Long Island is always under construction: new apartment buildings near LIRR stations, home renovations across Nassau County, road and utility work on the parkways. When a worker falls from a ladder, is hit by a falling object or is hurt by unsafe equipment, New York law offers protections that go well beyond workers’ compensation. A Long Island construction accident attorney can tell you which ones apply to you.
Workers’ comp is only part of the picture
If you’re hurt on the job, workers’ compensation generally pays medical bills and part of your lost wages, and you usually can’t sue your own employer. But on a construction site, other parties often share responsibility: the property owner, the general contractor or another subcontractor. A third-party lawsuit against them can recover damages that workers’ comp doesn’t pay, including pain and suffering and full lost earnings.
Labor Law § 240(1): the Scaffold Law
Labor Law § 240(1) requires owners and contractors to provide proper safety devices, such as scaffolds, ladders, hoists and harnesses, for work at height. If a gravity-related accident happens because that protection was missing or inadequate, owners and contractors can be held liable even if they weren’t directly supervising the work. It covers:
- Falls from ladders, scaffolds, roofs and elevated platforms
- Workers struck by falling objects that weren’t properly secured
- Collapsing scaffolds and hoists
There is an exception for owners of one- and two-family homes who contract for work but don’t direct or control it.
Labor Law § 241(6) and § 200
Labor Law § 241(6) requires owners and contractors to comply with specific safety rules in the New York Industrial Code, covering things like trenches, debris, slippery surfaces and machinery. Labor Law § 200 codifies the general duty to provide a safe workplace. Together, these laws cover many injuries that don’t involve falls.
Common Long Island construction injuries
- Falls from ladders and roofs during residential and commercial work
- Trench collapses on utility jobs
- Electrocution
- Injuries from heavy equipment and power tools
- Tripping over debris on disorganized job sites
Federal safety standards from OSHA can also help show a site was unsafe.
Deadlines
A third-party construction injury lawsuit generally must be filed within three years. If a public entity owns the site, such as a town, county, school district or public authority, a notice of claim may be due within just 90 days. Workers’ comp claims have their own notice rules, so report your injury to your employer right away.
Why hire a Long Island construction accident attorney?
These cases turn on who owned the property, who hired whom, what safety equipment was provided and what the Industrial Code required. We identify every responsible party, coordinate with your workers’ comp claim and build the case with site records and expert testimony. We represent injured workers in Nassau County and across New York City. Read more on our construction accident page and our Labor Law 240 guide.
Visit Yakov Mushiyev & Associates
Our office is at 1 Cross Island Plaza, Suite 325, Rosedale, NY 11422, just off the Cross Island Parkway on the Queens–Nassau border. If you can’t come to us, we’ll come to you: at home, in the hospital or by video.
Talk to a Long Island construction accident attorney today
Yakov Mushiyev & Associates has recovered over $80 million for injured New Yorkers across the five boroughs and Nassau County. Consultations are free, available in English, Russian and Spanish, and there is no fee unless we win.
Call 718.775.3110 or contact us online for a free case review.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different. Attorney Advertising.