New York Law Blog

An editorial ran last week in The Buffalo News by Jacqualine Berger, a faculty member at Empire State College and a member of the DIsability Rights and Concerns Committie of United University Professions, speaking about the way each presidential candidate would address disability in this country. According to Ms. Berger, the Obama-Biden ticket went a long way into exploring and addressing disability issues in their platform while the McCain-Palin camp did not. Senior partner Jeffrey Lichtman sees clients every day who are fighting disability matters, and had these comments to add to the opinion column:

Following the result of the 2008 Presidential Election, many  Americans are hoping for policy changes for disabled citizens and their families. Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s "Plan to Empower People with Disabilities" is one that we can expect will enhance the lives of those living and coping with disabilities on a daily basis. The most important component of this plan is the Community Choice Act, which will end the current institutional biases and instead provide disabled individuals and their families the opportunity to choose how and where their care is administered.

The significance of reform for disabled people is that now, many of the people I represent will receive adequate and appropriate care. All too often I see people of all ages come into my office who have been poorly treated, mis-diagnosed, and suffering unnecessarily. If the president elect keeps these promises, the hope is that the rights of the disabled will be ensured and protected.

A trench collapse in Clifton Park, New York killed one worker late last month after he attempted to fix a portion of the trench from within it. The 20 year old construction worker was in the process of digging a ditch for a drainage pipe in a residential neighborhood when the accident occurred, and OSHA is investigating. Senior partner Jeffrey Lichtman discusses the issue of safety on the construction site:

Again, a fatality at a construction site that should have and could have been avoided if the safety regulations were followed. I agree with Edward Jerome, the area’s director of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, that there are specific regulations regarding "sloping and shoring a trench to prevent collapses." The rules are there, they must be followed. Furthermore, it demonstrates a failure to adhere to the mandates of the labor law of the state of New York.

With New York City being a hot spot for crane accidents this year, construction accident experts met recently in Manhattan to deliberate on national standards for crane safety. Seeing how so much is at stake for the construction community at large, senior partner Jeffrey Lichtman of Trolman, Glaser and Lichtman had this to say on the meetings:

Again we are reminded of the dangers involved in many of the City’s construction sites. Crane accidents, which are among the most deadly facing construction workers, are more often than not the result of negligence and non compliance with safety standards by those utilizing cranes around the city. Failure to make the work site safe leaves the construction companies and/or the City liable for damages, pain and suffering, and wrongful death.

Following the amount of deaths crossing over into the double digits this year alone, we certainly hope that elected officials in the City of New York take some initiative to improve the standards of safety for crane operation and construction sites.