80 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • MAY 31, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
FALLING SHEETROCK
Q: I was one of the workers installing a new sprinkler system, as part of a
renovation and construction project. While going up the staircase, I was hit in the
head and rendered unconscious by a piece of falling sheetrock. Although my
employer had provided me with a hard hat, I was not wearing it at the time of the
accident.
Shortly after the accident, one of my coworkers saw several large sheets
of sheetrock leaning against the wall on the floor right above me. An extension
cord ran from an outlet on the same wall. One sheet had fallen away from the wall
and was leaning against the railing. A small jagged piece of that sheet had broken
away, and was on the landing of the floor right below me.
A: Section 241 of the Labor Law imposes upon owners and general
contractors, and their agents, a nondelegable duty to provide reasonable and
adequate protection and safety for workers, and to comply with the specific safety
rules and regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of the Department of
Labor.
One of those regulations (12 NYCRR 23-1.8) provides that every person
required to work or pass within any area where there is a danger of being struck
by falling objects shall be required to wear an approved safety hat. You may have
a case that the general contractor should have required you to wear that hat.
You may also have a case under section 200 of the Labor Law. The
section is a codification of the common-law duty of an owner or general contractor
to provide workers with a safe place to work. It appears that a dangerous
condition existed on the staircase. Quite possibly, the GC either created, or should
have known about, the dangerous condition with the sheetrock.
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