A 25-year-old New York worker was killed in a construction accident earlier this week.

Authorities say he was on a ladder removing concrete and lathe ceiling in a Syracuse office building when a 225 square-foot piece of ceiling fell on him.

Though he was rushed to a nearby hospital, he died about 1:40 p.m., Wednesday.

The 25-year-old was from Liverpool, just outside of Syracuse.

Both Syracuse police and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration are conducting investigations of the fatal accident.

OSHA is also expected to investigate another construction accident; this one far from New York.

In this Florida incident, a 31-year-old construction worker is listed in critical condition after being pulled from a hole filled with wet concrete.

The workplace accident happened Monday afternoon in Hollywood, where a construction company was preparing to tunnel under railway tracks in order to install a section of 66-inch sewer pipe.

The construction worker was reportedly lying on a large, wooden board in a hole, pouring concrete. When the concrete forced its way beneath the board, the man was lifted and trapped.

There is apparently hope for the second man, though his injuries are obviously quite serious.

Because the media reports we saw didn't describe his injuries, there's no way to know how fully he might be able to recover or how long such a recovery might take.

But in similar cases, workers are entitled to workers' compensation to cover medical costs and replace a portion of their lost wages. In New York, a construction worker might have a personal injury claim in addition to a workers' comp claim.

Injured workers should speak with an attorney experienced in injury claims and workers' compensation cases before talking or settling with insurance companies.

Source: Associated Press: "NY worker dies after ceiling falls on him," Jan. 25, 2012