Using Multiple Different Statutes to Enhance Your Chances of Success in Your New York Construction Injury Case

After you’re hurt working on a construction site, you may understand that you should pursue compensation for your injuries and that the law provides various avenues for doing just that. However, would you know which statutes and/or regulations to select as part of your lawsuit for compensation for your construction injury? Many options for success come with many opportunities to make a mistake that can harm or doom your case. Make sure you’re not in that position by retaining the services of a knowledgeable New York City construction injury attorney.

A lawsuit filed by a construction worker at JFK Airport was an illustration of many of these options. C.M. was a construction worker who was hurt in August 2014. According to the worker, he and a co-worker were carrying a wooden floor panel that weighed roughly 150 pounds when C.M. stepped on a piece of plywood that covered a hole in the sidewalk. The plywood gave way and C.M.’s knee slammed into the ground.

The worker sued for his injuries. In his lawsuit, he asserted that he was entitled to receive compensation based upon violations of three different statutes. Asserting as many different valid arguments as possible can be a wise approach to your case. The more plausible arguments you provide as bases for compensation, the more chances you may have for a successful outcome. Even if the court rules against you on one or two of your claims, your remaining claim or claims may be sufficient to get you the damages award you need.

In your lawsuit, it is important understand the hurdles ahead of you and what’s needed to clear them. A key hurdle is the defense motion for summary judgment. If the entities or entity you sued wins that, then your case gets thrown out of court before it ever makes it to a jury, so defeating this request is extremely important.

In C.M.’s case, the court granted the defense summary judgment on one of the worker’s claims but rejected the defense request on two others. One of C.M.’s claims that the trial court decided could proceed was the claim he launched under Section 241(6) of the New York Labor Law. That’s a statute that says that, if someone violated one or more of New York’s workplace safety regulations and that regulation violation led to your injury, then you can sue for compensation.

Pursuing a Section 241(6) claim requires detailed knowledge of the law, because the courts only allow workers to recover in these types of claims if the regulation the worker cited was “sufficiently specific.” Despite the defense argument that C.M.’s regulations were too general, the trial judge said that they were adequately specific.

If you have suffered an injury while working construction in New York, you need skilled legal counsel to help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact the New York City construction injury attorneys at Arcia & Associates. Our team has many years of providing essential advice and advocacy to injured workers.

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

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