Construction sites can 
pose significant dangers for construction workers, especially when adequate safety precautions are not taken. There is, however, another group that also faces dangers from construction sites: pedestrians. A recent online article in the Wall Street Journal looked into the dangers that pedestrians throughout New York City face from construction sites.
According to the article, at least once a month, a pedestrian walking the streets of New York City is injured by something at a construction site. The culprit? New York City pedestrians are injured by a variety of different objects that fall from a construction site or that are improperly maintained. Examples include falling bricks or tools, windblown fences, and collapsing sidewalks.
Between 2008 and 2014, there were 96 construction accidents involving pedestrians and other accidents. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of city Department of Buildings records, these accidents resulted in 155 injuries. And more than three-quarters of the accidents occurred in Manhattan.
Most recently, in 2014, there were 18 accidents involving pedestrians. This is the highest number of construction accidents involving pedestrians since 2008 when 22 people suffered injuries. There are a variety of different ways that pedestrians suffer these injuries, but there are some similarities between the accidents. For example, 16 different times fences were blown over or fell, which caused injuries to 23 different people.
So, what is to blame for all of these construction accidents involving pedestrians? According to construction experts cited in the article, “lax or inexperienced contractors or poorly trained workers” are to blame. These individuals may make mistakes, such as using the wrong nail or screw or failing to use enough fasteners. Joseph Sage, a structural architect who designs temporary fences, scaffolds and sidewalk bridges, agrees with this assessment. He commented that, “the problem is a lot of these laborers and contractors have no clue to what they are doing.”
Contact a Brooklyn Personal Injury Attorney to Protect your Rights
If you or someone you know has suffered an injury walking the streets of New York or on another person’s property, it’s important to reach out to an experienced Brooklyn personal injury attorney, who can help you understand your legal rights. At the Law Office of Jeffrey K. Kestenbaum, we have experience helping victims recover compensation for their injuries in a variety of different situations. Our Brooklyn personal injury attorneys have experience prosecuting a variety of different personal injury lawsuits, including car and motorcycle accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, medical malpractice, and construction accidents . Contact a Brooklyn personal injury attorney at the Law Office of Jeffrey K. Kestenbaum for a free initial consultation. You can call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 718-237-5586. We want to help you protect your rights.
