EIGHT INJURED IN EAST NY CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT

Eight construction workers were seriously injured in an East New York construction accident after the third floor of an apartment building collapsed beneath them, sending the workers plummeting two stories to the ground.

FDNY responders were able to rescue all eight workers, some of whom were trapped under the debris in the 93-year-old apartment building.  The workers were taken to Kings County Hospital and Brookdale Hospital; all are expected to survive.

Records from the Department of Buildings show that the three-story East New York apartment building has a history of violations, including more than a dozen citations for unsafe construction.

Construction sites like these constitute a workplace safety issue for construction workers, and there has been an increase in the number of New York City construction accidents over the past few years.  While construction workers should be covered by Workers’ Compensation, in some instances the compensation is inadequate to cover the loss of wages and future job opportunities, medical care and other injury-related expenses.

In addition, if an accident is caused by someone other than the employer (such as a subcontractor), a lawsuit can be brought against the subcontractor even if workers’ compensation covers the accident.