Scaffold Collapses and Injures Construction Worker

Case Overview

The plaintiff, a thirty-six-year-old male, was working on repairing windows damaged during Hurricane Sandy. During FEMA’s emergency response to mitigate the natural disaster, no one had attended to the windows. Because of the height of the damaged building, the construction company’s architect recommended scaffolding to repair the windows on the first eight floors. While the plaintiff attempted to repair the windows, however, the scaffolding collapsed. The plaintiff sustained a concussion, a broken ankle, and a broken arm.

Questions to the Civil Engineering expert and their responses

Are there specific requirements for ensuring the safety of scaffolds for construction workers?

In a case like this, the exact manner in which the scaffold was constructed, its usage, and any other conditions should be analyzed to discover what errors were committed.

What experience do you have working with scaffolds, supervising users of scaffolds, and ensuring the safe assembly of scaffolds?

I am extremely familiar working with scaffolds, supervising users of scaffolds, and ensuring safe assembly of scaffolds. When I was the safety engineer for the building of the Williamsburg Bridge, we were constantly using a large number of scaffolds and we never had any problems with them falling apart or malfunctioning.

About the expert

This expert has been involved in heavy construction for over 40 years, and is intimately familiar with OSHA as well as New York State standards and regulations. He has been involved in construction safety on high-rises and has conducted safety audits for OSHA standards with particular regard to ladders and scaffolding. He is experienced in all facets of construction safety and was the safety engineer on a major bridge project for nine years without incident.