$2.2 Million Construction Accident Settlement in New York

Raphaelson & Levine secured a $2.2 million construction accident settlement for a worker who tripped over an exposed metal pipe on the 29th floor of a New York high-rise and was thrown into a structural column, injuring his right shoulder.

An Unprotected Hazard on the 29th Floor

Construction sites are inherently dangerous — but they do not have to be negligently dangerous. Our client was working on the 29th floor of a New York high-rise project when his foot caught on a circular metal pipe protruding from the floor. The pipe, left exposed and unmarked in a trafficked area, sent him to the ground. He struck a structural column on the way down, absorbing the impact directly on his right shoulder.

The injury to his shoulder was serious enough to require medical treatment that kept him off the job and limited his physical capacity. A pipe sticking out of the floor on a busy construction level is one of the most basic hazards a site safety plan is designed to prevent — and in this case, no one had flagged, covered, or removed it.

Proving the Contractor's Negligence on a High-Rise Site

The general contractor argued that the pipe was visible and that our client should have watched his step. Our construction accident attorneys obtained the site safety plan, daily inspection logs, and OSHA compliance records. The logs revealed that no inspection had documented the protruding pipe as a hazard, and no corrective action had been taken — even though workers had been traversing the area for days.

We retained a construction safety expert who testified that protruding floor-level obstructions on active construction floors must be flagged with high-visibility markers, covered with protective caps, or barricaded off. None of these standard measures had been implemented. The contractor's failure to identify and address a ground-level trip hazard on a high-rise floor constituted a clear violation of workplace safety standards.

$2.2 Million Recovery for a Shoulder Injury

The settlement provides compensation intended to cover medical treatment, lost income during recovery, and the long-term impact of a shoulder injury on a worker whose livelihood depends on physical labor.

"A pipe sticking out of the floor on an active construction level is not a hidden hazard — it is a failure of basic site management. The contractor's job is to make sure every walkway on every floor is safe. When they skip that step, workers get hurt, and the contractor is responsible."

— Howard Raphaelson, Founding Partner at Raphaelson & Levine

If you've been injured by a trip hazard, falling object, or any unsafe condition on a New York construction site, our construction injury attorneys have decades of experience holding contractors accountable for safety violations, and are ready to review your case. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.