If You Work in Construction, You Have Special Rights
You were injured working a construction, excavation or demolition job in the Elmira, New York, area. And your injury has disrupted your life.
As a construction worker, you may be entitled to more rights — and compensation — than you know.
For most people injured on the job, Worker’s Compensation is the only way to recover lost wages, doctor costs, medication costs and costs of medical devices.
Typically, you cannot sue your employer if you’re hurt on the job.
In New York State, however, construction workers get special consideration for the risks you take building our communities.
Under certain circumstances, New York labor law allows you to file lawsuits for damages when you’re hurt working construction.
To determine if you have a construction injury case, the experienced lawyers at Lachman & Gorton will evaluate your situation for free.
Your Legal Protections as a Construction Worker
Your ability to seek damages for injuries on a construction job — in addition to Workers’ Comp benefits — comes from a special set of rules in New York State designed to give additional protection for painters, roofers, plumbers, excavators and others in construction.
New York Labor Law Section 241 requires all construction workers to be provided a “safe and reasonable job site” when they’re working at ground level.
Another part — Section 240 — covers construction work happening at heights elevated off the ground.
The law allows construction companies, property owners and general contractors to be held responsible for injuries.
Section 241 requires construction sites to meet certain standards for ground-level jobs.
Violations of Labor Law 241 include:
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- Work areas cluttered with dirt and debris, scattered tools or other materials
- Improperly guarded shafts
- Inadequate lighting
- Water accidents
- Chemical exposure
- Air contamination
- Failure to provide adequate safety equipment
At the Lachman & Gorton Law Office, we can also help you with accidents covered by Labor Law Section 240 involving gravity and elevation — in other words injuries from falls or falling objects.
Section 240 is sometimes called the “scaffold law.”
Owners of single- or two-family dwellings do not have to comply with these labor laws unless they “control or supervise the work.”
Owners of two-family residences renting out both units do have to comply.
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Dangers You Face at Construction Sites
Among the 10 most cited violations of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards in 2016, most involved issues you’d find around construction sites:
- Fall protections
- Hazard communication
- Scaffolding
- Respiratory protection
- Control of hazardous energy
- Powered industrial trucks
- Ladders
- Machinery and Machine Guarding
- Electrical wiring methods
- Electrical system designs
OSHA reported 4,836 U.S. workers killed on the job in 2015, an average of more than 93 a week, more than 13 a day.
More than one of every five of those work-related deaths was in the construction industry.
The number of non-fatal construction incidents is much greater.
If you’ve been injured, or had a loved one killed, in a construction accident in the Elmira, New York, area, consult a lawyer with years of experience in construction accident law — such as the lawyers at the Lachman & Gorton Law Office — to protect you and your family.
Do I Have a Labor Law Case in Addition to Worker’s Comp?
The particular circumstances leading to your construction injury can mean different legal paths and forms of compensation.
You need a lawyer who understands the special provisions in New York labor laws for construction workers — so you get the maximum compensation available to you.
The lawyers at the Lachman & Gorton Law Office have years of experience helping New Yorkers who were injured working construction.
