After a construction site accident in New York City, you may have to determine liability for your injuries to get compensation for your damages. Our lawyers can help you do this by reviewing the specifics of your case.
Your employer may be liable if they don’t have Workers’ Compensation or they intentionally caused your injuries. If New York’s exceptions to the exclusive remedy rule don’t let you sue your employer, a separate third party might be liable for your damages. If you are hurt because of defective machinery, the manufacturer may be liable. Or, if you are injured because a negligent driver ran into a roadside construction site, you can sue them for damages in New York City. After we determine liability for your accident, we can prove it. This will require us to establish that the defendant in your case owed you a duty of care and breached it by acting negligently, causing your injuries and various damages.
To get help with your case from our New York City construction injury lawyers, call The Carrion Law Firm now at (718) 841-0083.
Can Your Employer Be Liable for a Construction Site Injury in New York City?
In many states, employers cannot be held liable for construction site injuries unless they intentionally caused them or did not have the proper coverage in place at the time of the accident. In New York, there are more situations in which employers might be liable for construction accident injuries.
Though Workers’ Compensation is the exclusive remedy in many cases, there are some notable exceptions. For example, construction workers can sue negligent employers who violate certain safety regulations for scaffolding and excavation work. Construction workers can also sue if their employers violate industrial regulations. Furthermore, if an employer intentionally harmed a worker or failed to maintain the proper insurance coverage, they may be liable for a worker’s injuries.
Who is Liable When Construction Sites Injure Passersby in New York City?
With so much foot traffic in New York City, passerby injuries from construction sites are common. If falling objects or debris hit you, you can sue the construction site.
Passersby may also sue if injured during explosions, traffic accidents, or other incidents near construction sites. You can also sue construction companies for employee negligence, like for injuries caused by throwing materials off buildings.
You must bring your claim by the deadline for injury lawsuits based on negligence, which is three years, according to C.V.P. Law § 214(5).
Can a Third Party Be Liable for a Construction Site Injury in New York City?
Because employers cannot be held liable for construction site injuries in many cases, our lawyers will investigate to see if another party is at fault. If so, we can file a third-party construction accident lawsuit to cover your economic and non-economic damages.
Construction accidents are often complicated and might involve more parties than what initially meets the eye. For example, suppose you were hurt because safety equipment failed. In that case, the manufacturer that produced that safety equipment might be partially liable.
When you file a third-party construction accident lawsuit instead of a Workers’ Compensation claim, you can recover intangible damages.
Again, you will have three years to bring your claim against a negligent third party in New York City. At first, a third party’s involvement in your accident might not be obvious. Our Long Island construction accident lawyers may have to investigate the accident thoroughly to determine its exact cause and which party ultimately contributed most to your damages and injuries.
Contact us right away so we have as much of the three-year statute of limitations to determine liability and file the lawsuit.
Who is Liable for Traffic Accidents at Construction Sites in New York City?
Other parties might be liable for victims’ injuries, like negligent drivers who run into construction sites. In such situations, you might have to prove that you meet New York’s tort threshold for auto accidents before you can file your case, even if you were hurt as a pedestrian while working on a construction site.
Negligent drivers running into roadside construction sites cause broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, back injuries, and disfiguring injuries, among others. Most of these qualify as “serious injuries,” letting victims sue for non-economic damages rather than only getting economic damages from their personal injury protection insurance.
Treat crashes on construction sites like any other car accident. Photograph the scene, the at-fault driver’s car, and your injuries. Call the police as well.
Preserving Evidence of Liability After New York City Construction Site Accidents
Construction sites generally have security camera systems, and we can send preservation letters demanding companies keep any relevant footage for your lawsuit. Liable companies are incentivized to delete footage showing their fault, so we must act fast.
Before you leave to get medical attention, take photos. Explosions leave lots of debris, and photographing physical evidence is the best way to preserve it. Take pictures of your injuries, too.
If you work at the construction site, report the accident to your employer. We can get and review any internal incident reports. If you called 911, we’ll also get police reports.
How to Prove Liability for a Construction Site Injury in New York City
Proving liability in a construction site injury lawsuit requires victims to establish four crucial elements. Without proving these elements, you cannot meet the standard of proof for your third-party construction accident lawsuit in New York City.
Duty of Care
The first thing to do when proving liability is to establish that the defendant in your case owed you a “duty of care” at the time of the accident.
If the at-fault party was your employer, they had a duty to protect the health and safety of their employees, according to L.A.B. Law § 200.
