At Jesse Minc Personal Injury Law, our personal injury lawyers represent people involved in accidents on work sites and construction jobs throughout New York City, such as those involving dangerous machinery, falls from a height, and other instances of a lack of adequate safety precautions. The top Bronx construction accident attorneys available to our clients combine decades of legal experience in fighting for the people whom we represent along with substantial financial resources to give our clients the best possible chance to get the full compensation available to them under the law. That includes money for economic damages, such as the loss of wages and benefits, including all of the union benefits to which you are entitled if you are a member of a union, stemming from your injuries. We take the time to understand each individual client’s unique situation and to craft a legal strategy accordingly. Our attorneys are dedicated to guiding clients through the legal system with candor and close attention to detail.
Economic damages are a type of legal remedy that is usually available in cases involving construction accidents where the injured worker incurs any type of costs associated with their injuries. Awards of economic damages are intended to compensate an injured person for the financial consequences of a construction accident, or any other type of personal injury accident that causes them to incur out-of-pocket costs. These damages cover missed wages and benefits due to time away from work while recuperating, as well as medical bills and costs ancillary to obtaining medical treatment for injuries suffered in the accident. They also extend to any reduction in your future earning capacity that can be tied to the injuries, such as often occurs when a construction worker is rendered incapable of performing construction work in the future and must accept only light-duty assignments or other less available or less lucrative employment. The general rule for determining whether you are entitled to economic damages due to a construction accident is whether or not you have incurred any costs at all that you can tie to your injuries.
Legal Protections for Construction Workers
To obtain an award of economic and other damages for your injuries, you will start by filing a construction accident lawsuit against the person or entity responsible. In construction accident cases in New York City and the Bronx, the responsible parties are generally the general contractor and the owner of the property where the accident happened. Subcontractors may also be proper defendants in a construction injury lawsuit under certain circumstances. The New York Labor Law generally dictates the parties from whom compensation can be obtained in a construction accident that occurs in New York City, or anywhere else across the State of New York.
These cases regularly center on claims for negligence, a legal theory that holds people or businesses responsible when they fail to live up to a certain “duty of care.” Property owners, for instance, owe a duty to keep the premises in safe condition and to warn people of any hazards known to the owner or hazards that they should have been able to discover through a reasonable inspection. In the context of construction accidents, the Labor Law requires that owners of properties on which construction projects are ongoing also make sure that workers are provided with adequate protection in the form of proper safety equipment, and can be held responsible for any injuries, including economic damages, that result from an accident which is proximately caused by unsafe conditions or an absence of proper safety devices. An owner that does not live up to these duties is likely to be found negligent and liable for any trip and falls, slip and falls, or other accidents that result.
New York law also imposes some specific responsibilities on entities in the construction industry. Section 240 of the Labor Law requires construction companies to provide certain safety equipment – like scaffolding, hoists, stays, ropes, and ladders – for workers doing their jobs at elevation. Similarly, Labor Law Section 241 requires construction companies to provide specific equipment for excavation and demolition work and other jobs. A person injured in an accident needs only to show that the company failed to provide required safety equipment and that this failure contributed to the accident in order to be entitled to compensation.
Economic Benefits Through Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation benefits are also often available for people injured on construction sites. These benefits are designed to compensate a person who is unable to work due to an illness or injury suffered on the job. Benefits include compensation for at least a portion of your missed wages and any related medical expenses. However, benefits awarded through the workers’ compensation administrative process can be a less complete form of compensation than the economic damages that may be awarded through a civil claim.
Retain a Knowledgeable Bronx Attorney to Assert Your Right to Economic Damages
Our lawyers understand the legal issues that often come up in construction accident and other injury cases. Our firm has obtained favorable results in court or at the negotiating table in more than 95 percent of the cases that we have handled. We also offer clients direct access to our lawyers. We are happy to offer free consultations at our offices, and we serve victims in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties. We do not charge a fee to our clients in most cases unless we are successful. Call us at (718) 354-8000 or contact us online to schedule your appointment. Se habla espanol.
