Scaffolding Accident in SoHo

by Michael Rose

The SoHo scaffolding collapse on November 19 was yet another beautiful display of New Yorkers uniting when catastrophe strikes – several people instinctively charged towards danger to help complete strangers. While the selfless efforts of a handful of New Yorkers ensured the injuries were reduced in Sunday’s accident, our next brave and benevolent citizens may multiply the injuries by becoming casualties themselves.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), there are 4,500 injuries and 60 deaths every year from scaffold-related accidents, and that is only considering construction workers. The unlucky passerby injured by collapsing scaffolding and the Good Samaritan charging in to help are only inevitable, especially in view of the 280 miles of scaffolding in New York City.

A contributing factor to excessive amounts of scaffolding is the utter lack of regulation regarding scaffolding lifespans. At 100 Lenox Avenue, for example, there is a scaffold that has been up for the past 17 years. City Councilman, Ben Kallos, introduced a bill that would require work on scaffolding to be completed within 3-6 months of putting it up that will hopefully gain some traction in light of this incident. This would not only make the streets of New York more aesthetically pleasing, but would protect the public from scaffolding accidents caused by old scaffolds in disrepair.

At Hach & Rose, LLP, we are widely known as the leading law firm for construction accidents. Whether you are injured in a scaffolding accident or another construction-related incident, you should always choose experienced lawyers with proven results. Like the brave New Yorkers who took action to help those in need that Sunday, the attorneys at Hach & Rose, LLP are aggressive, intuitive, and act in the best interests of injured victims.