construction site has been charged with manslaughter in the death of one of his workers, who was buried while digging a foundation when a wall from the house next door collapsed into the hole.

The owner, William Lattarulo, who had hired day laborers to build a coin laundromat in East New York, is accused of ignoring clear safety hazards and forcing his employees to endanger themselves so he could keep his construction moving forward. The indictment marks an unusual step for prosecutors, but it comes amid a spate of construction accidents that have killed or injured dozens of people and cast the city’s contractors and buildings inspectors in an unforgiving light.

The accident occurred on the morning of March 12 when Louro Ortega, 30, an illegal immigrant earning $100 a day, was digging the foundation at 791 Glenmore Avenue in East New York. According to the authorities, Mr. Lattarulo, who owns several adjacent houses, including the one that fell, was warned by a consultant and a more experienced contractor at the site that the new foundation was lower than the foundation beside it and needed underpins to keep it stable.

Instead of heeding those warnings, the authorities said, Mr. Lattarulo ordered Mr. Ortega to keep digging. Moments later, part of a wall from a residential building next door collapsed and sent rubble spilling onto Mr. Ortega, killing him and injuring another worker on the site.

New York is cracking down in an effort to re-gain credibility and increase worker safety. All Headline News reports:

New York, NY (AHN) - Two bills aimed at improving construction safety in New York City were approved by the city council Thursday.

The first measure mandates the Buildings Department report the disciplinary action it takes against professional architects and engineers. The report may result in the builders losing their licenses.

The second bill made it compulsory for the department to place monthly updates of deaths and injuries that were construction-related on its Website.

The two bills must still be signed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The second bill takes effect 90 days after signing, while the first bill would be effective after Bloomberg signs it.

The first part of the bill seems effective, the second far less so. Putting the injuries on a website certainly adds to transparency, but its not like this info isn’t already available via the New York Times or the New York Daily News. This is all part of a 12 point plan to improve construction safety in New York City.

New York City is facing possibly liability related to crane construction accidents. Reuters highlights:

New York City has received more than $497 million of claims for personal injury, property damage and wrongful death due to a construction crane collapse on Manhattan’s East Side on March 15, the city comptroller said on Friday.

The 90-day filing deadline ended on Friday, and out of the 46 claims that name the City of New York, “several” filings do not seek any specific dollar amount, said Jeff Simmons, a spokesman for the Democratic Comptroller William Thompson.

Seven people died when the giant construction crane fell and crushed a midtown apartment building on East 51st Street, and more than 10 were injured.

Hopefully, these suits will bring attention to the plight of injured workers in New York and beyond.

The trail of worker death and suffering due to crane accidents has gone on far too long. Expert Safety Consutlant Susan Podziba points out in the New York Times:

IT’S still not clear what caused the two recent crane accidents in New York City, which killed nine people. Across the country, dozens die each year in similar accidents: 72 workers in 2006 alone, the most recent year for which federal figures are available. Yet the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been sitting on crane-safety regulations that could prevent more deaths.

As I watched the news coverage of the second of the crane accidents last month, I felt sick to my stomach.

In 2003, OSHA hired me to bring together union and industry representatives to update federal crane and derrick regulations. The existing regulations on crane safety were created in 1971 and have not been significantly revised since then. Everyone agreed that the current regulations are archaic and fail to address the daily hazards faced by construction workers.

From July 2003 to July 2004, representatives of labor unions, crane manufacturers, crane operators, contractors, crane rental companies, builders, crane owners, billboard installers, insurance companies, electrical power line owners and safety experts met to discuss virtually all hazards associated with cranes — and how to prevent them. The deliberations were governed under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which meant that the public could attend the sessions and address the representatives.

The group reached consensus on a set of revised crane standards. OSHA officials participated in the negotiations and contributed their expertise in writing enforceable regulations. According to OSHA’s analysis, these standards would prevent 37 to 48 worker deaths per year.

That OSHA went to the trouble of having regulations sketched out in 2003 and 2004 and has been inactive on the issue for nearly five years is a tragedy in our public policy and a litmus test for how much cares for protecting worker safety in America. Its time for OSHA to get in gear and actually add regulatory teeth to the results of these deliberations so that our workers can have their safety protected.