Construction Accident Lawyer in Hempstead, NY: Who Else Can You Sue?
Workers’ compensation is the floor, not the ceiling — and on a Hempstead job site there is usually a lot of room above it.
Hurt on a site in Hempstead? Call 718.775.3110 for a free consultation.
Comp Bars Your Employer. Only Your Employer.
Workers’ compensation pays medical treatment and a capped share of lost wages regardless of fault, and nothing for pain and suffering. In exchange you cannot sue the company that employs you.
Everyone else remains fair game. On a commercial or multi-family site in Hempstead that list is usually long: the building owner, the general contractor, other subcontractors whose crews created the hazard, a scaffolding or hoist supplier, an equipment manufacturer, and on public work the municipality or agency that commissioned the job.
Those third-party claims run alongside the comp case, and unlike comp they compensate pain and suffering, full wage loss and future care. They are where the money actually is.
Labor Law § 240 Gives You Absolute Liability
Labor Law § 240(1) — the Scaffold Law — covers gravity-related injuries: falls from height and objects falling from height. Where proper safety devices were not supplied or were inadequate, owners and general contractors face absolute liability, meaning your own carelessness generally does not reduce your recovery.
Denser, taller work is exactly where this bites. Commercial fit-outs, multi-family renovation, roof and facade work, and anything on a hoist or scaffold sit squarely inside it.
§ 241(6) covers construction, demolition and excavation generally and requires identifying a specific Industrial Code rule that was broken — debris, lighting, floor openings, slippery surfaces. § 200 is the general safe-workplace duty, usually needing proof the defendant supervised the work or knew of the danger. Which section fits changes what must be proven and what the case is worth.
Public Work Puts You on a 90-Day Clock
Hempstead has village, town, county and state property inside a small area, and public projects are common — municipal buildings, road and streetscape work, transit infrastructure, school district facilities.
- Village, Town, County or school district project — Notice of Claim within 90 days under General Municipal Law § 50-e, suit inside one year and 90 days.
- State project — the Court of Claims, under Court of Claims Act § 10.
- Private project — three years under CPLR 214.
Plus the comp deadlines: written notice to your employer within 30 days, and the C-3 claim form within two years.
And plainly, because it stops people asking: New York protects injured construction workers regardless of immigration status. We do not ask.
What To Do
- Report it in writing. A text or email creates a timestamp a verbal report does not.
- Get medical attention the same day.
- Photograph the equipment, the height, the anchorages and the site conditions before anything is cleared.
- Identify every company on site, not just your employer — that list is your list of potential defendants.
- Take names and mobile numbers. Crews rotate off and become untraceable.
- Give no recorded statement to any carrier before speaking with a lawyer.
Talk to Mushiyev Law
Yakov Mushiyev and our team handle construction injury claims across Nassau County on contingency — free consultation, nothing up front, no fee unless we recover for you. Rated EXCELLENT across 586+ Google reviews. We can come to you.
Our Office & Directions from Hempstead
Yakov Mushiyev & Associates, PC
1 Cross Island Plaza, Suite 325
Rosedale, NY 11422
Phone: 718.775.3110
Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Free consultation — home and hospital visits available.
Open these directions in Google Maps, or request a free case review.
More in Hempstead
- Truck Accident Lawyer Hempstead
- Slip and Fall Lawyer Hempstead
- Construction Accident Lawyer West Hempstead
- Our Construction Accident Practice
- All Nassau County Locations
What Our Clients Say
This page is general information about New York law, not legal advice about your situation. Every case turns on its own facts, and deadlines vary. Speak with an attorney before relying on anything here.
