When it comes to future events, it's always a good idea to look at what transpired in the past. For Black Friday shoppers here in New York City, that means being aware of the incidents and injuries that befell bargain hunters in years past.
From shopper-on-shopper violence to people falling and being trampled underfoot, the stories are legion. People all over the country have been seriously injured and killed trying to nab the deeply discounted merchandise lining store shelves on Black Friday.
At a time when the construction industry is enjoying an upswing in projects in The Big Apple, related injuries and fatalities are also on the rise.
One of the ongoing concerns is injury from scaffolding accidents on New York City construction sites.
We're approaching a particularly deadly time of year when there are more than the usual number of DUI arrests and alcohol-related accidents. Not coincidentally, it's also a time of increased travel by families and individuals who will be heading home for the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays.
The night before Thanksgiving has been dubbed "Black Wednesday" because it is thought to be the busiest nights for bars of the entire year. Black Wednesday eclipses even New Year's Eve and St. Patrick's Day with alcohol sales volumes.
New York City winters can be brutal. The last thing you want is for the super to inform you that the building's furnace is on the fritz. And while that is decidedly unwelcome news, you also need to be concerned about carbon monoxide (CO) leaks.
Your apartment ideally will be fitted with carbon monoxide detectors to alert your family to the presence of the deadly gas. But many units don't have these detectors installed. The detectors that are present may not work properly or need the batteries changed. In other words, you and your family could still be at risk of severe injuries or death from carbon monoxide fumes that leak into your apartment.
When you're working on a construction project here in New York City, one particular hazard of which you must be aware is falling objects. The focus should remain on preventing tools and other objects from falling instead of retrieving them mid-air or on limiting the consequences of their fall.
In 2015, fall protection violations were the No. 1 violation listed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Their figures included falling tools, materials and humans. Annually, OSHA records over 50,000 "struck by falling object" incidents all over the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) breaks that down to an injury every 10 minutes somewhere from a dropped object.
New York City is certainly no stranger to construction site injuries. However, a recent building boom has led to an increase in injuries across the city in the first seven months of 2018.
Now more than ever, construction workers in New York City must be especially aware of such dangers while on the job. A worksite injury can cause lifelong health complications and disability, as well as an inability to return to work and the resulting loss in wages.
Maybe it was just bad timing. Yesterday, Mayor de Blasio announced his administration's plan for upgrading the water and heating systems in the New York City public housing units. Simultaneously, over 4,000 tenants had no access to either heat or water in their apartments.
The dual outage affected tenants at Far Rockaway's Hammel Houses and Washington Heights' Ralph Rangel Houses. Over in Brooklyn's Fort Green, there was no hot water for tenants living in the Walt Whitman Houses.
When you think of all the hazards a construction worker in New York City can face, few people consider the dangers that forklifts can pose. Yet, every year, forklift rollovers cause numerous injuries and even deaths to construction workers.
These fatalities and injuries can be prevented in many cases. Making sure that all operators receive proper training and get certified are the first steps. Also, no worker younger than 18 should ever be allowed to drive a forklift.
Do you cheer for the Jets or the Giants? No matter which team you love to cheer on to victory, there are some things you should realize that could potentially compromise your safety if you attend a professional sporting event.
Research conducted in 2011 discovered an alarming fact about the sobriety of professional sports fans leaving the games venues. Almost 8 percent of fans exiting the stadium after Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Football League (NFL) games were legally drunk. Another 40 percent had a positive blood alcohol content (BAC) that was within legal limits.
We've all seen them weaving in and out of traffic on Midtown Manhattan streets, pedaling like mad while bearing their burdens from Point A to Point B. Love them or hate them, bike messengers are everywhere, it seems.
Bicycle messengers are part of the Big Apple's manual labor workforce. As such, they don't need any special skills beyond endurance and a willingness to go forth in some fairly harsh weather conditions. For messengers, speed is essential. However, so is having a good working knowledge of the city's routes.
for a 35 year old Carpenter injured when his arm became partially impaled on an improperly exposed metal support (rebar) at a construction site.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a woman who sustained multiple serious injuries after being struck by a hit and run driver in Manhattan.
Verdicts & SettlementsVerdict for a 29 year old construction worker injured during the building of the World Trade Center Memorial.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a Carpenter who was injured when the scaffold he was working upon collapsed.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a 35 year old Cement and Concrete worker from Queens who sustained serious injuries to his back when he slipped on debris and refuse.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a Construction worker and young father in the Bronx who was fatally electrocuted while on a scaffold.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor two sisters in high school who sustained serious injuries when struck by a vehicle that mounted the sidewalk in Brooklyn as they waited for the bus to take them to school.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a woman injured as a passenger in an accident involving a bus and a car in the Bronx.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor an Ironworker on Long Island who sustained serious injuries when he fell from a ladder which slid out from under him due to icy footing.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a surgeon who sustained a broken knee in a motor vehicle accident (January, 2017).
Verdicts & Settlementsverdict for a 35 year old Cement and Concrete laborer who was injured when the scaffold he was walking upon collapsed.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a Cement and Concrete worker who injured his back as a result of slipping upon a discarded pipe and falling down a flight of steps.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a Nursing Home resident injured due to lack of proper care.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a woman who sustained multiple serious injuries to her shoulder as a result of a trip and fall upon a defective sidewalk at a construction project in Manhattan.
Verdicts & Settlementsverdict in the exact amount demanded by our office for our client, but refused by the responsible defendants, was awarded by the jury to our client who sustained a fractured elbow as a result of a fall upon a badly broken sidewalk.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a young woman who sustained a fractured ankle as a result of a fall on soapy steps in her apartment building in the Bronx.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a young mother who was struck by a car while crossing the street near her home in Queens sustaining serious injuries to her leg requiring the surgical placement of a metal plate and screws.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a woman who sustained multiple injuries as a passenger in a motor vehicle accident.
Verdicts & Settlementswas secured by our office for a Cement and Concrete worker injured when a work area collapsed beneath him.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a woman struck from behind by a car as she walked to a supermarket in a shopping center parking lot in Yonkers.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a young man, 15 years of age, who sustained a partial tear of the rotator cuff of his right shoulder, which has now healed without any limitation upon his activities.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a school principal in the Bronx who tripped and fell over a construction plate in the school parking lot.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a young Cement and Concrete worker who was struck by falling debris dislodged from a building by a swinging crane.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a Cement and Concrete worker injured as a result of a fall at a Manhattan construction site.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a school teacher in the Bronx who sustained an injury to her shoulder when she tripped and fell due to negligently placed computer wiring.
Verdicts & Settlementsto a Construction laborer doing bridge work whose arm was fractured when falling construction material caused him to fall into the East River and onto debris.
Verdicts & Settlementsfor a child injured when a table fell on him in a laundromat in Queens.
Verdicts & Settlementsverdict for a Volunteer Firefighter in Westchester who sustained injuries in the course of fighting a fire.
Verdicts & Settlements
Howard R. Sanders, Esq.
60 East 42nd Street
47th Floor
New York,
NY
10165
Toll Free:
800-731-9976
Phone:
212-983-5151
Fax:
212-983-1006
New York Law Office Map
Bold labels are required.