If you were injured while working on a construction site, you have important legal rights you should know about. While you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained on the job, you may deserve more compensation than is available through the workers’ comp system.
A personal injury lawyer who understands New York’s complex labor laws can help you explore all avenues of compensation and fight to maximize your total financial recovery after a serious construction accident in New York.
Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb, Green & Bagley, P.C. is a trusted legal ally for injured construction workers in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and throughout the NYC metropolitan area.
Our results handling construction accident claims speak for themselves, and include:
- $4.2 million settlement for a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 14-14B who fell on the job and was left permanently disabled
- $3.4 million settlement for a painter who was injured by falling wall panels.
- $3 million settlement for an electrician who was injured when a switch gear fell on his legs.
These are only a few of the outstanding results we have achieved for injured New Yorkers in our more than 50-year history of practicing personal injury law. If you entrust us with your legal claim, an experienced New York construction accident lawyer at our firm can help you understand your rights and fight for the maximum amount of compensation you deserve.
New York Labor Laws: Facts You Should Know
If you were injured while working in construction, New York labor laws will play a key role in your legal efforts to obtain compensation for the losses you have suffered. The following are some of the key labor laws that govern safety and liability on New York construction sites.
New York Labor Law 200
This law requires construction companies, contractors, and other parties to provide a safe working environment for construction workers. Required safety protocols include safety gear, protective railings, fire suppression, lighting and sanitation.
When parties violate this law and a construction worker is injured as a result, the worker generally has a valid cause of action against the at-fault party.
New York Labor Law 240
This is also known as the “scaffold law,” and applies to accidents in which gravity (such as a fall from heights, or a falling object striking a worker from an elevated space) results in an injury. 240 places strict liability on owners and contractors who fail to erect safe and sturdy scaffolds, or who commit other violations regarding work areas that are on scaffolds or other elevated areas.
New York Labor Law 241
This law also requires owners, contractors and their agents to provide a safe working environment for construction workers, with a special emphasis on excavation and demolition. Under 241, these parties must provide for safe elevator shafts, staircases and hatchways. The law also outlines strict guidelines for the construction and treatment of floors during the construction process.
These labor laws apply to construction workers injured in NYC, Long Island, Westchester County, Rockland County or anywhere in the state of New York.
Uncovering Dangers on NYC Construction Sites
A successful personal injury claim requires evidence of negligence or wrongdoing. Our attorneys work tenaciously to uncover evidence of security breaches, faulty equipment, OSHA violations and other acts of carelessness that result in our clients’ construction site injuries.
Some of the most common causes of construction injuries include:
- Scaffold collapses
- Falling equipment or debris
- Falls from heights
- Trench collapses
- Electrical shocks
- Fires and explosions
- Heavy equipment accidents
If you were injured on a construction site, you can be certain that the insurance company covering the claim is looking for evidence and testimony that limits their liability. You need a legal ally with the investigative resources to match your legal opponent step for step—and the New York construction accident lawyers at our firm are here to fill that critical role for you.
Statistics on NY Construction Accidents
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the private construction industry has the highest number of workplace deaths in New York City.
Between July 2019 and July 2020, there were 534 construction site injuries in New York City, which represents a moderate decline over the previous year. However, as post-pandemic life gradually begins to normalize and construction projects ramp up, it remains uncertain if the industry will continue this downward trend.
Nearly 70 percent of all New York construction site injuries occur in Manhattan, and workers in this dangerous industry are five times more likely to be killed on the job than other industries.
Construction Claims Are Unique
While all personal injury claims require knowledge of New York personal injury statutes, construction accidents are unique in how heavily they involve New York labor laws.
When you seek an attorney for a construction site accident claim, you should make sure they are well versed in New York Labor Laws 200, 240, 241 and other statutes governing this complex area of law. Your compensation and the success of your claim may very well depend on it.
What Compensation Is Available?
If you were injured while working, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, which cover:
- Medical expenses related to the injury, including emergency room care, hospitalization, medication, surgeries, diagnostic tests, physical therapy and more.
- Wage loss, equaling two-thirds of your average weekly wages.
- Vocational training if you need help adjusting to other job assignments.
