Between 2013 and 2019, almost 150 people filed lawsuits against Hudson Yards for construction injuries they suffered while on the job.
The largest private real estate development in the United States, Hudson Yards is a high-end, community-based neighborhood in Manhattan. The first phase, which opened in 2019, includes a public green space and multiple buildings containing apartments, office buildings, shopping centers, and other spaces. The second phase, which is set to open in 2024, will include residential and office space as well as a school.
In the years between 2013 (when construction first began) and 2019, nearly 150 workers at the Hudson Yards construction site filed personal injury lawsuits against developer Related Companies, various limited liability corporations, and several general contractors. Many of these lawsuits remain ongoing.
The injury claims vary from moderate to severe. Some workers have suffered minor slip and falls; one man, however, suffered permanent catastrophic injuries to his back, neck, and head after being struck by a falling beam. In the final months of the decade, on November 11, 2019, scaffolding 18 stories high one of the many construction projects collapsed with two workers on it. Miraculously, both survived.
This number of injury claims—even on a large, multi-year project like Hudson Yards—is unusually high by some accounts. A personal injury lawyer who commented in a Commercial Observer article on the issue said that so many construction accident cases coming out of one site is “alarming.”
New York City also has a unique law which makes it very easy to sue for construction site injuries. Labor Law 240, also known as the “Scaffold Law,” allocates absolute liability to construction developers and contractors for workers’ injuries if they fall from a great height or are hit with falling material.
Construction site accidents are steadily increasing year by year in New York City, so it’s unlikely this is the last news of such a phenomenon. If you’ve been injured on a construction site, whether at Hudson Yards or elsewhere, you deserve to receive just compensation for your injuries. An experienced New York construction site attorney can help.
Contact Belushin Law Firm, P.C. in Brooklyn today to talk to a construction site injury attorney in your area. The initial consultation is free!