New York City Construction Crane Accidents Continue To Show How Law Favors Contractors And Developers In NYC

Friday, 30 May 2008

New York, NY (PRWEB) May 30, 2008 -- David H. Perecman, a veteran New York City construction accident lawyer and founder of New York construction accident attorneys law firm The Perecman Firm, expressed deepened sympathy for another innocent person who lost their life due to the recent crane construction accident in New York on the Upper East Side.

"It has happened again, and New York construction accidents will continue to happen until the laws are strengthened and the City of New York changes questionable construction practices," said Mr. Perecman. "Due to unsafe working conditions, deaths from construction accidents have been on the rise in New York City caused in part by laws that don't protect the workers and the residents." Only ten weeks ago, on March 15, 2008, this years first of New York City crane construction accidents occurred leaving numerous people dead or injured when a large construction crane broke apart and fell onto five different buildings at New York's 51st street. "The death toll, by my count, is as high as 14, as of now, in just the first 5 months of the year in New York City construction accidents and falls." David Perecman is the current Secretary of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) and a chair of its Construction Accident Law Committee. "Every year there are efforts by groups like "Unshackle Upstate" and parts of the New York Chamber of Commerce and other pro-business groups to weaken, repeal or modify the law so that it becomes less effective in protecting workers and saving lives. One of these laws, a statute, Labor Law 240(1), relatively unique to New York, is under constant attack by pro-business groups as being too harsh on owners and contractors. While some recent New York court decisions have made it more difficult to sue owners and contractors for some crane type accidents, when in fact a decision comes down from our highest court, the Court of Appeals, that provides increased protection to workers, as did in fact occur a few weeks ago, the business community is very quick to bombard the press with negative spin. ‘We must continue to protect our workers and safety laws for everyone's good," said Mr. Perecman.

Mr. Perecman explained, "In order to hold a general contractor responsible under New York's other law regarding accidents like the crane's collapse and other types of construction site accidents (Labor Law 241(6)) a worker must prove a violation of the New York's "Industrial Code" (NYCRR rule 23). Sadly, the Industrial Code has not been updated or revised in over 30 years despite tremendous change in construction technology and methods. Most, if not all, contractors have no idea what this "Industrial Code" is and instead, guide themselves by the rules written by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The problem is that a general contractor can not be held responsible for an OSHA violation under Labor Law 241(6). This is not a minor problem, or just a small technicality, it is a major problem and unfair to workers."

Mr. Perecman works with legislators in an effort to strengthen New York's construction and labor laws that real estate developers and insurance companies are attempting to weaken. He has testified before the Standing Committee on Housing of the New York State Assembly and the Standing Committee on Cities and the Standing Committee on Codes, and regarding the issue of New York construction accidents.. Mr. Perecman told the Assembly that New York construction safety laws are currently outdated and need to be strengthened in order to be effective tools to protect construction workers. The Crane Construction Accident today an a few months ago in New York City are examples of the tragedies that New York construction accident attorneys like Mr. Perecman are trying to prevent.