Federal investigators are conducting intensive reviews of safety regulations in the aftermath of an incredibly scary construction accident. On Friday afternoon, March 4, 2011, two construction workers in Yonkers, a New York City suburb, dangled high above the street.
Luckily, the two workers were attached to safety ropes when the scaffold they were standing upon gave way, crashing to the street below. The men were literally at rope's end for an hour until a firefighter rappelled from the 27-story building roof to rescue the men - one at a time.
While the accident is still under investigation, it is not clear what caused the scaffold to crumble beneath the construction workers. Common scaffold accident causes include:
- Employee error
- Insufficient training for proper use of scaffolding
- Defective scaffolding equipment
- Failure to follow or train on the safety requirements for scaffold use
Scaffold safety issues are of major concern to monitoring agencies, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Regardless the type, employers must provide properly constructed scaffolding that has been inspected. Employers are also required to provide employee training on proper safety for scaffold use.
Workers must understand the safety precautions when working on a scaffold, such as never overloading the platform with tools or materials or never standing on material like stacked boards or bricks while working on a scaffold. Construction debris placed on a scaffold populated by working professionals can cause a serious safety hazard.
OSHA sets guidelines for employers using suspended scaffolding like that in place at the construction site for the 27-story senior center in Yonkers. Fortunately, a "personal fall arrest system" saved the two men from crashing to their death. The experience was likely extremely unnerving, if not outright traumatic, for the two construction site workers.
Anyone experiencing a construction site injury or workplace accident like this should consult with a qualified attorney to protect personal interests, especially if the injured party follows all required safety precautions. Often safety-conscious construction workers suffer injury due to a third party's negligence. A qualified attorney can help guide injured parties toward receiving compensation for third-party negligence.
