Construction Accidents

Queens Lawyer Assisting Injured Workers

Construction sites are known to be dangerous places. After a serious construction accident, workers or visitors to the site may be unable to afford their medical bills and rehabilitation. They may not be able to work and earn an income. Most people are not prepared for the financial repercussions of suffering serious injuries. New York has special rules related to construction accidents that may allow victims to hold a contractor and owner responsible for the injuries that they sustained. If you were injured in a construction accident, you should discuss what happened with Queens construction accident lawyer Shane D. Scott.

Construction Accidents

Construction workers injured in accidents on the job can usually turn to workers’ compensation insurance. However, workers’ compensation insurance does not cover the full scope of their losses. The New York Labor Law has three code sections that can be used by a worker to recover damages for injuries sustained in a construction accident by bringing a lawsuit in civil court. The scope of these code sections and the strategies available under them vary.

Labor Law 200

Labor Law 200 is a codification of the common-law obligation to use reasonable care when maintaining a construction site. Under this law, owners and contractors have a general duty to make sure that devices, machines, and equipment are operated and positioned in a secure way. To be held liable, a defendant must have directed or controlled the work that resulted in an injury. For example, some property accidents result from dangerous or defective equipment. If a defendant property owner gave a worker dangerous equipment, the defendant had the authority to fix the situation. The defendant can be held liable with the assistance of a construction accident attorney in Queens if it had actual or constructive notice of the hazard posed by the dangerous equipment.

Labor Law 240(1)

Under Labor Law 240(1), also known as the Scaffold Law, owners and contractors involved in pointing, cleaning, painting, changing, repairing, or demolishing a building need to provide safety devices for the work to be performed. This law applies mostly to situations when workers fall from elevated surfaces or when objects fall on them from heights at construction sites. Safety devices to be provided include hoists, stays, scaffolding, braces, pulleys, blocks, slings, ropes, and ladders. They are supposed to be placed, built, maintained, and operated in a way that gives all employees working on a project appropriate protection from dangers and injuries. If 240(1) is violated, an owner or contractor can be held absolutely liable for the injuries and losses resulting from the accident. Comparative negligence is not a defense unless the injured worker was 100% at fault.

Labor Law 241(6)

A Queens construction accident attorney also can help a victim bring a claim under Section 241(6). This law provides that all areas where demolition, excavation, or construction is happening should be arranged, shored, constructed, guarded, equipped, conducted, and operated such that there is adequate, reasonable protection for people who are working there or who are lawfully frequenting the place. The commissioner makes rules to carry this general rule into effect. The rules are extensive and detailed, and they are found under Part 23 of the Industrial Code. An owner or contractor can be held liable when there is a violation of these rules that causes injuries to a construction worker. Comparative negligence is a valid defense to a claim brought under section 241(6).

Visitors

A visitor may experience a slip and fall or another accident on a site as a result of a dangerous condition that should have been repaired. If you are harmed as a result of a dangerous condition as a lawful visitor on a construction site, you may have a viable premises liability claim against the property owner.

Consult an Experienced Construction Accident Lawyer in Queens

Construction accidents can result in serious or even fatal injuries. If you were harmed in a construction accident, you should contact Shane D. Scott. Call us at (800) 230-0744 or complete our online form to get a case evaluation.