New York Workplace & Construction Accident Lawyer
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, New Yorkers suffer well over 100,000 occupational injuries and illnesses every year. The vast majority of these injuries are considered to be more severe, requiring days away from work, job transfer, or work restrictions. In New York City alone, dozens of people die every year in work-related fatalities, mostly due to falls, slips, trips, and exposure to harmful substances or environments. Not surprisingly, the highest number of fatal work injuries happen in the private construction industry, followed by transportation and material moving occupations.
New York maintains a robust workers’ compensation system and additionally has one of the strongest construction worker safety laws in the country. Nevertheless, injured workers often find they face an uphill battle when it comes to getting compensation for their injuries. As a dedicated New York personal injury law practice, Cohan Law Firm helps injured workers in construction and other industries get fully compensated for their damages caused by an employer in violation of New York’s scaffold law or the negligence of third parties. If you’ve been hurt in a workplace or construction accident in Brooklyn, The Bronx, or throughout NYC, contact the experienced New York workplace & construction accident lawyers at Cohan Law Firm for a free consultation to discuss your claims.
- Crane Collapse
- Electrocution
- Forklift Accident
- Ladder Fall
- Scaffold Accident
- Trench & Excavation Accident
Third-Party Liability in Workplace and Construction
Like most states, New York has a comprehensive workers’ compensation law that pays medical expenses, wage replacement and other benefits to employees injured on the job. In exchange for easy access to no-fault benefits, workers are not given the right to sue their employer, even if the employer or a co-worker was at fault for causing the injury due to negligence. This is unfortunate since workers’ compensation benefits provide less compensation than a personal injury negligence claim would; they only cover a portion of wage loss for a limited period, and they do not cover damages such as pain and suffering at all.
There are situations, however, where a third party is responsible for the worker’s injury, even if it occurred on the job, in the workplace, or on the construction site. In these cases, nothing prevents the injured worker from pursuing a claim against that third party and recovering a full measure of personal injury damages. At the Cohan Law Firm, we’ll conduct a thorough investigation of your accident, determine whether a third party might be liable to you, and pursue justice and compensation on your behalf. Examples of third-party liability in New York workplaces and construction accidents include:
- Injuries caused by the manufacturer of a defective product used in the workplace, such as a power tool, defective piece of machinery or equipment, or a defective automobile or work truck
- A slip and fall, trip and fall, or other injury while working off-site on the dangerously unsafe premises of a third party, such as while performing renovations, maintenance, or installations
- Car or truck accidents caused by a negligent driver while the worker is driving for work, making deliveries, picking up supplies, or traveling between job sites
- Truck accidents caused by third parties driving onto job sites to deliver materials
- Accidents caused by third parties contracted to erect scaffolds or set up crane operations who perform their work in a careless or negligent manner
Scaffold Law Protections for Workers in New York’s Construction Industry
New York has a labor law known as the scaffold law designed to protect workers from “gravity-related” accidents while performing construction, demolition, excavation and related activities. Gravity-related accidents include any kinds of injuries involving an elevation differential, such as falls from heights, getting struck by an object falling from overhead, or getting hurt in a scaffolding collapse. Despite the law’s common name, the accident does not have to involve a scaffold, but it does need to include a covered construction industry activity. A fall while working from a ladder to clean walls and window ledges has been held to be covered under the scaffold law, for example.
Under the law, property owners, developers and contractors are absolutely liable for injuries that occur when the owner or contractor did not provide proper scaffolding, harnesses, nets or other protective devices necessary for the safety of employees working on heights. With absolute or strict liability, it is not necessary to prove the owner was negligent, so it is easier to hold them liable and accountable for the injury. Developers and their insurance companies will still fight hard against liability under the scaffold law, and it takes dedication and determination from a skilled and knowledgeable New York construction accident attorney to help you be successful on your claim.
Contact Cohan Law Firm After a New York Workplace or Construction Accident Injury
If you’ve been injured as a worker or bystander in an accident in the workplace or at a construction site in Brooklyn, The Bronx, or throughout NYC, the Cohan Law Firm has the skill and determination to make sure you are properly taken care of and help you obtain the compensation you need and the justice you deserve. Call our experienced New York workplace and construction accident lawyers today.
