Moments ago, a ceiling inside of the University/Snow Building, located at 120 East Washington Street, collapsed onto Steven Pallotta, a 25 year old construction worker who was on the 9th floor. According to a Syracuse.com article titled “Worker Removed From 9th Floor of University Building After Ceiling Collapses“, the worker was severely injured. The cause of the ceiling collapse is unknown at this time.
“I happened to be driving by the building minutes after the ceiling collapsed,” said Syracuse construction accident lawyer Michael A. Bottar, Esq., of Bottar Law, PLLC. “From the outside, you would never know that renovations were underway inside of the this 100 year old building. I’m sure OSHA will investigate what happened.”
New York State has special laws that protect construction workers injured on the job. Those safety laws, known as Labor Laws, hold property owners and general contractors liable for injuries in certain circumstances, including during construction, demolition and renovation. New York’s Labor Laws may provide an injured worker and his or her family compensation in addition to benefits from Workers’ Compensation.