Manhattan Parking Garage Collapses on Worker During Demolition

A routine demolition turned dangerous on W. 57^th Street near 11^th and 12^th Avenues on Wednesday, February 25 in New York City. The parking garage that was being demolished on the site partially collapsed during the process, striking a worker and leaving him with injuries. Fortunately, these injuries were minor in nature and he was able to walk away from the accident relatively unharmed. New York Fire Chief Dan Donoghue said the man was extremely lucky.

The most damage was actually caused to a nearby school bus. The driver of the bus said that he was taking a nap while waiting in his bus to pick up students when he woke up at the sound of the building next to him crashing down. A big chunk of the building struck the front end of his bus, and he was able to climb out through the back door without suffering any serious injuries.

Other nearby construction workers and witnesses said that the collapse sounded like a bomb had gone off. Five stories of the building collapsed much earlier than they were supposed to, which caused a huge buildup of dust and debris. Much of the debris was contained through netting surrounding the demolition site, but some of the protective scaffolding that had been installed in the area was crushed in the accident.

At this point, the cause of the collapse is still under investigation. It’s not yet clear if the construction company or any of its employees were negligent in securing the site and ensuring that the demo was safe before moving forward.

Speak with an experienced New York construction accident lawyer at [ln::firm_name] if you or a loved one has been injured in a workplace accident.