In 2014, 15 workers died in construction accidents.
New York – Unfortunately, construction accidents continue to cause numerous deaths among Hispanics and immigrants in New York State. One study revealed that Latinos suffer many more accidents than other workers in the same industry. In 2014, up to 15 people lost their lives while working in construction.
The report, facilitated by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health (NYCOSH), further shows that in 60% of the slip and fall deaths in construction investigated in 2012, the deceased were Latino and/or immigrant.
In the city, this figure increases to almost 75%. That is, three out of every four people who died in construction accidents were Latinos or immigrants.
Poor safety conditions in construction work endanger the lives of workers. According to the same study, 89% of the sites inspected violate safety standards set by OSHA.
According to this same document, many of the immigrants who are injured in their respective jobs are unaware of the danger they face, do not know the safety parameters, do not receive any training and do not understand English.
Hispanic Victim
Delfino Velazquez, a 46-year-old Latino worker who worked for Formica Consruction, is one of the workers who lost his life in 2014. He suffered a construction accident due to unsafe conditions at his workplace.
His daughter, Monica Velazquez, acknowledges that losing her father has destroyed her life. “I miss my dad every day. My heart is aching because I know his death could have been prevented.”
For her part, Delfino’s wife, Martha Garcia, demanded justice for herself and her entire family. She also asked that her husband’s death serve as an example for other construction companies that violate the law without caring about the lives of their employees. “We are going through hard times emotionally and also economically,” said the widow of the deceased.
Deceased since January 2015
Since January 2015, seven people have died in construction accidents, according to Charlene Obernauer, executive director of NYCOSH.
Just last September, Juan Cerezo, 30, died when he fell from the 14th floor of the building on the Upper East Side where he worked.
Measures to prevent further construction accidents
On the other hand, the same study facilitated by NYCOSH (by its acronym in English) highlighted that the best way to prevent more accidents of this type is to increase OSHA’s funds, because until today the organization does not have enough means to inspect all the works being carried out.
OSHA has only 71 inspectors for the entire city, so most sites are not inspected until a worker dies or is injured.
If you or someone you know has been injured on a construction site call Gorayeb & Associates at 646-846-9432 for a free consultation.
