You need to clean up your own backyard before you try to clean up your neighbor’s backyard.
You can barely turn on your television, fire up your tablet or browse your news feed without being bombarded with examples of accidents, disasters, disease and famine around the world. When it comes to our personal safety, we tend to assume that the grass is greener at home.
After all, in the past year alone we have witnessed terrible incidents around the globe such as:
· Escalators in China swallowing people
· A cruise ship worker killed in an elevator
· An airplane vanishing in the vicinity of the Indian Ocean
· A bus accident in India killing 42 people
So, the answer is to stay at home in New York City or at least stick within the borders of the United States to avoid catastrophe, right?
No.
We have plenty of public safety issues to clean up in our own backyard before we start pointing our finger across the pond.
The NYC Metropolitan Area Has Witnessed Many Recent Tragedies
These are just a few of the accidents we’ve blogged about:
Casino-Bound Bus Crashes In Connecticut
A bus carrying upwards of 70 people flipped off of Interstate 95 in Connecticut during a snowstorm that struck the Northeast on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. At least 30 passengers were injured, several critically, but miraculously none were killed. The bus, owned by Dahlia Inc. and operated by VMC East Coast, left from New York City and was traveling toward the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville when the accident occurred. Emergency crews shut down the highway for almost 4½ hours before it reopened around 5 p.m., in time for the evening rush.
A Tragic Crane Accident In Tribeca
A tragic crane accident in Manhattan is the latest in a string of noteworthy construction accidents in New York City. On the morning of Friday, Feb. 5, 2016, one person was killed and two others seriously injured when an enormous crane collapsed in the Tribeca section of Lower Manhattan. Tragically, a bystander was killed when the crane fell on him. His name has not been released. The two injured people were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where they are undergoing emergency treatment.
Construction Worker Falls To His Death In Harlem
A 62-year-old construction worker fell to his death when he slipped from a fire escape, causing him to plummet six stories to the ground in the rear of 124 East 107th Street, East Harlem, New York. The victim was replacing the gutters of the building. Reports indicate that he was not using a safety harness or any safety equipment while working at an elevated height. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Many of the tragic incidents in NYC are related to the recent construction boom. This has led Mayor Bill de Blasio to point out that while we value the economic activity and its benefits, “nothing is more important than the safety of our people.”
We totally agree. So what can be done? De Blasio’s proposals to implement new safety rules may be a start, but the bottom line – here and abroad – is that when people are negligent and corners are cut, innocent people are hurt or killed.
Protecting The Rights Of NYC Injury Victims
At Block O’Toole, we believe that negligent parties need to be held accountable for the damage they cause, whether they are individuals, corporations, municipalities or other government entities. It’s not about vengeance; it’s about providing incentive to avoid future incidents while making sure that victims of tragedy have the financial resources they need to move forward.
