Owner Of Brooklyn Construction Company Charged With Manslaughter In Worker’s Death
May 11, 2017 -- Posted by :Profit over protection. This is why injured workers and their families NEED the workers' compensation law and the benefits it provides in tragedies like this.
The owner of a Brooklyn construction company has been charged with manslaughter following a wall collapse that left one worker dead and two others seriously injured. Michael Weiss, 47, of Williamsburg, owns RSBY NY Builders Inc. and Park Ave Builders Inc., both in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He faces 14 counts, including second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
Workers were replacing a single-story building with a five-story one, when Weiss ordered them to excavate an area that was not approved by the Department of Buildings, Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzale alleged Wednesday.
“Despite repeated requests from his workers in the months, and even just hours before the collapse, Weiss refused to provide any material for shoring or underpinning of the excavation and adjacent exposed walls – despite OSHA regulations requiring him to do so – and refused to listen to the safety concerns of his workers, insisting they continue working in an unsafe area,” Gonzale said.
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