New York City Construction Accident lawyerS

If you’ve been injured in a construction accident in New York, you need a law firm with extensive experience and a proven record of results. At The Perecman Firm, we have recovered more than half a billion dollars for accident victims and their families. Our New York City construction accident attorneys have earned a reputation as tough litigators and negotiators who stop at nothing to secure maximum results for our clients.

We are a law firm that has built a reputation for aggressively handling construction accident cases in New York and for simplifying the legal process by pursuing every avenue to maximum financial recovery for our clients. This means you only need one firm for your workers’ compensation claim, personal injury lawsuit, Social Security disability claim, appeals, and any other legal challenges arising out of your work accident.

Our firm was founded by David Perecman, one of the most highly experienced and skilled construction accident trial lawyers in New York. For years, he has led lectures for other lawyers at the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) to spread his knowledge of New York’s laws protecting construction workers. This is a position he earned through years of experience and record-setting success.

All of our attorneys are highly experienced in handling construction accident cases, including those involving falls from heights, ladder accidents, scaffold accidents, crane accidents, falling objects, trips and falls on construction sites, slips and falls on construction sites, electric shock accidents, and accidents involving power saws and powered machinery.

Our resources include a roster of construction site safety experts and engineers, as well as a former police officer working as an investigator. Our proven skills in handling construction accident cases have led to our long track record of multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements.

Contact us today for a free review of your case. You do not pay any fees while we work on your case. In fact, you only pay us when we recover compensation for you, whether through a verdict or settlement.

Our Track Record: Maximum Results for Injured Construction Workers

In construction accident cases, our team works to identify every possible source of compensation and then fights for maximum recovery. Some of our notable cases include:

• $19,000,000 - Worker struck by a falling steel beam on a construction site
• $15,000,000 - Fall from wet scaffolding on a jobsite
• $12,000,000 - Fall from ladder after being struck with an angle iron
• $11,500,000 - Fall from a ladder on rooftop job site
• $11,231,243 - Crush injury from Aircraft while working on Tarmac
• $6,415,000 - Fall from a ladder on a worksite
• $6,000,000 - Laborer injured in trench collapse
• $5,600,000 - Laborer struck by falling scaffolding on a job site
• $5,000,000 - Fall from scaffolding on a job site

Understanding Your Rights After a Construction Accident in New York

Millions of hardworking men and women in America make a living in the construction and building trades. From residential projects to commercial high-rises to government infrastructure projects, people in a range of different trades – including electricians, carpenters, iron workers, laborers, masons, painters, sheet metal workers, and plumbers – support themselves and their families from these jobs that are so essential to our country’s growth and success.

Because of the essential nature of these jobs, New York has special laws in place specifically to protect construction and building workers.

Construction workers who are injured on the job oftentimes have multiple options for pursuing compensation for the losses they suffer:

• A worker may be able to bring a personal injury lawsuit against a contractor or construction site owner to recover payment for their pain and suffering, medical expenses, and loss of wages and benefits. You can often do this even if the contractor or owner had nothing to do with your accident.
• In addition, a person injured in a construction accident on the job can make a claim for workers’ compensation benefits to cover medical expenses and part of their lost wages while out of work.
• If the worker becomes disabled from work in a construction site accident, they may be able to file for Social Security Disability benefits, depending on their age, injuries, and other factors.

At The Perecman Firm, we handle all three of these claims and fight every day for workers who were injured in construction accidents that should never have happened. Let us put our knowledge and skills to work for you.

A Message From Founder: David Perecman

Can I Bring a Lawsuit For My Construction Accident?

If you were hurt in a construction accident, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against the owner, general contractor, and other contractors or companies under Sections 240(1), 241(6), and/or 200 of the NY Labor Law.

Labor Law 240(1), commonly referred to as the “Scaffold Law,” allows certain workers to sue contractors, site owners, and their agents for accidents that involve falls from heights (i.e. falling off ladders or scaffolds), falling objects, and other gravity-related incidents. The law requires these corporations and companies to provide proper protection to the workers employed on the construction site. You can bring a lawsuit even if the contractor and owner had nothing to do with your specific work or your accident.

Labor Law 241(6) allows workers to sue contractors, owners, and their agents for violations of specific regulations of the New York State Industrial Code. This law commonly covers accidents involving trip and falls, slip and falls, electric shocks, unguarded saws, and other machinery, certain demolition accidents, scaffold accidents, crane accidents, and many others. You can also bring a lawsuit under this law against the contractor or owner even if they had no direct involvement with your work or accident.

Labor Law 200 allows workers to sue companies for their failure to provide reasonable and adequate protection to workers on a construction site. It has similarities to a negligence case.

This is very important information for workers injured in construction site accidents because workers’ compensation benefits do not cover pain and suffering and, in many cases, do not adequately compensate for other damages, like loss of earnings and/or benefits.

