What Are the Most Common Causes of Brooklyn Construction Accidents?

What Are the Most Common Causes of Brooklyn Construction Accidents?

The Brooklyn skyline is constantly changing, with cranes reaching for the clouds and new buildings rising from the ground. You are one of the hardworking people who built this borough, but your life changed in the blink of an eye on an unsafe job site. 

An accident left you seriously injured, unable to work, and facing a mountain of medical bills. The truth is, your injury was not just "part of the job." It was almost certainly preventable. The most common causes of Brooklyn construction accidents are not simple mistakes; they are failures by property owners and general contractors to provide a safe place to work.

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Key takeaways of Brooklyn construction accidents 

• The vast majority of construction accidents are not random events but are the direct result of unsafe work sites where safety rules are ignored by owners and general contractors.
• Falls from heights, including ladder falls and scaffold collapses, are the single leading cause of death and serious injury in the construction industry, and New York has special laws to protect workers from these specific dangers.
• Beyond falls, the other most frequent causes of harm are workers being struck by falling objects or heavy equipment, electrocutions from unsafe wiring, and caught-in/between accidents in trenches or machinery.
• Under New York Law, property owners and general contractors have a non-delegable duty to ensure their sites are safe. This means they are often the ones held legally responsible for a worker's injuries, not the worker's direct employer.

The Reality of Unsafe Work Sites in Brooklyn

A construction site is an inherently dangerous place, but that does not give property owners and general contractors a pass to ignore safety. When they cut corners to save time or money, they create an unsafe work site where a serious injury is not a matter of if, but when. 

These failures are the root cause of almost every construction accident.

These sites are often plagued by a culture of negligence. A thorough investigation into an accident frequently reveals a pattern of ignored safety protocols and a failure to provide workers with the proper equipment to do their jobs safely.

Common safety failures on a Brooklyn job site include:

• Failing to provide proper fall protection equipment like harnesses and safety lines.
• Erecting scaffolding that is unstable or missing essential parts like guardrails.
• Leaving deep trenches and excavations without proper shoring or support.
• Allowing debris and materials to accumulate, creating trip and fall hazards.
• Operating cranes and heavy machinery without a competent spotter or clear plan.

These are not minor oversights. Each one is a violation of safety regulations and a direct cause of the injuries that devastate the lives of workers and their families.

Falls from Heights: The Leading Cause of Construction Injuries

Falls are the number one danger in the construction industry. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) consistently reports that falls are the leading cause of death for construction workers, accounting for hundreds of fatalities nationwide each year. 

These incidents are almost always preventable and happen because an owner or general contractor failed in their duty to protect workers from gravity-related risks.

A closer look at the causes of falls

These are not simple slips. A fall from an elevated work area involves a catastrophic failure of safety equipment or procedures, leading to life-altering injuries like traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and multiple fractures.

Unstable ladders and the danger of a fall

A ladder is one of the most common tools on a job site, but it is also one of the most dangerous when used improperly. A fall from a ladder is often caused by a clear safety violation.

Some of the most frequent reasons for these accidents are:

1. An unsecured ladder: The ladder was not tied off or secured at the top and bottom, allowing it to slip out from under the worker.
2. The wrong ladder for the job: A worker was forced to use a ladder that was too short, requiring them to overreach and lose their balance.
3. A damaged or defective ladder: The ladder had broken rungs, faulty locks, or other defects that caused it to fail under the worker's weight.
4. Improper placement: The ladder was placed on uneven ground or in a high-traffic area where it was struck by another worker or a piece of equipment.

These are not the worker's fault. Owners and contractors must ensure that the proper ladders are provided and that the site is managed in a way that allows them to be used safely.

Scaffold collapses and unsafe platforms

Scaffolding provides a temporary platform for workers to perform tasks at heights, but a poorly constructed scaffold is a death trap. A scaffold collapse can injure multiple workers at once, while a single misstep on an unsafe platform can be just as deadly.

The most common causes of scaffold-related injuries are:

• Improper assembly: The scaffold was not put together according to the manufacturer's specifications, leaving it structurally unsound.
• Missing guardrails: The open sides of the scaffold lacked proper guardrails, leaving no barrier to prevent a worker from falling off.
• Overloading: The scaffold was loaded with more materials or workers than it was designed to support, causing a structural failure.
• Unsafe planking: The platform was made of weak or broken planks, or there were gaps between the planks that a worker could fall through.

