Construction Worker Injured after Falling into Hole in NYC

December 23rd, 2016 by Thomas J. Henry

According to the Chelsea Patch, a construction worker was injured in a fall after tumbling into a hole at a construction site in Chelsea, New York, on Wednesday afternoon.

Details of Workplace Injury

Emergency crews responded to a work-related accident at around 2:00 p.m. local time at 221 West 29^th St. between 7^th and 8^th Avenues. Crews discovered a construction worker that fell into a hole approximately 15-feet deep.

The man was freed from the hole after roughly a half hour of maneuvering, according to the Chelsea Patch. He was then transported to Bellevue Hospital via ambulance. A fire department spokesman said the man suffered from minor leg injuries. However, a witness said the man may have broken his legs in the fall.

The building where the accident occurred is under construction to become a 21-story apartment tower, reports the Chelsea Patch. Twenty-nine construction workers in New York City have died in 2016 thus far.

Workplace Accident Statistics

The following information is provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA):

• 4,821 workers died on the job in 2014.
• Fatal falls accounted for 359 construction worker fatalities in 2014. The “Fatal Four” leading causes of private sector worker deaths are:
  • Falls – 359 out of 899 total deaths in construction in 2014 (39.9%)
  • Electrocutions – 74 (8.2%)
  • Struck by Object – 73 (8.1%)
  • Caught-in/between – 39 (4.3%)
• Fatal work injuries involving contractors accounted for 17 percent of all fatal work injuries in 2014.