Incident in the language od NYC DOB
The NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) now uses the word incident instead of accident on construction sites. An incident is any event on a construction or demolition site that is dangerous or unexpected, even if nobody is hurt. A “near‑miss” (something almost bad that did not finally happen) is also an incident and often must be reported to the DOB*.
An incident can include things like structural failure, equipment collapse, falling materials, or any unsafe condition caused by construction or demolition work. It may cause injury, property damage, or just create a serious risk, but it still counts as an incident. When an incident happens, the contractor usually must notify the DOB immediately.
The 2022 NYC Building Code replaced the word “accident” with “incident” to show that most events are not just “bad luck” and can often be prevented. DOB wants a strong “Safety First” culture: report incidents quickly, follow safety rules, and fix problems before someone gets hurt. This approach is similar to OSHA rules and NYC construction safety policies, which focus on prevention, reporting, and safer job sites for workers and the public.
“Accident” sounds more emotionally loaded and often implies fault or a serious failure, which can highlight how dangerous construction is in NYC; “incident” sounds more technical and neutral.
Law firms and commentators regularly still say “construction accidents” when they talk to the public (for example, crane “accidents”), while citing DOB rules that speak in terms of “incidents,” which shows the official language is more cautious than public language.
Neutral wording can help agencies and companies talk about bad events in a way that feels less accusatory and less like an admission of blame, which fits with a risk‑management and legal‑liability mindset.
Related terms
Some glossary entries use an asterisk *at the end of the term (for example, “Renovation*”). This mark is only a technical workaround to prevent the auto‑linking system from creating too many automatic links across the website. It does not change the meaning of the term.
- accident
- OSHA
- NYC DOB
- injury
- SWO*
- reporting
- DOB NOW
- safety
- construction
If you see any capital letter abbreviations on this page or in an official letter you received from the city and you do not understand them, you can try to look them up on our Violation Codes page with the search tool.
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