Midtown Amusement Contractor's Negligence Injured Worker: Suit

MIDTOWN, NY — The owners and contractor at the construction site of a Midtown tower, infamously topped with an amusement-style ride, were so negligent in following basic safety rules that it led to a "major injury" of a worker, according to a new lawsuit.

The case is over a July 18 worksite accident at 740 Eighth Ave., the future site of a 1,000-foot-tall tower, capped with a nearly 300-foot-tall free-fall amusement park-style ride.

In the suit filed Monday in New York Supreme Court, the worker claims that multiple violations of safety and workplace laws led to him falling from an unsecured, elevated ladder.

"A heavy object that was improperly hoisted and improperly secured fell from a height and struck the unsecured ladder and the plaintiff, due to defective conditions at the premises and the absence of safety devices," reads the suit, resulting in the working being "seriously injured."

The suit claims that the defendants in the case, owner 726 Eighth LLC and general contractor, industry giant Lendlease Construction, failed to secure and furnish "ladders, scaffolds, hoists, ropes or other devices which shall be so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper protection to a person so employed, including the plaintiff."

Neither specific injuries nor damages sought are mentioned in the suit, aside from hints that both are — or will be — substantial.

Messages left with both Lendlease and Extell, the site's developer, were not immediately returned.

Specifically, the suit claims that the injuries "were due to the negligence, carelessness, recklessness and violations" of the main labor laws governing construction site safety.

Those basic laws declares that owners and contractors have a "general duty" to make anything under their control at a worksites safe for workers, requires secure scaffolding to protect workers from and specifies safe practices during demolition, excavation, and when hoisting.

All of those, plus numerous others labor laws — including OSCHA violations — are alleged to have been ignored in the worker's suit.

Back in July, City Buildings inspectors issued a summons to the site for a "failure to institute safety measures," adding that there was a lack of coordination between the team hoisting the heavy load and the rest of the workers.

Fire Department officials called the accident a "major injury," but offered no further details on what happened.

In 2012, Lendlease admitted to a massive fraud scheme where the company had bilked customers for over a decade through over-billing in a suit brought by federal prosecutors.

Lendlease was ordered to pay $56 million in fines and restitution.

In 2020, one worker died and two others were seriously injured at a Lendlease construction site in Perth, Australia.

And in June, Lendlease was ordered to pay $100,000 years after a bricklayer's toe was amputated at one of the company's job sites — also in Perth, Australia — in 2017.

Related Coverage:

• Skyscraper Ruling Opens Door To Amusement Park Rides In Midtown
• Midtown Sounds Off On Proposed Amusement Ride In 1,000 Foot Building