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What happens when construction equipment causes harm?

On Behalf of | Mar 5, 2021 | Construction Accidents

Many professionals rely on equipment to perform the duties of their jobs. New York construction sites may involve scores of workers performing tasks with a variety of equipment. Everything from power saws to jackhammers to nail guns may serve the vital purposes of getting things done on time. Unfortunately, equipment doesn’t always work properly. At times, equipment failures may even lead to horrible injuries due to someone’s negligence.

Equipment failure and the harm it may cause

Equipment failures could come in many forms, and the results might be catastrophic. Poorly maintained electrical equipment could lead to someone getting shocked or burned. A defective cutting tool may result in someone suffering a massive laceration.

The worker performing tasks with a defective tool might not be the only person injured. A co-worker or visitor standing nearby may end up hurt as well. Anyone hurt on the job site may then have a legal claim for compensation and damages.

The term “equipment” also includes items necessary for safety. Gloves with holes in them or goggles incapable of remaining properly affixed may present hazards. Just as tools require maintenance and upgrading, so does any necessary protective equipment. When management refuses to take steps to ensure safety, claims of negligence may result.

Additional points about equipment safety

Merely providing workers with functional equipment might not be enough to ensure a safe work environment. Did management provide the necessary training to operate machinery the right way? Was instruction provided on how to wear safety equipment correctly? Any omissions may face critical questions in a negligence suit.

Employers aren’t the only entities that might deal with claims of negligence. Equipment manufacturers could deal with product liability claims. Tools manufactured with defects might hurt someone, and manufacturers may be responsible for the resulting injuries.

In addition, what of the businesses entrusted with repairing and maintaining forklifts, machinery and other equipment? Shoddy jobs could inflict harm, and lawsuits may follow. Cutting corners with repair jobs might be among the most egregious of negligent actions.

Construction site accidents might lead to personal injury suits naming several defendants. Anyone injured at a construction site may want to call an attorney for help with their case.

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for a Carpenter who was injured when the scaffold he was working upon collapsed.

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for a 35 year old Cement and Concrete worker from Queens who sustained serious injuries to his back when he slipped on debris and refuse.

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$1.2 Million

for a Construction worker and young father in the Bronx who was fatally electrocuted while on a scaffold.

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for 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.

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for a woman injured as a passenger in an accident involving a bus and a car in the Bronx.

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$660,000

verdict for a 35 year old Cement and Concrete laborer who was injured when the scaffold he was walking upon collapsed.

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$650,000

for a cement and concrete worker who slipped and fell over construction debris.

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for 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.

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$500,000

for a Nursing Home resident injured due to lack of proper care.

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$325,000

for 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.

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$250,000

verdict 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.

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$325,000

for a young woman who sustained a fractured ankle as a result of a fall on soapy steps in her apartment building in the Bronx.

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$495,000

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$600,000

for a woman who sustained multiple injuries as a passenger in a motor vehicle accident.

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$425,000

was secured by our office for a Cement and Concrete worker injured when a work area collapsed beneath him.

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$400,000

for a woman struck from behind by a car as she walked to a supermarket in a shopping center parking lot in Yonkers.

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$200,000

for 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.

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$325,000

for a school principal in the Bronx who tripped and fell over a construction plate in the school parking lot.

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$300,000

for a young Cement and Concrete worker who was struck by falling debris dislodged from a building by a swinging crane.

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$250,000

for a Cement and Concrete worker injured as a result of a fall at a Manhattan construction site.

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$300,000

for a school teacher in the Bronx who sustained an injury to her shoulder when she tripped and fell due to negligently placed computer wiring.

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$275,000

to 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.

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$450,000

for a child injured when a table fell on him in a laundromat in Queens.

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$450,000

verdict for a Volunteer Firefighter in Westchester who sustained injuries in the course of fighting a fire.

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