More inspections are helping drop the number of construction accidents in New York City

New York City has a lot of construction going on — almost constantly. If new buildings aren’t being built, old buildings are being remodeled and resurfaced. Injuries among workers (and bystanders) are common.

There is some good news, however: The number of construction injuries between January and October of 2019 fell by almost 25% when compared to the same period in 2018. Overall, there were 507 injuries to workers in the latter period — as opposed to 672 in the earlier one. Fatalities remained relatively the same, with 11 the year before and 10 during 2019.

What’s making the difference? It’s hard to say for certain, but it’s reasonable to assume that it may have something to do with the fact that the Department of Buildings has stepped up its inspection game considerably. The department’s new safety compliance unit has 38 new building inspectors — and expects to have as many as 53 on the job.

Just the same, building inspectors are unlikely to catch every construction safety violation or issue. There are roughly 6,000 sites that need to be inspected at any given time — which is far more than the current number of inspectors can handle.

The city may be making construction worker safety a top priority, but there’s no guarantee that builders will actually take any additional steps to keep their workforce out of danger. Safety violations are still a problem. If you suffered an injury while working construction in New York or your loved one was seriously hurt, find out more about your options for compensation. An attorney can help you understand more.