Construction sites are filled with hazards—sharp tools, heavy materials, temporary structures, and the constant buzz of people and machinery moving around on ground and overhead. To prevent severe and deadly accidents, employees are required to wear specific safety gear and follow certain procedures and protocols, while employers are responsible for providing safe equipment, properly educating and training their staff, and promptly addressing any known hazards that could lead to accidents.
When these processes aren’t followed, the consequence is often a very serious and sometimes fatal accident.
If you are a construction worker or an innocent bystander who’s been injured, or the loved one of someone who lost his or her life in a construction accident, you may be eligible for more than workers compensation or other insurance offers.
At Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb, Green & Bagley, our NY construction accident attorneys have more than 50 years of experience helping injured workers and their families find and prove who is liable for the accident and hold those parties accountable financially. In many of our cases, there can even be a mixture of responsible parties, causing you to file suit against more than one entity.
Multiple parties may be held liable in a construction accident lawsuit in New York
Some common parties that can be totally or partially responsible for your injury include:
General and Sub-contractors
Employers are responsible for properly training its staff, enforcing safety protocols, providing necessary safety equipment, and taking reasonable action to address and remove hazards. When the employer or on-site management team fails to do these things, they can be held responsible.
Architects and Engineers
Safety and security of a building is a major part of its design. Architects and engineers must consider hazards when designing a building and planning its construction. Creating faulty designs with obvious hazards could make them responsible.
Manufactures of Construction Machinery or Equipment
Defective equipment, especially when it comes to power tools and large machinery, can be deadly. The company that makes the devices could hold responsibility for your injury. If the equipment requires regular inspections and has reached past its expiration, your employer may also be liable.
OSHA compliance officer
An OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) compliance officer is responsible for evaluating procedures, environments, and other factors in order to identify and address violations to OSHA standards. If the compliance officer becomes aware of a hazardous situation, it is his or her responsibility to ensure that proper reprimands are taken so that the issue gets resolved. If a compliance officer neglects to do so by “looking the other way,” he or she could hold partial responsibility for the incident.
Insurance companies
Employers, contractors, and other responsible parties likely have insurance policies to cover themselves and their personal assets in situations such as this. In these incidents, due to the nature of insurance, the representative insurance company can be held liable for the current and future costs of your medical treatment and other expenses relating to the injury.
If you’ve been injured at a construction site, whether on-the-job or as a bystander, don’t wait to determine your legal rights. The sooner you contact a NY Construction Accident Lawyer from our firm, the more likely you will be to have a successful case resulting in a larger settlement. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.
