Managing Partner
Getting hurt on a construction site may allow both workers (by way of a third-party personal injury claim) and non-workers to file a lawsuit seeking damages. Some victims wonder if the obviousness of the dangers on the site somehow prevents them from recovering.
The good news is that a victim can still sue even if the site was clearly unsafe. However, why exactly the area was unsafe, and who caused it, could be relevant. If you’ve been injured on a Long Island construction site, talk to the attorneys at Dell & Dean, PLLC.
Legal Protections for Workers and Non-Workers
Whether you are hurt while doing construction work or as a non-worker while visiting or in proximity to a site, you may have the right to seek damages. New York offers strong protections for both groups, although the course of litigation is slightly different for them.
Workers
Anyone who works on a construction site and gets injured can file a workers’ compensation claim with their employer. Depending on the facts, however, the accident victim may also be able to file a personal injury claim against a third party, like the property owner or a contractor.
New York has a robust Labor Law. Statutes provide both general protections to all workers and specific protections to workers using scaffolding and those who do construction, excavation, and demolition work. Violations of the Labor Law that cause injury could allow a lawsuit.
The objective of filing a Long Island lawsuit under one of these statutes is to seek broader forms of compensation than are available with a workers’ comp claim. These may include:
- Full wage replacement (workers’ comp only provides partial wage replacement)
- Lost future earning capacity if the injured worker cannot return to their previous job
- Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering
Non-workers
If someone visits a construction site or is in proximity to one (e.g., walking on the sidewalk next to an ongoing project), and they get injured, they may be able to take legal action. For example, the victim could allege negligence in a personal injury lawsuit.
Some non-workers in Long Island are injured due to a defect with construction machinery. For instance, a crane could collapse and cause injury to nearby pedestrians. In a case like this, the victim could potentially pursue a product liability case against the crane manufacturer.
Do Clearly Unsafe Conditions Negate the Right to Compensation in New York?
The existence of unsafe conditions can actually strengthen, not weaken, a victim’s claims. OSHA violations are found on many sites and include poorly trained workers, lack of machine safeguards, and loose materials. These can cause injury to workers and non-workers alike.
Violations of OSHA regulations do not create a private right to sue. Rather, they serve as evidence of violations of the Labor Law, negligent worksite conditions, and defective machinery. They may be used along with other forms of evidence to prove the victim’s claim.
A pedestrian or visitor to the site almost certainly has no control over the conditions. So if they are present and unsafe conditions cause them physical injury, they will likely be able to sue. The analysis is different if the victim (worker or non-worker) caused the unsafe condition.
As an example, a visitor to a Long Island building project tampers with equipment and then gets hurt. Although the contractor may have the general obligation to keep the area safe, the visitor’s actions clearly contributed to the unsafe condition that led to the accident.
If this happens, the question will then be to what degree the actions of the victim (the visitor to the site) contributed to their own injuries. It may be that the site was already unsafe, but the victim bears partial liability for the accident. This is where comparative negligence comes in.
Using the same example, say that the visitor’s actions make them 40% liable for the accident. If their damages would have been $100,000, they are then reduced by 40% ($40,000) for a total of $60,000. The victim can recover even if they are 99% responsible for the unsafe condition.
Ultimately, a victim’s recovery after an accident sustained on an unsafe construction site will depend on why and how the danger arose. But clearly unsafe conditions do not, alone, mean the victim cannot recover anything.
Were You Hurt? It’s Time to Explore Your Options
We encourage all accident victims to consider their legal options, regardless of the circumstances of the accident. If you’ve been hurt on a Long Island construction project, schedule a free case consultation with our team. Reach out to us today to learn more.
