Two workers were nearly killed after they were trapped in a mudslide at a construction site in Westchester, New York earlier this month.
The two men were rescued, but it’s easy to see how this incident at the construction site could have ended very differently.
On August 1st, 2014 the two men were repairing a leak in the foundation of a home when the walls of the seven-foot trench they were working in collapsed. The two men were trapped in chest-deep mud until a passerby heard their screams and was able to call authorities.
The White Plains and New Rochelle police had to rig a pulley system from a second-floor window to lift the two men out of the hole. One was put on oxygen immediately and both were rushed to nearby hospitals. As of this writing, it does not sound as though either suffered life-threatening injuries.
As construction accident lawyers, we hear stories like this every day, and unfortunately, they do not always end as well as this one did. It’s a simple fact: construction is one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. today and takes far too many lives each year.
If you work in construction in New York and are ever hurt on the job, it would be a mistake to not investigate your options. Don’t fall for a foreman’s assurances or a boss’ request to “keep this quiet” — if harm befell you through no fault of your own, you may have options.
You are welcome to contact our office if you are interested in learning more.