A Manhattan Construction Worker Secures an Important Legal Win in His Case Against Two Entities Involved in the Project

When you have been seriously hurt in an accident that occurred while you were working at your construction job, you no doubt have lots of questions. One of the main ones probably is, “Can I sue and win?” When you decide to seek compensation through the legal system, you no doubt know that the defense will probably fight against you aggressively. The other side may argue that you have no possible case at all. The defense may alternately argue that, whether or not you have a case generally, you don’t have a case against them. Achieving a favorable judgment means being ready to overcome those and other arguments. To clear all the essential hurdles, it helps to have the knowledge and skill of an experienced New York City construction injury working for you.

To get an idea what we mean, consider the case of J.V., who was a construction worker working at a project at John Jay College in Manhattan. While performing one of his job duties, which entailed removing a 2,500-pound bag of soil from a crane, the crane allegedly lifted and J.V.’s arm got caught in one of the straps holding the bag of soil. According to J.V., that caused him to be lifted off the ground until he eventually freed his hand and fell back down to the building’s roof. Allegedly, that whole harrowing process caused the worker to suffer substantial injuries.

J.V. sued the firm, S.O.M., that the property owner had hired to provide “architectural, engineering, and construction management services.” In New York construction injury cases, it is often easier to achieve a successful result when suing a general contractor or a property owner. Since this firm was not the general contractor on the project, J.V. needed some extra evidence in order to have a valid claim that this defendant was liable for his accident, and he was able to present that proof. His evidence demonstrated to the trial judge’s satisfaction that that defendant was “responsible for coordinating and supervising the entire construction project and was invested with a concomitant power to enforce safety standards and to hire responsible contractors.” In other words, even though that firm was not technically the general contractor, it was responsible for many of the duties generally handled by general contractors, especially in relation to ensuring worker safety. When you have evidence that a contractor had general responsibility for maintaining site safety, then you generally can proceed against that entity, and J.V. was able to do so in his case.

You can also sue an entity that is what the law calls an “agent” of either the general contractor or the property owner. That rule was how J.V. achieved a successful result against a second entity, T.C. The worker had proof that T.C. “functioned as the eyes, ears, and voice of the owner” and had wide-ranging power when it came to maintaining overall site safety, including the crane operation. That proof demonstrated sufficiently that T.C. was the owner’s agent. That meant that T.C. was liable in much the same way that an owner would be.

Achieving success in your construction accident case requires many things. It requires the right evidence. It requires the right legal arguments. In other words, it is often aided by an experienced legal professional. Contact the knowledgeable New York City construction injury attorneys at Arcia & Associates. Our team has many years of handling construction injury cases and helping injured workers pursue the compensation they deserve.