Construction Accident Lawyer NYC

Comp bars you from suing your employer, but it does not touch the property owner, the general contractor, other trades, or an equipment manufacturer — and in New York that is where the real recovery is. Labor Law 240, the "Scaffold Law," imposes absolute liability on owners and general contractors when an elevation-related safety device fails. Comparative fault is not a defence to a valid 240 claim. It is the strongest liability statute in American injury law and it applies to construction work in New York City every day.

• Labor Law 240(1): falls from height, and objects falling on workers, where scaffolds, hoists, harnesses, ladders or braces were absent or inadequate — absolute liability.
• Labor Law 241(6): violations of specific Industrial Code rules, such as debris, unguarded openings or inadequate lighting.
• Labor Law 200: general negligence where the owner or contractor controlled the unsafe condition.

• Scaffold and ladder falls, and collapses of temporary structures.
• Falls through unguarded floor openings, shafts and skylights.
• Falling debris, tools and materials striking workers below.
• Trench collapses, crane and hoist failures.
• Electrocution, burns and explosions.
• Struck-by-vehicle injuries in street and roadway work zones.

Preserve the scaffold, harness, ladder or hoist before it is repaired or removed; obtain DOB permits, violations and stop-work orders; identify every entity on site through the permit chain; secure site safety logs, toolbox talk records and photographs; and file both the comp claim and the third-party case so neither is prejudiced.

Undocumented workers have the same right to bring a Labor Law claim in New York and to recover lost earnings. We do not report status and it is generally inadmissible.

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I fell from an unsecured scaffold. My employer says workers' comp is all I get.

Workers' comp bars suing your employer, but New York Labor Law 240(1) creates near-absolute liability against the property owner and general contractor for gravity-related falls. That is a separate case, and it can be worth far more than comp alone.

Falling debris struck me even though I was wearing a hard hat.

Labor Law 240 also covers falling-object injuries when hoisting or securing was inadequate. Wearing PPE does not reduce the owner's statutory duty.

I am undocumented. Can I still file?

Yes. Immigration status does not bar a New York personal injury or Labor Law claim, and we do not need it to prove your damages.

I tripped over site debris and hurt my back.

That is usually a Labor Law 241(6) and Industrial Code claim rather than 240. It still runs against the owner and contractor. See back injury claims.