David's Construction Accident Corner

David Perecman

A Monthly Column from The Perecman Firm’s Founding Partner

Hi, it’s David Perecman, owner of the Perecman Firm P.L.L.C. This is my monthly column, “David’s Corner.” In it, I will talk about the latest developments in the area of New York construction accidents. That includes news on major rulings and case law which may affect construction workers across NYC and the state, legislative updates and new laws, current industry trends, and other pertinent information relevant to workers, their legal rights, and the risks they face when on the job.

If you have questions about your own construction accident case, options, and how our firm can help, we’re available 24/7 to take your call, and offer free and personalized consultations. Contact us.

Podcasts

Introduction to Construction Accident Law

Scaffolding Accidents

Labor Law 240 (Scaffold Law)

Joseph A. Fedrich v. Granite Building 2, LLC, et al.

A fire marshal who inspecting the sprinklers can bring a suit under the laws protecting construction workers if he trips on debris at the site during ongoing construction.

Gorque Morocho v. Boulevard Gardens Owners Corp., et al.

Construction worker wins summary judgment where a worker falls from a scaffold without rails.

This was a simple case where a worker fell from a scaffold that had no rails nor any other safety device to prevent them from falling, and they won summary judgment. This case doesn’t discuss it, but workers should know that they don’t have to have a witness to win or even to win summary judgment. It helps but it is not required.

Jeffrey White v. 31-01 Steinway, LLC, et al.

In these kind of cases, it’s not always easy to explain why the worker can and should win, but they often do. The whole idea of Labor Law 240, the “scaffold law,” is that scaffolds and ladders are dangerous, period. Workers can and will fall. So here, even though the worker set the ladder up sideways and straddled both sides because he was on the sidewalk and he had to keep clear of pedestrians, he won summary judgment. He won because a worker’s partial fault doesn’t mean he loses. The owner and general contractor were required to provide a safer device and are required to make sure the ladder doesn’t fall. They also did not prove that the worker was instructed to use another safer device and refused to do so.

Simmons v. City of New York, et al.

But sometimes an object may only move a small distance downward, but because of its weight causes a lot of harm. One such case decided a few years ago was Kempisty v. 246 Spring Street, LLC, et al. Our firm won that case after an appeal to the Appellate Division. There, a four-ton steel block was being hoisted by a crane and, as soon as it was lifted, it moved sideways catching the heel of Mr. Kempisty, a union dock builder, in between that block and another block on the ground. My theory was that when a block moves like that upon being lifted, it’s because it is swinging to get to its lowest point, like a pendulum. I hired an expert who explained what I knew to the court, that it was from gravity. We won, and the case went on to trial on damages where the jury awarded close to $8 million and settled after for $7.25 million.

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