Worker Injured In New York Trench Cave-in Reminder of Legal Protections

August 31, 2011

On August 11, 2011, two New York construction workers were sent to the Hudson Valley Hospital Center after the side of a ten-foot trench caved-in, burying one of the workers alive.

Details of the Recent Construction Accident

The crew had been finishing up a water-piping job when the trench gave way. Two coworkers and a passerby quickly rushed to the aid of the buried man in a rescue effort that a police lieutenant responding to the incident described as "heroic."

When the worker was unearthed, he was missing teeth, bleeding profusely and seemed to have internal injuries. Despite the injuries, he was able to walk to the ambulance that arrived on the scene, and is expected to recover. One of the coworkers who helped dig the man out was also hospitalized for heat-related illness.

After initial observations, police reported that it did not appear proper shoring devices were in use.

Trench Cave-ins Foundational in New York Labor Law Cases

Trench cave-ins have a unique and storied legal history in New York. In 1973, a plumber named Edward Allen was subcontracted to work on a home in Colonie. Allen was killed when the walls of an unshored trench caved in and buried him up to his shoulders. Allen's wife, on her own behalf and as a representative of his estate, brought a claim against the property owner and the general contractor.

Eventually, Mrs. Allen's case made it all the way to the New York Court of Appeals. In the seminal case Allen v. Cloutier Construction Corp., New York's highest court decided that an owner or general contraction could be held responsible for injuries suffered by workmen as a result of a New York Labor Law violation even without evidence that they directly supervised the worksite.

This court decision cemented the statutory duty of New York property owners and general contractors to provide a safe environment for all workers at a given jobsite. Allen v. Cloutier Construction Corp. proved to be a major victory for workplace safety, and New York labor law has never been the same.

Injured Workers

Allen v. Cloutier Construction Corp. and the laws that have since built on its legacy mean that injured workers may obtain monetary damages from owners or builders even absent a showing of negligence if safety provisions were lacking at a worksite.

Trench collapses can be incredibly dangerous; the injured worker at New York's most recent trench cave-in was lucky to escape with his life.

But, the legal legacy inspired by a similar New York trench accident means that injured construction workers now have powerful legal tools to recover compensation from those responsible for safety oversights.

If you or a loved has suffered injury in an excavation cave-in or another type of construction accident, contact an attorney today to explore your legal options.

Article provided by Powers & Santola LLP
Visit us at www.nyconstructionaccidentlaw.com/