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Tag Archives: scaffold accident

November 27, 2017 News
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Downtown Manhattan scaffold accident traps and injures five pedestrians

New York – High winds swept through the city, causing a construction scaffolding collapse. The fallen scaffold debris crashed down onto five pedestrians who were walking along the sidewalk below. Two of the construction accident victims were trapped and needed to be extricated by bystanders and emergency responders. All of the injury victims were treated and taken to local New York City hospitals for evaluation and treatment. Reported injuries ranged from a head injury to broken bones to a leg injury and possible spinal injury. Outraged community leaders have pointed out that scaffold accidents and injuries should be prevented by forcing building owners and construction companies to remove unnecessary and dangerous equipment. They note that many scaffoldings have been sitting around for many years despite no active work being done on the building above. They warn that leaving these structures, that by nature are supposed to be temporary, is a dangerous practice and leaves a hazardous condition for bystanders. Authorities with the building department explain that current laws and ordinances require owners to inspect their scaffolds every day but some activists doubt that this is actually done. They feel that owners and employers are guilty of negligence that leads to such work accidents. They demand that the city inspectors deal with this problem to prevent further injury or wrongful death, claiming that ignoring the problem is also negligent. See this article for more on this scaffolding pedestrian accident.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo Credit: stevemcarthur [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