2018 Was a Good Year for New York Construction Projects, But a Dangerous One for Area Construction Workers

As 2018 has drawn to a close, information about construction work in New York City reveals both good news and bad news. While the number of construction permits in the city rose substantially in 2018, meaning a growth in the availability of construction work, so did the number of construction worker injuries and deaths on the job. Unfortunately, those two things often go hand in hand. As the demand for new construction increases, frequently so does the pressure to work quickly and, too many times, to cut corners to meet tight deadlines.

When safety gets sacrificed in the name of efficiency and speed, and construction workers get hurt in the process, New York law may allow those injured workers to sue and get much-needed compensation through the legal system. To discover more about your legal rights in relation to your on-the-job construction accident, be sure to talk to a knowledgeable New York City construction attorney.

Recently, The Jewish Voice published a report about the state of construction work, and construction injures, in New York City in 2018. The Jewish Voice‘s report indicated that construction permits were up in the city this past year, as builders sought to replace properties washed away by Superstorm Sandy with new buildings, both commercial and residential.

However, citing an earlier report by Crain’s New York, The Jewish Voice also reported that the number of construction workers injured on the job in 2018 was higher than in any year following the recession of the previous decade. In just the first ten months of the year, 2018 logged significantly more construction worker injuries than occurred during the entirety of 2017, according to the report.

A workplace injury to a construction worker can have a devastating effect on the worker and his or her family. The construction worker may often be the primary or even sole income earner in his/her family. The worker may be uninsured, undocumented or both, meaning that the loss (due to injury) of that regular paycheck may, in the absence of other “safety nets,” leave the worker’s family in particularly dire financial straits.

New York law gives you options

Fortunately, New York law gives many injured construction workers an avenue for relief, especially those injured due to safety shortcomings. There are two laws that protect many injured construction workers who were hurt because their workplaces were not sufficiently safe. One, Section 240(1) of the Labor Law, aids workers who were not provided with proper safety protection and were then hurt as a result of that inadequate protection and a fall from a height (or a falling object striking them.) The law says that the owner of the project site and the general contractor on the job are legally obligated to provide all workers with sufficient safety to withstand any reasonable risks of harm from “elevation-related” dangers.

The other law helps workers hurt due to a failure to follow certain safety regulations. That statute, Section 241(6) of the Labor Law, says that, if you were hurt and if you can establish that certain safety regulations enacted by the state weren’t followed, then you can recover compensation from those responsible.

What all this means is that, if you have been hurt at your construction job, be sure you make a full effort to explore the options that the law gives you, including going to court. To find out more, consult the New York City construction injury attorneys at Arcia & Associates. Our team has many years of experience helping injured workers seek the recovery they deserve.

Contact us at 718-424-2222 to find out how we can help you.

More Blog Posts:

What New York State Safety Regulations Can I Use as the Basis for Pursuing a Construction Injury Lawsuit?, Blog de Abogado en la Ciudad de Nueva York, 1 de Octubre de 2018

Catholic Mass to Honor New York Construction Workers Killed on the Job Reminds All of the Importance of Workplace Safety, Blog de Abogado en la Ciudad de Nueva York, 30 de Mayo de 2018

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