Construction worker killed in elevator shaft fall

Two days before Christmas, a construction worker was killed on the job on the Upper East Side when he fell down an elevator shaft. Though he survived the fall, he suffered serious head injuries and passed away at the hospital.

The man was working on a residential building that will be 19 stories tall when it is completed. While he fell around three floors, that’s still far enough for a fatal accident, even with safety gear. He had a hard hat on at the time.

He also had a harness on. However it appears he unhooked it from the cable before falling. He was trying to climb from the second floor to the third, using a ladder, when he slipped and fell.

Another man who is a union construction worker was quick to blame the company, Noble Construction Group, saying that they don’t give their workers the proper training that they need to work safely. He said they focus on saving money on manpower, but the trade-off is that they then put the workers in danger.

While no investigation has yet been completed to determine if that man’s opinion is true or not, it is worth noting that Noble Construction Group was fined $3,500 earlier this year. An Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection found a number of violations at a job in Flushing where it appears that the standards for fall protection were not met.

When a worker dies on the job, especially around the holidays, it can be very traumatic for the family he or she leaves behind. Since that family could be facing high medical bills, lost wages, and many other costs, it’s important for them to know about their legal options to seek compensation.

Source: New York Post, “Construction worker dies after plunging down elevator shaft,” Tina Moore, Amanda Woods and Elizabeth Rosner, Dec. 23, 2016