There are more than 250,000 construction sites in the United States on any given day. A substantial number of those sites are in and around New York, where pedestrian foot traffic is a fact of city life.
Contractors owe a duty of care to keep those pedestrians safe around construction sites. NYC’s Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb, Green & Bagley, P.C. represents injured pedestrians seeking compensation for losses and injuries related to construction site accidents.
Understanding Construction Site Dangers and a Contractor’s Duty to Pedestrians
Pedestrian injuries near construction sites typically occur in one of three ways:
- Dropped tools or construction materials hit pedestrians walking near the site
- Construction equipment or machinery operators strike pedestrians that they did not notice
- Pedestrians slip and fall on uneven or unsafe construction surfaces
Pedestrians have a responsibility not to walk too close to a construction site and to follow safe pathways that construction contractors have arranged. Regardless, contractors will be liable for pedestrian injuries if they fail to follow simple safety procedures.
Who is Liable for Pedestrian Injuries at Construction Sites?
Multiple contractors and different companies typically conduct operations at a single construction site. The general contractor, one or more subcontractors, and the construction site owner or manager might each bear some portion of the liability for a pedestrian’s injuries.
Filing a lawsuit against the wrong parties can delay the resolution of the case and the payment of compensation for losses and injuries that a pedestrian suffered. Injured parties can avoid these unnecessary delays by hiring a knowledgeable and experienced construction accident attorney who is familiar with the common dangers and risks that construction sites pose to pedestrians.
Estimating the Damages that an Injured Pedestrian Might Recover
In New York, an injured pedestrian must file his or her personal injury lawsuit within three years of the date of the accident. Filing the lawsuit as soon as is possible will always be an injured pedestrian’s best option because early filing will enable a construction site lawyer to analyze evidence and to interview witnesses while the circumstances surrounding the accident are still fresh in their minds.
If those circumstances show that a construction contractor’s negligence caused the pedestrian’s accident and injuries, then that pedestrian will have a strong case to recover compensation for:
- Present and anticipated future medical bills
- Wages and earnings that are lost while the pedestrian recuperates from injuries
- Expenses associated with physical and occupational therapy
- Pain and suffering, and loss of consortium and companionship
- Any reduction in the quality of the pedestrian’s life due to permanent injuries and impairments
Contact NYC Construction Site Injury Lawyers
The construction site injury lawyers at Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb, Green & Bagley represent injured persons in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and throughout NYC and Long Island. Please call today for a free case review with a seasoned, savvy NYC construction site attorney. We will tell you how much your case is worth, and give you all the information you need to decide if you want to move ahead with a lawsuit. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means that you owe us nothing unless we recover damages on your behalf.
Additional Resources:
- https://highways.dot.gov/: Everyone is a Pedestrian – For a Safe Path Through Work Zones, Don’t Miss Your Cues. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/pedbike/issues/workzone.htm
- www.osha.gov: Pedestrian and Worker Safety. https://www.osha.gov/highway-workzones
