Blog de Abogado en la Ciudad de Nueva York
When you suffer injuries in a construction accident, you may be entitled to compensation. The legal tools available to you to obtain this needed compensation may vary based upon the facts surrounding your accident. New York has multiple statutes that protect injured construction workers. Achieving the outcome you deserve often involves understanding all of the laws and recognizing how best to use them to pursue your claim for damages. To make sure you’re getting the compensation you deserve, be sure you’ve retained a knowledgeable New York construction injury attorney to handle your case.
Recently, a worker, R.F., found himself in the position of needing the legal system to recover compensation for his injuries. R.F. was employed as a laborer and was, in June 2014, working on a subway project in Manhattan. While the R.F. was working and standing on a flatbed truck, another group of workers were lowering a bundle of 12-foot aluminum I-beams. At some point in the process, the bundle of beams swung toward R.F. and pushed him off the truck, causing him to fall to the ground below and suffer substantial injuries. As a result, he sued.
An injured worker may be entitled to an award of damages based upon proving a violation of Section 200 of the state’s Labor Law, Section 240(1) of the Labor Law or Section 241(6) of the Labor Law. These laws each address different types of accidents. For example, Section 240(1) deals with “elevation-related” risks of harm, like a falling worker or a falling object striking a worker. Section 241(6) addresses injuries where a failure to follow the state’s safety regulations led to the accident. It is possible that your case may allow you to sue under two or three of these statutes. For example, if you slipped and fell off a scaffold because construction debris was left on the scaffold’s platform, you might be entitled to sue under both Section 240(1) and Section 241(6). As with any kind of civil lawsuit, the more legal bases for compensation that you can bring forward, the better your chances of success.
In R.F.’s case, the bundle of I-beams that was being lowered by the crane did not have tag lines. That proof alone was enough to show a violation of the statute related to safety regulations, Section 241(6). New York’s safety regulations require that swinging loads being hoisted by mobile cranes be restrained either by tag lines or some other type of restraint. This bundle had no restraint, so the regulation had been violated.
R.F.’s case also proved a violation of “elevation-related” risk statute, Section 240(1). A fall from a flatbed truck was a risk that could reasonably result from a hoisted load of I-beams with no restraint, and that type of fall was covered by the elevation-related risk statute, so R.F. had a winning case on both counts.
If you have been hurt at your construction job because someone else acted improperly or failed to act to protect your safety, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the New York City construction injury attorneys at Arcia & Associates. Our team has many years of experience helping injured workers. We can take the facts of your accident and help you find the best path to pursue the results you need.
Contact us at 718-424-2222 to find out how we can help you.
More Blog Posts:
Construction Debris Leads to a Successful Outcome For a New York Carpenter Pursuing a Construction Injury Case, Blog de Abogado en la Ciudad de Nueva York, 15 de Agosto 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