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Construction Injury Attorney
Located in the Buffalo Niagara Region in Western New York
It is of course common sense that construction sites are extremely dangerous. Due to the nature of the work, one slip can mean permanent injury or death. For this reason, New York State has a nondelegable duty for property owners and general contractors to provide safe work sites. This essentially means that preventable construction site injuries are always inexcusable under the law.
Construction workers are skilled tradespeople who build the infrastructure we too often take for granted, and have much to be proud of for the indispensable skills that they contribute to our community. Unfortunately, when a worker is injured, even if he or she is receiving workers’ compensation benefits, those payments are not comparable to the pay that the injured worker is accustomed to earning. Sadly this means that, even with workers’ compensation benefits, it is usually difficult for an injured worker to maintain his or her lifestyle. The loss of earnings can make it difficult to support a family, make mortgage or rent payments, continue car payments, pay utility bills, and take care of other fixed expenses.
The first step in this type of case is sorting through the confusion of the construction site itself. There are usually numerous parties who have a hand in a construction site: often there are multiple contractors, sub-contractors, governmental agencies, and other entities involved in construction projects. It is essential to identify and understand those who may be legally responsible for a construction injury, and it is for this reason that obtaining the services of an experienced construction injury lawyer is essential.
Accidents at a construction site can be caused by:
- Defective vehicles or machinery
- Exposure to dangerous chemicals
- Working on scaffolding that is not structurally sound
- Negligence of other workers
- Failure to secure the site and equipment
- Failure to post adequate warnings
- Failure to provide adequate safety for passers-by
As one might imagine, construction injuries can be devastating. According to the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more worker deaths in the construction industry than in any other industry. As a worker on a construction site, your health and safety should be protected with every possible precaution. It is the duty of the site owners, contractors, subcontractors, equipment manufacturers, and material suppliers to protect you. Although you are not allowed to sue your employer because of workers’ compensation laws, one of these other entities may be held responsible for your injuries in what is called a third party action.
Regulations Regarding Accidents at Construction Sites
New York State has enacted statutes and regulations that are meant to ensure workers that their worksites are safe. The most significant of these statutes are New York Labor Law sections 200, 240, and 241(6). What this means is that if your injury was caused by a third party’s negligence you are entitled to sue that party, despite the workers’ compensation laws.
These laws impose an absolute nondelegable duty on contractors, subcontractors, and site owners to provide a safe worksite. This means that the contractors, subcontractors, and site owners are absolutely liable for injuries on the worksite. These parties cannot raise a comparative negligence defense, even if the injured worker is at fault. The laws also prevent contractors, subcontractors, and site owners from claiming they were not at fault because they assigned the duty of providing a safe worksite to another party. Safety is a nondelegable duty. Ultimately, this means that there is no loophole which allows these entities to avoid responsibility for a failure to uphold the duty of providing a safe workplace.
Section 200 generally requires that workers and other people that are legally on the site be provided reasonable and adequate protection. Under section 240, it is solely the responsibility of owners, contractors, and their agents to supply proper protection for height related work, such as scaffolds, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, etc. The equipment supplied must be constructed, placed, and operated to give workers proper protection. Section 241(6) requires owners, contractors, and their agents to comply with the New York State Industrial Code. The Industrial Code requires that people be protected from general hazards, such as overhead hazards, falling hazards, drowning hazards, slipping hazards, tripping, and other hazards.
Because of the intricacies of this type of law, it is essential for victims of construction site injuries to be sure that they are represented by experienced legal counsel. Only an experienced attorney can analyze the circumstances of your accident and separate those who can be held liable from those who cannot and determine what constitutes an appropriate claim in each case.
We operate on a no recovery, no fee basis, so please don’t hesitate to schedule a complimentary case analysis with our construction injury attorneys today.
910 Main Court Building | 438 Main Street | Buffalo, NY 14202 | (716) 854-0700
