A New York City Construction Worker Wins His Injury Case After Being Hit By Falling Cinderblocks

If you work in construction, you face many possible threats of injury. One of those is objects falling on you. If you are hurt on the job as a result of something falling and hitting you, New York law may allow you to pursue the project’s general contractor or the site’s owner for an award of damages. When you do, though, you’ll likely face a vigorous defense that may argue, among other things, that the facts surrounding your injury don’t fit all of the criteria for recovery that the law demands. To make sure you have the best possible chance of getting the fullest award that you deserve, be sure to retain experienced New York City construction injury counsel.

For A.G., a construction worker in Manhattan, the facts preceding his lawsuit unfolded as many do. A financial services company decided to do a “build-out” of its space in a 48-story building on Broadway. A.G., an employee of the general contractor on the job, was responsible for carving rectangular openings in the building’s cinderblock walls to permit ductwork to pass through those walls.

A.G. saw a potential problem with falling cinderblocks and asked for a device called a “lintel,” which would hold certain blocks in place that were situated above the opening the laborer had carved out. A.G. was not provided with a lintel. As the worker finished his last opening of the day, two blocks directly above the opening fell, striking A.G. in the knee.

The injured worker sued the financial services company (the owner of the space). A.G. asserted that he was entitled to a judgment because he was not provided with proper safety protections and that he was injured by an elevation-related risk of injury (the falling cinderblocks).

The company argued that it could not be liable because the accident that injured A.G. was not the sort of incident that the statute covered. The trial court, however, sided with A.G., awarding him summary judgment. That meant that the court papers and supporting information A.G. had filed were, by themselves, enough to show that the financial services company was liable.

This worker’s case, according to the trial court, was similar to a 2008 case that also ended in a ruling in favor of the injured worker. In that case, the worker was hurt by a collapsing wall. That court stated that the “accident clearly fell within the scope of [the statute], as the evidence shows [the worker] was struck by falling objects that could have been, but were not, adequately secured.” A.G.’s case was similar. The cinderblocks could have been secured, but they were not. They eventually fell and hit A.G., causing his injury. That meant that there was liability and the worker was entitled to a judgment in his favor, according to the trial court.

The Appellate Division court agreed with the trial judge’s reasoning. The cinderblocks that hit A.G. qualified as falling objects under the New York law that protects construction workers. That meant that A.G. faced a risk of harm from an elevation-related risk, that no safety devices were employed to safeguard him from that risk and that the danger in question caused his injuries. That was all he needed to succeed in his case.

In other words, A.G.’s legal team put together a case that gave him the judgment he needed and allowed him to proceed efficiently on to proving the extent of his damages.

If you have been hurt at your construction job, there may be multiple different avenues that can lead you to the financial compensation you need. To find out more about them and which is the best for you, consult the New York City construction injury attorneys at Arcia & Associates for the representation you need. Our team has many years of experience helping injured workers.

More Blog Posts:

Proof of a Lack of Fall Protection Allows an Injured Demolition Man to Win His New York Construction Injury Case, Blog de Abogado en la Ciudad de Nueva York, 9 de Julio de 2018

New York Court Says a Worker Hurt While Cutting Down a Tree Was Permitted to Pursue His Construction Injury Case, Blog de Abogado en la Ciudad de Nueva York, 20 de Abril de 2018