New York Construction Worker Dies from Injuries Received in Scaffold Accident, Boss Blames Worker

Tuesday, 30 September 2008

David Perecman, New York construction accident attorney, discusses the latest scaffold accident that occurred in Harlem, New York and reasons to not just blame employee.

New York, NY - David Perecman, New York construction accident attorney, is standing up for the New York construction worker, Miguel Rodriguez, who died from the recent scaffold accident that occurred in Harlem, New York. This is just the most recent of construction injuries and accidents that have taken place in New York at construction sites.

In a New York Times article, Malik Hussain, the owner of the paint company that employed Miguel Rodriguez, claimed the construction worker was at fault for trying to lower the scaffold alone. What the article fails to look at is the real issue at hand: Why was Miguel Rodriguez left alone on that scaffold. If there had been proper supervision by the contractor that scaffold accident might have been avoided. Why did he need to move the scaffold by himself?

Also, we will never know Miguel's side of the story. As for the co-worker, even if he has the best of intentions, he has a job that he wants to keep and blaming the boss is not going to help him on that score.

What we see here is a classic scenario when a construction accident in New York occurs and the worker dies. It's hard to get the whole story about what happened and why.

"I handled a case like this years ago. The worker was lowering the scaffold by himself and fell to his death. We couldn't even get a witness working on the site to confirm he was on the scaffold before he fell. We distributed and posted flyers all over the area until two of the good citizens of the City of New York came forward and testified that they saw him fall off the scaffold. But still we only got the whole story because his brother worked on the site too and we found out from him, although he did not see the fall, that the employer failed to provide an important safety device. We won that one."

Lets hope Miguel Rodriquez's family is just as lucky.

"New York construction injuries have been on the rise lately, several contractors are cutting corners and are not putting their workers safety first. I've won several scaffolding accidents cases where the employer was found guilty for not providing proper supervision and equipment to the workers," said David Perecman. "This type of construction accident is unfortunate; however, it does happen more frequently than thought due to the improper oversight and poor quality of the equipment being used."

Recently, there have been several accidents on construction sites, from window washers to cranes collapsing. Scaffolding accidents are nothing new and has become another issue on construction sites especially in New York. Injuries received are probably not the construction worker's fault if he didn't receive proper supervision and equipment to do his job.

About David Perecman and The Perecman Firm, PLLC:
For the past 25 years, New York construction accident attorney David H. Perecman, The Perecman Firm, PLLC has championed all types of cases for personal and construction injuries in New York State. David Perecman is the current Secretary of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) and a chair of its Labor Law (Construction Accident Law) Committee. Mr. Perecman's achievements, often in the construction accident field, have brought him recognition as an Honoree in the National Law Journal's 2008 Hall of Fame, in New York Magazine's 2007 publication of "The Best Lawyers in America" and has earned him the votes by his peers as among the top 5% of lawyers in the New York region as published in The New York Times Magazine "New York Super Lawyers, Metro Edition".

He has recovered millions of dollars for his clients over the course of his career. Among his more recent victories, Mr. Perecman won a $15 million verdict* for an injured NYC construction worker who fractured his arm and injured his knee. Mr. Perecman has spent much of his career advocating for injured victims' rights and addressing safety issues in the workplace including his recent statements regarding New York City crane construction accidents. The New York personal injury attorneys at The Perecman Firm have a depth of expertise in and breadth of knowledge well recognized in NYC, while their record and reputation speaks for itself.

*later settled while on appeal for $7.940 million.

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