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Construction Accidents
There are very few ways to earn a living that are more dangerous than working construction.
Construction workers are constantly utilizing scaffolding, ladders, hoists, conveyors, cranes, power tools, bulldozers, forklifts and other types of power machinery that can cause severe personal injuries. Workers can fall at worksites – sometimes, from very great heights, even while using required belts and harnesses or other safety devices.
Workers can be injured from faulty scaffolding, collapsed scaffolding, defective ladders, tipping ladders, unsecured ladders, falling objects, improperly hoisted objects, cave-ins, tool malfunctions, demolition operations, exposure to hazardous materials or the failure to be provided with protective eyewear or breathing apparatus.
Not every firm is capable of handling the complex nature of construction litigation and labor law accidents. HKPD proudly represents construction workers who have been seriously injured while working at dangerous construction sites.
Construction workers and their families may not be aware that they have legal rights and protection under New York Labor Law sections 200, 240 and 241. New York Labor Law protects all construction workers from dangerous and unsafe working conditions. They may have remedies outside of workers’ compensation available to them. Construction workers may be able to sue property owners, general contractors and/or others entities responsible for their injuries, independent of any workers’ compensation claim.
New York Labor Law section 240 provides special protections for those workers who fall victim to “gravity-related accidents.” Usually this applies to workers who are injured by a fall from a scaffold, ladder or through unprotected or unguarded floor openings. Sometimes it involves those who are hurt by falling debris or materials.
Whether the fall is due to a defective ladder, collapsed scaffold or an unprotected opening, construction workers in New York are protected by “Strict Liability” laws also known as New York Labor Law 240. Labor Law section 240 provides special protections for those workers who fall victim to “gravity-related accidents.” Usually this applies to workers who are injured by a fall from a scaffold, ladder or through unprotected or unguarded floor openings. Sometimes it involves those who are hurt by falling debris or materials
Under the New York State “Strict liability” Law (Labor Law 240), once a construction worker proves he was hurt as a result of a fall from a height, his work is done. The injured worker is not required to provide any additional evidence about the negligence, fault or intent of the owner or general contractor. They are simply held “strictly liable.”
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a construction accident, then your injuries may be compensable from a wide variety of sources. Owners, general contractors, construction managers, architects, engineers and other contractors may be held liable for your injury at a construction site.
Please contact us for a free initial consultation if you or a loved one has been hurt in a construction accident. An experienced HKPD personal injury lawyer is available to assist you, 24 hours per day/ 7 days per week.
For more information:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
http://www.osha.gov
State of New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development Office
of Public Employees' Occupational Safety & Health
http://www.state.nj.us/labor/lsse/lspeosh.html
New York State Department of Labor, Division of Safety & Health, Public
Employee Safety & Health
http://www.labor.state.ny.us/workerprotection/safetyhealth/DOSH_PESH.shtm
Fact sources:
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/accidentinvestigation/accidentstats.html — OSHA
http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/sh20060519ar01p1.htm – Bureau
of Labor Statistics