One law firm in NY city is proud of the judgments they have received for their clients injured in construction accidents.
- $9,443,177 recovery for a 22-year-old man from Pennsylvania who suffered brain damage when he lost his balance while installing satellite communications equipment on the roof of a building in Valatie, New York. He fell 16 feet onto a concrete loading dock because he was not provided with adequate safety devices.
Are you ready?
Last year the residential construction community was taken by surprise that OSHA had rescinded the Interim Fall Protection Plan – STD-03-00-001. This document was originally intended to be used as a guideline or suggestion to help residential construction workers work safely. Instead it turned out to be the Gospel and no one was moving toward protecting workers while working over six feet above a walking/working surface. People were still dying in Residential Construction and OSHA made a bold move in an effort to protect the workers in the field.
OSHA has been very generous with their timeframe for everyone to be ready. They have offered several training courses and allocated resources in the field to assist people with fall protection and fall protection plans. The days of using an infeasibility statement for your fall protection program are long gone. There is such a vast assortment of fall protection available on the market that using fall protection to protect your worker is not infeasible.
So I ask – Are you Ready?
- Do you have conventional fall protection, i.e., guardrail system, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system?
- Do you have a Fall Protection Program?
- Are your workers trained in the use and guidelines of your Fall Protection Plan? Is the training in writing and do you have a copy of a training certification that documents fall protection training?
- Do you have a Rescue Plan in case of a fall?
- Does your plan include Equipment Inspections?
