Steven M. Weinstein, Attorney at Law from The Weinstein Law Group, PLLC, says Great Victory for “Worker safety”! On June 10, 2016, a Manhattan Judge, Kirke Bartley, found a General Contractor, Harco Construction, Guilty of Criminally Negligent Homicide and three counts of Reckless Endangerment arising from the death of an “Undocumented” worker from Ecuador who was killed in a trench collapse.
The 22 year old worker tragically died when an unshored 14 foot deep trench caved in upon him. The General Contractor ignored warnings from inspectors about the unsafe condition. Lets hope that this verdict sends a strong message to the General Contractors out there who put “Profit” over “Safety.”
This case also shows that even “Undocumented” workers are protected under New York State Law.