NYC faces wrongful death suit over fatal fall at Hudson Tunnel construction site

Concrete worker Jorge Sanchez Garcia was killed last year when he fell at least 40 feet from a wall within the massive infrastructure project.MANHATTAN (CN) — The family of a New York City construction worker killed last year on the site of the Hudson Tunnel project filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against the city and the organizations behind the massive infrastructure operation.Jorge Sanchez Garcia was 52 years old when he fell at least 40 feet from a concrete wall while working on a portion of the tunnel in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards neighborhood, causing “catastrophic injuries” that led to his death, according to his family in a complaint filed in New York County Supreme Court.“Jorge Sanchez Garcia was not provided with and/or was not effectively protected by an adequate and properly constructed, placed, operated, maintained and inspected scaffold, platform, guardrail system, safety line, lifeline, anchorage, harness, retractable lanyard, positioning device, personal fall-arrest system, safety net or other safety device so as to give him proper protection,” his family claims in the 20-page lawsuit.The “dangerous and unsafe conditions, practices, equipment and safety arrangements at the project,” they argue, caused the fatal injury of their loved one. They’re suing for wrongful death, negligence and a number of labor law violations.The family seeks an undisclosed amount of damages from New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Gateway Development Commission, Amtrak and the construction and management companies behind the project.“The defendants possessed and/or exercised supervisory control over the means and methods of the injury-producing work and/or had authority to stop unsafe work, require correction of unsafe practices, approve or reject safety arrangements and enforce project safety requirements,” the family claims.The New York City Law Department declined to comment on the lawsuit. The MTA deferred to the Gateway Development Commission, which, in addition to the Port Authority and Amtrak, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.Sanchez is survived by his wife and four children. An immigrant from Honduras, he was employed by the New York Concrete Corporation at the time of the accident this past October.According to a report from Gothamist, Sanchez was urged to work long overtime hours in the weeks leading up to the incident, including a 35-hour shift, due to pressure from higher ups at the site to keep the project on schedule. In Monday’s lawsuit, however, his family makes no claims regarding the amount of time Sanchez was asked to work.A tumultuous year for the Hudson TunnelIn addition to injuries at the construction site — another worker reportedly suffered a head injury last year when he was struck with a piece of machinery — the Hudson Tunnel project has been jeopardized by several litigation and funding issues over the past year.The $16 billion operation is aimed at modernizing rail travel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. It’s the darling of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, frequently placing it in the crosshairs of his political opponents in the Trump administration.Earlier this year, President Donald Trump tried to freeze the federal funding used to back the project, a sudden move that his Department of Transportation claimed was implemented to review whether its contracts violated the federal ban on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.However, some White House officials — including the president himself — suggested the pause on cashflow was actually a political decision to bring Schumer to the negotiating table on the federal budget.“It’s Chuck Schumer and Democrats who are standing in the way of a deal for the Gateway tunnel project by refusing to negotiate with the Trump administration,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement amid budget negotiations earlier this year.A federal judge ordered the administration to resume its funding of the project, finding that the cashflow pause was likely done for political retribution and was a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The government initially sought to challenge the order, but it unceremoniously dropped its Second Circuit appeal last week.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads