What Are Your Rights if You Get Hurt at a Construction Job in New York?
When you are injured on a job site, it is important to understand what rights you have and how to pursue claims to get you the damages you need. With medical bills piling up, it is important to get all of the damages you need compensated, and workers’ compensation might have limitations that keep you from getting full damages after a construction injury.
Injured contractors and construction workers often have the right to seek medical care after an injury, but they may have to pay for care themselves and seek reimbursement later. If workers’ comp. covers their case, emergency care may be covered, but other damages down the road might go unpaid.
Talk to our New York construction accident lawyers for more details about your specific case. The Carrion Law Firm represents injured construction workers and their families, and we fight to get injury cases and medical bills paid after serious accidents. Call us for a free case review at (718) 841-0083 with our NYC scaffolding construction accident lawyer.
Workers’ Rights After Injuries on Construction Sites in New York
Most construction workers are covered by workers’ compensation rules, which could get their emergency care covered by an employer and ongoing medical care and wages covered if they use an approved doctor for approved care only. However, their damages might go unpaid for things like pain and suffering. Talk to a Brooklyn construction injury attorney, either way, to make sure that your rights are protected, as many construction firms and companies fight to avoid liability and payouts.
Right to Seek Treatment
First, injured contractors and construction workers are typically able to get whatever care they need after an injury without needing to seek approval from their employer. However, they may be responsible for any costs or expenses. Injured employees can get emergency care, but employers might try to refuse them immediate services or ask them to delay treatment to avoid time loss at work. In any case, if your injuries are severe enough, you should go to the hospital and seek help.
Right to Sue for Damages
Workers’ comp. rules often block lawsuits against employers, stopping injured workers from being able to claim pain and suffering and other damages against their employer. However, workers’ comp. will still pay for medical bills and lost wages. To access your right to sue, you will have to show that your case meets some exceptions. Typically, injuries caused by falls, scaffolding injuries, dropped objects, or certain safety violations can qualify you for a lawsuit to get your damages paid.
Right to Recovery Time
Talk to a Queens construction injury attorney about what effects an injury might have on your ability to return to work and how it might affect ongoing jobs or contracts while you recover from your injuries. In many cases, workers’ compensation will be able to pay lost wages, but it might not reimburse you at the full value of the wages lost. In some cases, you might also be restricted as to when you can return to work. Returning too early could cause you to lose some benefits, but rules might require you to return sooner than you are able to.
Suing for Injuries After a Construction Accident in New York
As mentioned, you usually must meet certain requirements before you can sue an employer for construction injuries. However, you can also sue third parties for injuries, even without meeting exceptions. This means that you could be entitled to sue any responsible parties after a construction accident, whether that means filing a case against the construction firm or construction company, another contractor, a driver who crashed into you at a job site, a negligent equipment manufacturer, or some other at-fault party.
Workers have stricter limitations that block them from suing their employer in many cases. However, any of the third-party actors listed above could be sued for injuries on a job site. To prove that they were at fault, you will need to show evidence that they did something “negligent.” In injury cases, negligence refers to a breach of a legal duty that they owed you that ended up causing injuries, such as the following:
- Manufacturers who produce dangerous power tools or faulty safety gear
- Drivers who cause a car accident inside a construction zone by violating traffic laws
- Construction site operators who fail to get gas and power lines marked before digging
If you faced any kinds of serious injuries on a construction site, check with a Bronx construction accident and injury lawyer to determine what right you have to seek compensation. A free case evaluation with an attorney can help you determine your eligibility, and your Manhattan construction accident attorney can explain the options you have moving forward.
In many cases, filing a lawsuit is the best way to maximize your damages where accepting insurance payments or worker benefits might fall short. Check with a Long Island construction Injury attorney to find out which route to recovery is best in your case.
Call Our New York Construction Site Accident Lawyers
If you were hurt on a construction site and need help getting compensation and understanding your rights, call The Carrion Law Firm. Our Staten Island construction site accident lawyers offer free case reviews. Call (718) 841-0083 today.