Scaffolding Accidents

Fatal falls from scaffolds are a leading cause of traumatic occupational injuries and deaths on construction sites. An estimated 2.3 million construction workers, or 65% of the construction industry, work on scaffolds frequently. Scaffold-related accidents equate to an average of 4,500 injuries and 50 deaths every year. Seventy-two percent of workers injured in scaffold accidents attributed the accident either to the planking or support giving way, or to the employee slipping or being struck by a falling object.

Contact our New York Construction Accident Attorneys at the law firm of Weinstein, Chase and Messinger if you have been injured or your loved one has died due to a fall in a scaffolding accident.

Regulations provide general requirements for all scaffolds regarding capacity, construction, access, use, and fall protection. Suspension scaffold is one or more working platforms suspended by ropes or other means from an overhead structure.

Requirements for Suspension Scaffolds Included:

• Fall Protection
• Body Belt
• Harness Systems
• Guardrail Systems

The employer is responsible for insuring proper training for all workers who use any type of suspension scaffold or fall protection equipment.

In addition, they include provisions for the following:

• Use of a competent person to inspect scaffolds and equipment before use
• Use of scaffold components capable of supporting proper loads
• Proper shielding of ropes from corrosive processes or heat
• Use of both guardrail systems and body belt or harness systems for work from suspension scaffolds

Design and Construction of Scaffolds

The design and construction of scaffolds must conform with OSHA requirements concerning type of equipment, rated capacities, construction methods, and use. Each scaffold and scaffold component must be capable of supporting its own weight plus at least four times the maximum intended load without failure. Each suspension rope must be capable of supporting at least six times the maximum intended load.

Employers should require a competent person to inspect all scaffolds and scaffold components for visible defects before use on each work shift. Scaffolds should be erected, moved, dismantled, or altered only under the supervision of a competent person.

Please contact us if you have experienced any kind of construction injuries. Our expert lawyers specializing in construction accidents will assist you with all of your questions.