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Man dies in Manhatten building collapse

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A recent accident resulted in the death of a man who was working at a construction site. Neither his name nor the name of another man who was injured in the accident has been released to the press. Details of what happened, however, have been made public.

The men were working on a building that was being demolished so that a luxury hotel could be built on the site. An engineer assigned to the project had ordered on Thursday that demolition work be put on hold while the structure was secured better. On Friday, the second and third floors caved it. It has not been determined if the cave in was as a result of attempts to secure the structure or as a result of the demolition work continuing despite the engineer’s order.

When the cave in happened, dozens of firefighters went directly to the scene to mount a rescue effort. They worked for over three hours trying to extricate the worker who survived. He had been trapped under a significant amount of debris, and was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center after being freed. There, he was listed as being in serious condition.

The property owner that is developing the hotel declined to comment, except to note that they are looking into the situation. It is known that in addition to that man who died and the man who was injured, there had been 17 other people in the building but all of those escaped safely.

The issues involved in this particular accident are still subject to investigation, and all involved parties will undoubtedly seek out additional facts about what happens. In cases like this, those who have a grievance may decide to explore their legal options.

Source: The New York Times, “Midtown Manhattan Building Collapse Leaves One Dead,” Marc Santora, Oct. 30, 2015

Jason Fuiman

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Co-Managing Partner and Chair of O'Dwyer & Bernstien's Labor & Employee Benefits practice, Jason has over twenty years of experience in the New York legal industry.