Block O’Toole & Murphy is pleased to bring you an update on the harrowing scene in lower Manhattan where two window washers were trapped on a scaffold towering above the hallowed grounds of the World Trade Center site. This scaffold was dangling, nearly upside down with the 2 workers holding on for dear life.
Thankfully, this story did not end in tragedy. These workers are safe after members of the fire department cut through a building window to rescue the two workers who were more than 600 feet in the air on a dangerously hanging scaffold. A cable on the scaffold broke as the workers were being raised to the top of the tallest building in the United States. New Yorkers everywhere anxiously watched as the rescue unfolded.
The reports are positive in that the workers appear to be suffering only from minor injuries. The malfunctioning scaffold illuminates the dangers that certain vocations pose for workers every day. Whether you are a window washer working 60 stories high, a rigger on a crane or a sand hog working in the city’s cavernous tunnels, you face untold dangers on a regular basis. That is why an emphasis on worker safety remains vital for our city and country to continue to flourish.
A photograph of this scaffold holding two workers while hanging 600 feet in the air is a good retort when large insurance companies and big businesses press for changes in laws to reduce workplace safety and the rights of injured workers. We should be pushing in the opposite direction and increasing worker safety. The ability for hard-working folks to feel safe while earning an honest and steady paycheck is part of the fabric of our way of life. We must protect it vigilantly.
Block O’Toole & Murphy is a law firm that prides itself on fighting for workers throughout New York State. Many of the lawyers at the firm are part of the Labor Law committee, which promotes worker safety and the laws that protect hard-working women and men. You can learn more about these lawyers at www.BlockOToole.com.
Most importantly, we wish the two window washers a speedy recovery and applaud the heroic efforts of the first responders who rescued these workers.
Read the news story:
http://7online.com/news/fdny-cuts-through-1-world-trade-window-rescues-workers/392125/