Why are construction accidents on the rise? The demand for new construction far exceeds the demand for inspections. In the next decade New York will see a population growth of a million people; they have to live somewhere. Construction is big business.Recent construction accidents include a nylon sling on a crane snapped, and seven tons of steel fell in Lower Manhattan from the 25th floor of a construction site, severely injuring an architect. A few weeks later, a construction worker, fell 42 stories from a hotel being built by Donald Trump.
Between early 2006 and the middle of 2007, 44 people died on construction sites in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Forty of these dead were non-union jobs involving immigrants. A 52-year-old man was digging a foundation in Brooklyn when the cinder-block wall next door collapsed on him. The wall had not been shored up.
For many smaller projects, there is no one but government to look over the shoulders of contractors. Many of the workers don't speak English, don't have papers, and simply do what they are told. They don't know about safety harnesses or not to drive a forklift with an overly heavy load. These kinds of construction accidents are akin to 19th century coal mining.
see: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/nyregion/19about.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
