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Tag Archives: injured worker

March 31, 2017 News
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Ambulance crash kills and injures after man tries to steal the vehicle

New York – City officials from the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) report that one emergency medical technician (EMT) was killed and another injured on the job when someone tried to steal their ambulance. The horrific work accident started when a driver of a car alerted the driver of the ambulance to someone who was riding on the rear bumper of the vehicle. The crew stopped the ambulance and tried to chase the joy-rider off of the truck bumper. However, the man then jumped into the driver’s seat and tried to steal the ambulance. While the crew ran after him to try to regain control over the ambulance, the EMTs were pedestrians struck and hit by the ambulance. The female EMT was run over by the ambulance and suffered fatal injuries. She was treated for a traumatic cardiac arrest and rushed to the hospital, where she was declared dead by emergency room doctors. Her partner also suffered injuries during the pedestrian collision and is expected to survive. Bystanders and responding police arrested the man who had tried stealing the ambulance. He has been criminally charged for the theft, murder and causing injuries to the EMTs. However, an injury attorney in Manhattan explains that the man can also face civil lawsuits from the injured worker EMT as well as a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of the EMT who was killed. See this article for more details about this ambulance worker accident.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Credit: Edwin Martinez [License]

June 15, 2016 News
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Elevator accident leaves injured worker with arm amputation

New York – An elevator repairman was working on a recently installed elevator when a terrible accident occurred, injuring the worker. According to witnesses, the technician was in the middle of repairing the broken down elevator when something came loose. The man began screaming for help and a bystander called 911. Police, fire rescue and emergency medical services units raced to the scene and rescued the injury victim, treating him for an amputated arm and a leg injury. The wounded man was taken in to surgery in an attempt to reattach the severed limb. Trauma specialists explain that many times an amputation can be reattached but the victim can still be left with severe pain and suffering as well as a permanent disability.

An investigation into this case is underway, with building code and work safety officials looking into the cause of the accident. They will need to look at the training and safety equipment provided as well as the protocols being followed to determine if any negligence took place. In addition, they will need to see if any equipment failure or negligent maintenance of both the elevator and tools could have led to this horrific work injury. See this article for more details.

Illustrative Photo Credit: Aaron [License]

November 04, 2015 Case Success Stories
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$500,000 for Injured Worker After Ceiling Collapsed On Her

Ms. Padilla was at work when the ceiling suddenly fell down onto her. She sustained injuries during the accident to her shoulder and spine. The injured victim underwent a complicated operation on her shoulder to repair the damages but never fully recovered. Her doctors sent her for physical therapy for the neck and back injuries as well as her shoulder injury. After being referred to the winning New York law office of Morrison & Wagner LLP, she explained the case to her accident attorney. Her experienced lawyer contacted all of the treating physicians and gathered the necessary details in order to file a premises liability lawsuit.

The team at Morrison & Wagner guided Ms. Padilla throughout the injury lawsuit and they succeeded in getting a settlement of $500,000 for the injury victim. Read about more premises liability cases and their successful outcomes here.

Photo by M. T. Harmon [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

May 07, 2015 News
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Long Island gas station fire causes multiple injuries

New York – A closed gas station in Nassau County, NY was the scene of a dangerous fire that injured at least four people this week. Fire department officials explained that three workers were injured while doing construction renovation on the gas station’s fuel tanks and one fire fighter suffered from dehydration while working at the scene. They note that the gas tanks caught on fire when fumes from residual gas sparked into flames. According to reports, the gas station was closed and the fuel tanks were being removed by an environmental and construction company. It is unclear as to why the station was closed and who was responsible to make sure that the gas tanks were empty and safe. Safety inspections will be necessary to determine if the owner of the property, as well as the employers of the injured workers, had followed proper protocols to ensure the health and safety of the public and their employees. The town mayor of Freeport explained that the workmen were taken to the hospital for multiple burn injuries and the fireman was treated in the emergency room as well. Further details about their injuries and recovery are unavailable at this time. However, trauma specialists note that the nature of this work accident can leave the injury victims with permanent disabilities, preventing them from returning to work or even their normal lives. These can include inhalation burns, physical disfigurement and emotional injuries. Worker’s comp insurance should cover the cost of treatment of their injuries but some victims find it necessary to seek legal advice regarding their rights. See this article for further details about these fire victims and injuries.

Illustrative Photo Credit: Loco Steve [License]

April 15, 2015 News
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Multiple workers injured by construction accident in Manhattan

New York – Four demolition workmen suffered varying degrees of injuries during a work accident at the construction site where they were employed. Accounts from witnesses at the scene explain that the laborers were working on internal demolition in the building that had been undergoing extensive renovations. Heavy debris, possibly a section of a metal railing, came crashing down onto the workers, causing crush injuries. However, reports show that the men may have also suffered fall injuries after the construction debris knocked them down. Some reports noted that there was a partial building collapse that caused the accident. A large rescue force quickly arrived at the accident scene and extricated the four wounded victims, taking them to the emergency room for urgent treatment.

Investigations into the cause of the work accident are ongoing, with New York City building safety officials and OSHA investigators looking into the facts that led to the incident. Suspicions of unsafe work conditions have arisen due the history of the buildings department having shut down the very same worksite several times. Records show that the construction site had been deemed dangerous in those previous incidents but that no work injury had been reported prior to this. A statement from the owner of the building explained that there was, in fact, no building collapse and that a licensed construction site safety manager working there at the time of the accident. Find out more about this demolition accident and injured workers here.

