The year 2011 had both good and bad news for New York construction accident lawyers. The good news was that there was an 18% drop in construction accidents across New York City between 2010 and 2011. The bad news was that this decline did not exactly translate into a sharp drop in fatalities. There were 5 deaths in construction accidents during the same period of time.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the decline in construction accidents recently during a visit to a construction site. According to the mayor, there were 152 construction accidents in 2011. The previous year, there had been 155 accidents. The decline was seen even though the City of New York issued 7.7% more construction permits in 2011.
However, there was actually an increase in the number of construction -related fatalities in 2011. Last year, 5 people died in construction-related accidents in the city, compared to 4 the previous year. That is definitely alarming, even though the mayor hastens to add that 5 fatalities is a 78% decrease from 2008.
New York construction accident lawyers would attribute the decline in construction accidents in 2011 to a number of reforms that have been implemented recently. In 2009, the city reviewed its construction code, and implemented a number of reforms, including new rules that require the inspection of stalled construction projects. The City also launched a fall accident prevention campaign aimed at preventing falls in the construction sector. The city has also implemented at least 25 other safety laws since 2009.
The fact that fatalities have increased however, is very concerning. Obviously, more efforts need to be made to prevent really serious accidents like trench collapses that almost always end in death.