If the circumstances of your injury make you eligible for personal injury compensation, you may also be entitled to monetary damages for:
- Future loss of earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma
- Diminished quality of life
- Scarring and disfigurement
If you have suffered a serious injury on a construction site, you owe it to yourself and your family to seek all available avenues of compensation. A personal injury claim addresses hardships you face today and those you may face far in the future, such as ongoing medical treatment, home health care, adapted living quarters and other expensive needs. If you do not obtain compensation for these hardships, you may find yourself lacking adequate financial resources when you need them the most.
Remember, pursuing a personal injury claim will not affect your workers’ compensation benefits. You have every right to pursue compensation from a negligent party that contributed to your accident—while receiving the workers’ comp benefits to which you are entitled.
The New York construction accident lawyers at our firm will leave no stone unturned in helping you obtain the financial resources you need to pay your bills and rebuild your life after this accident.
Causes of Construction Accidents in New York
There are many ways in which a person can suffer an injury at a construction site. Scaffolding accidents are the most common, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all construction and job site injuries.
Prompt investigations can determine if site managers or contractors violated safety regulations mandated by OSHA– or if other forms of negligence took place. The following are among the most prevalent causes of New York construction site accidents:
- Lack of fall protection
- Defective or poorly maintained machinery, equipment, and tools
- Lack of proper training and supervision
- Lack of proper safety equipment
- Unsafe work environment
- Negligent maintenance or improper construction of scaffolds
While construction sites are notoriously rife with potential hazards, contractors are legally obligated to ensure their site is reasonably safe and compliant with OSHA standards. Reporting an unsafe construction site to the Department of Buildings and OSHA is an effective tool for alerting site managers that their actions, or lack thereof, have been noted by authorities.
Establishing Liability When Injured on the Job
The first step in recovering compensation after a New York construction accident is determining who is liable for the damages. Potential defendants might include:
- Site Owners
- General and Sub-Contractors
- Architects and Engineers
- Manufacturers of Construction Machinery or Equipment
- Insurers
- OSHA Compliance Officer
For example, a construction worker is injured by a falling tool that was dropped from a scaffold. The employer would likely be deemed to be negligent if the basic level of care for using tools on scaffolds calls for those tools to be secured. Yet, they failed to do this. Employers and their insurance companies will often argue over what constitutes an acceptable level of care. At Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb, Green & Bagley, we have a wealth of knowledge and experience to win those arguments, place liability squarely on the shoulders of the responsible parties and recover maximum monetary damages for clients.
Common Construction Accident Injuries
Moving machinery, power sources, heavy construction materials, scaffolds, and excavations pose obvious safety risks. Data compiled by OSHA lists the most frequent injuries that workers and bystanders experience on construction sites:
- Scaffolding accident injuries
- Electrocutions resulting from contact with improperly shielded high-voltage or high-power electrical lines and tools
- Traumatic brain injury from tools or materials that are dropped from high elevations
- Blunt force and crush injuries from collisions with heavy equipment
- Suffocation or asphyxiation from inadequate air supplies in tight or confined construction site workspaces.
- Spinal cord injury and paralysis from roof and ladder falls
- Impact trauma and loss of limb from machines, tools, or materials during demolition tasks
This is not an exhaustive list of potential risks or injuries that construction workers or bystanders might experience. Construction sites are dynamic and busy places. When management fails to make safety a top priority, this negligence can lead to many types of injuries, and in some cases, wrongful death.
When a Construction Injury Merits Litigation
Workers’ compensation is a primary source of recompense for a construction accident injury. However, you may discover that workers’ comp insurance payments fail to cover mounting medical expenses or lost income. Employers might also tell their workers that claims for a construction injury are limited to this, but that is not always true.
An employee could have a valid personal injury lawsuit in circumstances where:
- Injuries were caused by defective products or toxic substances; in which case the manufacturer may be liable for damages.
- An employer’s intentional conduct caused a construction accident injury.
- An employer failed to carry worker’s compensation insurance.
- A third party caused the injury.
Furthermore, non-employee bystanders who suffer an injury at a construction site may have a viable cause of action against multiple parties that conduct operations there.
New York Construction Accident Lawyer: Experience Matters
A construction accident lawyer in New York can help you pursue fair and just compensation for the losses you have suffered after a scaffold collapse, fall from heights, electrical accident or other accident on a NYC construction site. The attorneys at Friedman, Levy, Goldfarb, Green & Bagley, P.C. have extensive experience handling construction accident claims, and a proven record of success standing up for the injured.
Call us today at 212-307-5800 or contact us online to arrange your free and confidential legal consultation.