Furthermore, depending on the type of construction work you were performing at the time of your injury, your employer might have had a responsibility to follow laws pertaining to safe scaffolding and excavation practices and other industrial regulations, violations of which could make them liable for your injuries.
Breach of Duty
Next, we have to show that the defendant breached the duty of care they owed you. Suppose you were working on scaffolding and it collapsed, making you fall from a great height. In that case, you may be able to sue your employer if they acted negligently and violated certain safety requirements regarding the use of scaffolding, according to L.A.B. Law § 240. Our New York City construction injury lawyers will use various pieces of evidence, such as surveillance footage and eyewitness statements, to prove that a breach of duty of care occurred.
Causation
After proving that the defendant in your case acted negligently, we must show causation. This means that we have to establish that the defendant’s negligent act directly caused your injuries.
Again, we can use evidence recovered in the days and weeks following your accident to prove causation. You can help on this front by getting immediate medical care following a construction accident and continuing to receive treatment for as long as necessary in New York City.
Damages
Finally, we must show that you incurred real damages because of the defendant’s negligence and the accident. To do this, our attorneys will organize and submit proof of your financial and emotional losses.
To make this easier, you can keep any bills or records of expenses related to your treatment and damages. We can then add up all economic losses to calculate your deserved recovery.
We will also consider your non-economic damages at this time. Such damages can compensate you for any pain and suffering you have experienced because of the accident. When construction accident victims file third-party lawsuits in New York City, they will not be limited regarding their recovery of compensatory damages.
How Eyewitness Statements Help Prove Liability for New York City Construction Site Injuries
Eyewitness statements that corroborate yours are strong evidence in a construction accident lawsuit. Eyewitnesses can confirm how and why you were injured, dispelling assertions you contributed to the accident.
The best time to interview eyewitnesses is right after the accident. If you’re a construction site employee, tell our lawyers which of your peers were present. Even in a Workers’ Compensation claim, we have to show you didn’t intentionally injure yourself, and eyewitness statements help.
On top of confirming the accident’s events, eyewitnesses can confirm your injuries at the scene. Equipment malfunctioning or exploding causes deep lacerations and painful burns, which eyewitnesses can testify to.
Does New York Cap Liability for Damages in Construction Accident Lawsuits?
Fortunately for victims, New York does not impose statutory caps on compensatory damages. Whatever your losses, you can recover them all in your lawsuit.
In addition to damages already incurred, you can get future damages. If power tools malfunction, electrical fires break out, or scaffolding collapses, victims risk suffering permanent injuries. Your physicians and medical experts can testify about future rehabilitative care costs so they’re covered.
New York’s lack of damage caps extends to non-economic damages. The physical pain, mental suffering, emotional anguish, and reduced quality of life you endure are quantifiable. Confiding in mental health professionals and keeping journals helps document victims’ non-economic damages.
New York also doesn’t cap punitive damages, which courts use to punish construction sites for egregious misconduct or alarmingly unsafe conditions. Blatantly ignoring scaffolding safety requirements can end in punitive damages, as can distributing tools with known defects.
How Long Does it Take to Get Damages from Liable Parties After Construction Accidents in New York City?
Based on your case, our lawyers can gauge how long it may take to hold at-fault parties liable after construction accidents in New York City.
Construction accident lawsuits may take weeks to months. Though victims want compensation fast to pay medical bills and cover missed income, settling too soon is inadvisable.
With the first few settlement offers, the defendant will try to evade full liability. They may offer to pay some or most of a victim’s damages but not all. We can reject bad offers and give counters. We’ll base counteroffers on our calculations of your damages, leveraging evidence to get the defendant to agree.
Is it Hard to Hold Construction Sites Liable for Injuries?
Filing lawsuits against construction sites is challenging, especially when plaintiffs are employees. We can help your case overcome some of the common roadblocks to recovery.
Construction accident injuries are typically bad, taking most of the victim’s time and attention. Explosions, fires, and falls might land you in the hospital for weeks, and we can initiate your case during that time.
Victims also struggle to keep evidence and records organized, which our lawyers handle. We’ll keep you updated on all important filings, settlement negotiation updates, and possible court appearances, making your recovery as easy as possible. Without our lawyers, holding negligent construction companies or third parties liable gets much harder, so don’t wait to reach out.
Call Our Lawyers About Your Construction Accident in New York City
The Carrion Law Firm’s Brooklyn construction injury lawyers can review your case for free when you call (718) 841-0083 today.