Twenty Construction Workers Died on the Job in New York City in 2021

March 6, 2023 |

Workplace Injuries

A new report shows that 20 construction workers in New York City died on the job in 2021. A year of industry shutdowns due to the pandemic caused the death rate of construction workers to decrease. However, we are now seeing fatalities rise back to pre-pandemic levels.

The New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health makes a yearly comparison of data from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The analysis is made by looking at the death rate per 100,000 workers.

In 2021, one year after the construction pause, the fatality rate in NYC was 11.2 per 100,000 workers. This is a 60 percent increase from 2020, which was 7 deaths per 100,000 workers. Looking at pre-pandemic levels in 2019, the fatality rate was 11.6 per 100,000 workers, when 24 people lost their lives on the job.

Since the NYCOSH began issuing its annual report in 2014, non-union workers and Latino workers were most at risk of dying on the job. It is estimated that 10 percent of all New York State construction workers are Latino, however, Latino workers account for more than a quarter of workplace fatalities. The NYCOSH inspected 15 sites statewide in 2021 and reported that 80 percent of the workers were non-union.

In December 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed Carlos’ Law, which increases the penalty for construction companies responsible for the death or injury of workers. The law takes its name from Carlos Moncayo, a 22-year-old Ecuadorian worker who died in 2015 on the job at a Manhattan construction site.

If you or a loved one has been hurt in a construction accident, you should know that there are strict time limits for filing a claim for compensation. Contact the skilled New York personal injury attorneys at Belluck & Fox today to get started on your claim, and let us fight for the justice you and your family deserve. Call or fill out our online form now to learn how we can help.