Illustrative photo Credit: Luigi Rosa [License]

November 13, 2014 News
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Scaffold accident leaves 2 workers dangling from World Trade Center

New York – Rescue workers were sent racing to the scene of a work accident at the World Trade Center yesterday. Two window washers were suddenly left hanging hundreds of feet above the ground, along the outside of the office building, when the scaffold rig collapsed around them. The men reported feeling terrified as they struggled to stop themselves from falling onto the sidewalk below. They were taken to the hospital for evaluation in the emergency room after being rescued by firefighters. It appears that they did not suffer any physical injury but this will require additional time and follow up with doctors to determine conclusively. Trauma doctors do note that psychological injuries can also take time until they show themselves due to the nature of the incident. This latest work accident has industry experts concerned since this is not the first time that the same scaffold company was involved in a scaffold collapse. The previous incident occurred in 2007 when a worker was injured and another worker was killed. The injured worker suffered serious wounds and required extensive treatment. In that job accident, the same company had repaired and maintained the scaffold that broke away and sent the workers falling 47 stories from another Manhattan, NY building. Inspections of that rigging suggested that the dangerous equipment failure was due to a mistake in the crimping of the lines. Workplace safety specialists note that this error should have been picked up on by the employer prior to placing the workers into harm’s way. Activists fear that the same negligence may have been responsible for this week’s workplace accident. They note that work injuries are largely preventable if companies take their responsibility seriously and they maintain their equipment according to regulations. On the other hand, negligent maintenance can easily lead to catastrophic injury or wrongful death, as can be seen in these accidents. Read more about the investigation into the recent window washer accident and scaffold crash here.

Illustrative photo by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). [CC-BY-SA-4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

September 03, 2014 News
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Construction accident injures worker in New York City subway tunnel

New York – Fire department rescue teams were sent racing to the scene of a construction accident in Manhattan according to reports. Witnesses say that an injured worker had to be extricated from an Upper East Side subway tunnel that was being built for the Second Avenue subway line. Officials explain that the worker suffered a leg injury when a heavy piece of equipment fell on him after breaking loose. He was unable to move on his own due to the seriousness of the accident injuries and a crane was used to lower firefighters down to help. Rescue teams began treating his wounds while he was lifted out of the construction site and transported to an emergency trauma room of a nearby hospital. The cause of the construction injury is still unclear and investigators were looking into why the object fell on the worker. Work safety activists say that it is important for employers to provide proper training and safety gear to their employees. It is also necessary to secure machines and equipment properly in order to avoid work accidents. Investigators will need to determine if all applicable laws and regulations regarding safe work site practices were being observed at the time of the accident. To find out more about this subway accident and work injury, check out this article.

Illustrative photo by Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York (“Weekend Work 2012-08-13 01″Uploaded by tm) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

May 26, 2014 News
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Serious injury blamed on defective office chair

An office desk chair has been recalled after more than two dozen victims have fallen and been injured, including at least one serious injury. Office Depot, an office furniture and supply store, sold the desk chairs for approximately nine years and have received numerous complaints from injured workers. It is unclear as to how long the manufacturer and retail company have known about the dangers of the faulty product. It has now come to light that the welding on the bottom of the chair can break and cause a fall injury. Reports show that some of the injured victims suffered a head injury, neck and back injuries, broken hip, fractured bones as well as contusions and abrasions from falling off of the broken chair. Consumer protection specialists therefore triggered the product recall, hoping to prevent further accidents and injuries. An accident lawyer in New York explains that injuries arising from a product liability case such as this can lead to several different types of personal injury lawsuits. These may include a negligence lawsuit if the factory that produced the product, or store that sold it, knew that their product was breaking or poorly made. A workman’s compensation lawsuit may need to be filed if the injury occurred at work. In some circumstances the injured victim may need to file for long-term or even permanent disability. Find out more details on the current broken chair recall here.

April 18, 2014 News
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Construction scaffolding accident kills man in Manhattan

New York – A construction worker slipped and fell at a work site in the Midtown section of Manhattan. The victim died upon impact during the slip and fall accident after plummeting down approximately 13 stories. Work injury specialists have been in an uproar about the fatality due to multiple safety violations at the site. Investigations continue but witnesses have reported that the workman was not wearing a required safety harness while working on the scaffolding. Some also believe that the machinery and equipment were not properly secured and there were improper railings to protect the employees. Hardhat safety advocates warn that employers must make sure that all laws are followed, and not just during times of inspection by OSHA or the building department of the city. Construction accidents have high potential for more serious injuries and deaths according to experts and they note that negligence plays a big role in it. Many injured workers find it necessary to contact a worker’s comp lawyer in order to determine their rights and benefits. Employers and their workman’s compensation insurance companies are often responsible to pay not only for the medical bills but also for short- and long-term disability of the victim. However, a lawsuit case sometimes needs to be filed on behalf of an injured or sick worker due to disagreements regarding responsibility and employer neglect or carelessness. For more about the fall victim from the scaffold accident in New York City, check out this article.

Illustrative photo by Uploader. (Self-photographed) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons