Tuesday afternoon began a wave of serious injury accidents that made the headlines. A 3rd-floor ceiling of a former Touro College building in Murray Hill in Manhattan that was undergoing renovation collapsed on top of three workers, causing them serious injuries. At about 20 pounds per square foot, a Fire Department Chief said that the workers were lucky that the structure at Lexington Avenue and 30th Street didn’t pancake from the collapse, taking down the whole structure and them with it.
One worker got trapped under the debris and required rescue. He was in serious condition, while one of the other workers had a serious head injury. The New York City Department of Buildings is investigating the collapse. (Source: NY1.com, 1/8/13)
Then on Wednesday morning, a Seastreak commuter ferry crashed into Pier 11 near Wall Street at the end of its journey from Highlands, New Jersey. 85 people received injuries in the crash, two of them critical injuries. The abrupt high-speed impact tossed people into the air, into bulkheads, and down the stairs of the ferry. The ferry had crashed into docks and dock structures twice before in recent years.
Also on Wednesday, a mobile construction crane collapsed in Long Island City, Queens on the waterfront where Queens borders Brooklyn and faces Manhattan. The crane collapse crushed a building under construction and injured 7 workers, 3 of them seriously. The 3 seriously injured workers got trapped under the massive crane when it collapsed. The owner of the collapsed crane had been tried and acquitted for manslaughter after a 2008 crane collapse in Manhattan that killed several workers.
Equipment like tower cranes can weigh up to 50 tons, so it’s no minor matter to get trapped under one. The workers are lucky to be alive, as are the workers on the Murray Hill building, and the passengers on the Seastreak ferry. Click here to read about the Seastreak ferry crash.
Investigators from various agencies are looking into the causes of all of these serious injury accidents. In at least two of three cases, similar previous accidents had affected the companies responsible for the equipment involved. Several types of negligence could be at work here: failure to perform proper maintenance, failure to adequately train workers, failure to conduct required inspections, or failure to follow proper safe operating procedures, among other things. Our experienced building collapse injury lawyers look forward to seeing the investigators’ reports listing the actual causes of the 3 New York City accidents.
Need Help after receiving Injuries in a Structural Collapse? Contact the Experienced Building Collapse Injury Lawyers at Denena Points, PC
We’ve represented victims injured in structural collapses throuout the nation and helped them successfully resolve their injury compensation claims. Our experienced building collapse injury lawyers always offer you a free initial legal consultation. You have no obligation to hire an attorney. Call us at 281-369-4363 or reach us through our online contact form and learn about your eligibility for financial compensation for your injuries after an accident caused by someone else’s negligence or disregard for safety.