New York City Construction Accident Lawyer Edgar Romano Comments on New York Scaffold Law Report
New York, NY (PRWEB) October 10, 2013 -- Responding to a report that is critical of New York’s 1885 Scaffold Law, New York construction accident lawyer Edgar Romano said today that the long-standing law provides crucial protection for workers injured on the job.
A recent Associated Press report published in ABC News (“Critics Say It's Time NY Ends 1885 Scaffold Law,” August 31) quoted sources who were critical of New York’s unique Scaffold Law. Some government agencies and contractors say the law has sparked high insurance premiums which might lead to the suspension of work on bridges, schools and the recovery from Superstorm Sandy, according to the report.
“New York’s Scaffold Law has existed throughout New York City’s modern development to protect workers who spend much of their time working far above ground,” said Romano, whose firm represents New Yorkers who have been injured on the job. “Our lawyers in New York understand that working on the construction of a skyscraper is dangerous, and an accident can have devastating consequences.”
According to the AP report in ABC News, critics of the state’s Scaffold Law say that New York should abolish the legislation, which allows injured workers to pursue compensation against property owners and contractors directly, rather than through workers’ compensation insurance. With workers’ comp insurance, workers give up their right to file a lawsuit against their employer.
Getting rid of the Scaffold Law would give the state millions of dollars in added revenue, critics of the law told ABC News. Those who support the law, however, said that it’s essential to keep a law in place that protects the rights of injured workers who might have been catastrophically injured in a scaffolding collapse that was caused by an employer or property owner’s negligent actions.
According to the AP story, a worker injured in a scaffolding collapse credited the law with helping him walk again. “I would have been written off it was just workers’ compensation,” the injured worker said.
“If a law designed to hold construction companies accountable for the safety of workers is abolished, the consequences could be catastrophic to workers who risk their lives each day in New York City,” said Romano, a lawyer in New York City for construction accidents and other workplace injuries. “Workplace injury lawyers use the law as a tool to assist injured workers get the compensation they need so they can get their lives back on track.”
About Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP
Edgar Romano was named one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in New York” in 2012 and 2013 and has been recognized as a Super Lawyer every year since 2010. He received his undergraduate degree from Brandeis University and his Juris Doctorate degree from the John Marshall Law School. With a focus on workers’ compensation cases in New York City, Romano is on the Board of Directors of the New York State Workers Compensation Bar Association and previously served as president of the Workers Injury Law and Advocacy Group.
With 80 years of experience hearing over 100,000 cases, Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP has obtained settlements totaling over a billion dollars for New Yorkers. With 100 legal professionals on staff, the law firm has won numerous accolades for providing its clients with strong, reliable legal representation and has a well-earned reputation as one of the top law firms for cases involving workplace accidents and cases involving workers compensation and Social Security disability.
For more information about what to do after you or your loved one has been hurt in the New York City area, call (800) 392-1717 for a free case evaluation.
Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP has ten locations across the five boroughs, southern New York, and Long Island. Visit http://www.workerslaw.com/
Jacob M Del Hagen, Big Voodoo Interactive, http://www.bigvoodoo.com, +1 (413) 650-0593, [email protected]
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