If you’re hurt in an accident while working a construction job, there may be multiple legal options available to you to obtain compensation for your harm. If a worker is hurt in a fall or due to something falling on him/her, there is one New York law that can allow the worker to seek damages. (That is Section 240(1) of the Labor Law Code.) If a worker is hurt due to someone else’s failure to follow the rules laid out in New York’s code of safety regulations, then that may provide the worker with a separate basis for obtaining compensation. (That is Section 241(6) of the Labor Law Code.)
If you’re hurt in an accident that involved a safety regulation violation and something falling (either an object falling on you or you falling), then you may have the opportunity to assert both of these laws as bases for an award of damages. Generally, in most any type of civil lawsuit, the more bases for compensation you can assert, the better your chances of success. In order to make sure you have the strongest case possible to give you every opportunity to obtain all the compensation the law allows, contact a skilled New York City construction injury about your case.
An example of a worker who was able to pursue multiple claims based upon the statutes was the case of a man named J.P. J.P. was a worker doing roofing work in the Rochester area when he suffered his accident. The roof on which J.P. was working was a pitched roof, which meant that it sloped downward on each side. In order to aid and protect the workers, “toe boards” were placed on the roof. These toe boards were two inches by six inches and nailed directly into the roof. The toe boards were already nailed into the roof when J.P. began his work. J.P.’s accident occurred when his toe boards detached from the roof, which led to his falling off the roof and all the way to the ground, resulting in serious injuries.
The Appellate Division court concluded that J.P. was entitled to summary judgment on his Section 240(1) claim. This means that J.P. was entitled to a judgment declaring the defense liable without J.P. having to go through an actual trial to determine liability. J.P. had undisputed evidence that the toe board he was using detached from the roof and that detachment caused him to fall off the roof and all the way to the ground. In the framework of how the law views it, that meant that a safety device failed and caused the worker to suffer injuries as a result of an “elevation-related” risk of harm. That proof was all J.P. needed for his Section 240(1) claim.
The court also concluded that the defense was not entitled to an order throwing out the worker’s Section 241(6) claim. The defense’s argument on this claim was that J.P. was the sole cause of the accident. However, as the evidence of the toe boards demonstrated, that clearly was not true. Because J.P. undeniably was not the sole cause of the accident, the defense’s basis for throwing out the Section 241(6) claim failed.
If you have been hurt at your construction job, you may be entitled to an award of damages. Contact the New York City construction injury attorneys at Arcia & Associates. Our team has many years of experience helping injured workers. We will work diligently to find the best path for the results you need.
Contact us at 718-424-2222 to find out how we can help you.
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
What is a ‘De Facto General Contractor’ and What Can It Mean in Your New York Construction Injury Case?, Blog de Abogado en la Ciudad de Nueva York, 9 de Abril de 2018