The responsibility for providing safe and properly erected scaffolding rests squarely with the property owner and the general contractor in charge of the site.

Struck-by accidents

After falls, being struck by an object is another of the most frequent causes of serious injury and death on construction sites. This can involve an object falling from above or a worker being hit by a piece of heavy equipment or a vehicle operating on the site.

Falling tools and debris from above

On a multi-level construction project in Brooklyn, the danger of falling objects is constant. A dropped tool, a dislodged piece of building material, or improperly secured equipment can become a deadly projectile.

These accidents are typically caused by a failure to implement basic safety measures. The most common reasons a worker is struck by a falling object include:

• No debris netting: The contractor failed to install netting to catch falling objects and protect the workers below.
• Lack of toe boards: Scaffolds and elevated platforms were not equipped with toe boards at the base to prevent tools and materials from being kicked off the edge.
• Improperly secured materials: Materials stacked near an edge were not secured and were knocked over by the wind or vibrations.

A hard hat offers some protection, but it is no match for a heavy object falling from several stories up. Preventing these accidents is about securing the site from the top down.

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Heavy machinery and vehicle collisions

A busy construction site is like a choreographed dance of heavy machinery, trucks, and workers on foot. When that choreography breaks down due to negligence, workers get hit. 

These collisions often result in crushing injuries, amputations, or death. These incidents are preventable and are often caused by:

• Lack of a spotter: An equipment operator was backing up or operating in an area with a blind spot and did not have another worker to guide them.
• Poor site traffic control: The general contractor failed to create and enforce clear pathways for vehicles and pedestrians on the site.
• Inadequate training: The equipment operator was not properly trained or certified to use the machinery safely.
• Vehicle maintenance failures: The accident was caused by a mechanical failure, such as faulty brakes, that could have been prevented with proper maintenance.

Every worker has the right to a job site where they are protected from the obvious dangers of moving vehicles and heavy equipment.

Electrocutions and caught-in/between accidents

Rounding out the most common causes of fatal construction accidents are electrocutions and incidents where a worker is caught in or between objects. These accidents are often sudden, violent, and the direct result of an obviously unsafe condition.

Electrical hazards on unsafe sites

Temporary wiring, unfinished electrical systems, and the presence of overhead power lines make construction sites a minefield of electrical hazards. Contact with a live current can cause severe burns, internal injuries, cardiac arrest, and death.

Some of the most frequent sources of electrocution are:

1. Contact with overhead power lines: A worker using a ladder, lift, or scaffold makes contact with a nearby high-voltage power line that was not de-energized or properly marked.
2. Exposed or damaged wiring: Temporary wiring is not properly insulated or protected, or a worker accidentally cuts into a live wire.
3. Lack of ground-fault protection: Electrical circuits lack proper ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), which are designed to prevent electrocution.

These are not freak accidents. They are the predictable outcome of a failure to respect the deadly power of electricity on a job site.

Caught-in or between trenches and machinery

This category includes some of the most gruesome types of construction accidents. A worker can be pulled into a machine's moving parts or crushed by an unsupported trench's collapse.

• Trench and excavation collapses: A deep trench can collapse in seconds, burying a worker under thousands of pounds of soil. According to OSHA, one cubic yard of soil can weigh as much as a car. These collapses happen when contractors fail to use legally required protective systems like shoring, sloping, or trench boxes.
• Machinery with unguarded parts: Workers get their clothing, hands, or limbs caught in the moving belts, gears, or rollers of machinery that is missing its protective guards.

These accidents happen because a contractor decided that a worker's life was less important than the time it would take to install the proper safety equipment.

FAQ for Common Causes of Brooklyn Construction Accidents

From Injury to Action: Holding the Responsible Parties Accountable

Your injury was not an accident. It was the inevitable result of an unsafe work site. Under New York Law, the property owner and the general contractor must protect you, and when they fail, they must be held responsible for the consequences. 

You have the right to fight for the compensation you need to pay your medical bills, support your family, and rebuild your life.

The attorneys at Queller Fisher have been the voice for injured construction workers in Brooklyn and across New York City for more than 60 years. We are a selective, low-volume firm that focuses on serious injury cases. This allows us to dedicate our full attention and resources to your fight. 

We are proud to be the firm that other lawyers trust with their most significant and complex construction accident cases. We are available 24/7 for a free, no-obligation consultation. If you are unable to come to us, we will come to you.

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