The New York Post reported that a Brooklyn hotdog vendor recently suffered head injuries from falling scaffold material. The incident occurred on Monday, Feb. 18, at approximately 3:20 p.m. as the vendor stood beside his hotdog cart at the intersection of Elm Place and Fulton Street.
The man was in the location next to his cart when the temporary wooden structure collapsed onto him and the hotdog cart. The plywood wall was erected as a temporary barrier between the site under construction and pedestrian traffic on the street.
Once the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) arrived at the accident scene, they dismantled the fencing and stacked the wood up against the building.
Another vendor selling his wares nearby stated that he ran over to assist the man after hearing a loud “boom.'” He added that when he checked on the man, “[h]e was shaking . . . [and] said ‘I feel something on my head.'”
Emergency workers with the FDNY transported the injured man to New York Methodist Hospital.
According to a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Buildings, inspectors issued one safety violation for failure to safeguard the site under construction. They also issued a partial stop-work order regarding exterior work to be completed on the building.
Workers who get injured on the job can usually seek compensation for their injuries and other losses. As a vendor, the injured man might be considered an independent contractor who doesn’t qualify for workers’ comp benefits. Regardless, he may be able to name the building owner and the construction company as defendants in a premises liability lawsuit in order to make himself financially whole again after his accident.