Since not all job site accidents will allow injured workers to bring a lawsuit, it is very important that you consult a New York City construction accident attorney to find out whether you can take legal action.

What Types of Compensation Can I Recover?

The types of losses that you can sue to be compensated for in a lawsuit are called “damages.”

When you bring a lawsuit for a construction accident, there are certain types of damages that you are entitled to try to recover. These include:

• Physical and emotional pain and suffering
• Past and future lost wages/earnings and fringe benefits
• Past and future medical expenses
• Punitive damages in extreme cases

What Is Covered by Workers’ Compensation?

In New York, if you are injured while performing daily work tasks, you are eligible to file a workers’ compensation claim.

The benefits provided through workers’ compensation can include:

• Full coverage of medical costs
• Partial compensation for lost wages
• Death benefits

In cases where negligence is involved ─ whether on your part or your employer’s ─ you are still entitled to workers’ comp benefits.

Determining Liability for a Construction Accident in New York City

The issue of who is responsible under the law is called “liability,” and it is the first issue that needs to be figured out by an attorney handling your construction accident case. Luckily, New York’s special laws protecting construction workers provide ways to hold owners, contractors, and their agents on construction sites responsible for the safety and well-being of their workers even if they were not involved directly with your accident.

This is very important because owners, general contractors, construction managers, subcontractors, and other companies on construction sites have different types and amounts of insurance coverage that can affect your ability to get full compensation for your injuries and losses.

Exactly who should be sued in any given construction accident case can be a difficult question to answer. Your case is best left to an experienced and knowledgeable construction accident lawyer in New York City.

Call us or contact us online to get started. Your initial consultation is free.

How Long Do I Have to File a Construction Accident Claim in New York?

You have three years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury lawsuit in New York against a private entity or person. You have two years to file a New York workers’ compensation claim. If you lost a loved one in a construction accident, you have two yearsfrom the date of death to file a wrongful death claim.

If your personal injury or wrongful death claim is against a government entity, the time limits are significantly shorter and you will usually need to serve a Notice of Claim on the municipal entity within ninety (90) days of the accident.

These deadlines may seem far off in the aftermath of a work accident, but you should always consult with an attorney right away to understand the time limitations on your potential claim or lawsuit. There is a lot of legal legwork that needs to be done immediately to preserve evidence and begin documenting your claim for compensation. The sooner you begin working with a trusted New York City construction accident attorney, the better off you will be.

New York City Construction Accident Statistics

New York is one of the biggest cities in the world and construction is always happening somewhere in the five boroughs. While these projects provide a lot of jobs, they also result in a lot of accidents, many of which leave workers with massive medical bills, lost income, and significant pain and suffering.

Here are some leading statistics on construction accidents in New York:

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that of the 59 fatal work injuries in New York City during one recent year, 17 were related to construction, extraction, or maintenance accidents. That’s roughly 29 percent of the fatal work injuries for that year. 
• That same year, 53 fatal construction and extraction injuries occurred statewide, according to the BLS.
• BLS data shows about 10,400 nonfatal construction injuries statewide in one recent year. That includes about 7,400 cases where injured workers had to miss work, change jobs, or work under medical restrictions.

Now consider the following information from a report by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH):

• The rate of fatal construction injuries is about the same for New York City and New York State. New York City had a fatality rate of 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people in one recent year, while the rate for New York State was 10.5 deaths per 100,000 people.
• Falls are the number one cause of construction deaths in NYC and statewide. The NYCOSH report found that falls caused about 48 percent of all construction fatalities statewide over a 10-year period. In New York City, falls accounted for 64 percent of fatal construction injuries in one year.
• Non-union job sites are more prone to construction injuries and fatalities. When NYCOSH looked at 23 OSHA investigations from one recent year, they found that 86 percent of the construction workers who died at private job sites statewide did not belong to a union. In New York City, about 79 percent of the workers who died on private worksites did not belong to a union.
• Latino construction workers are more likely to die on the job, according to the NYCOSH report. While Latino workers account for about 10 percent of the state’s workforce, they make up 18 percent of workers killed on the job.
• The NYCOSH report also says older workers are more likely to suffer fatal on-the-job injuries. Statewide, workers aged 55-64 are the most likely to die on the job, followed by workers aged 35-44.
• OSHA fines for fatal construction accidents are increasing, but they remain too small to be effective. According to the NYCOSH report, the average OSHA fine for a fatal construction accident was $44,779 for one recent year. The highest fine for that year was $300,370.
• The number of OSHA inspections at job sites has dropped sharply over the past decades, according to NYCOSH research. After peaking at about 13,000 inspections in 1987, the number of inspections for one recent year was about 4,000.

We Handle All Types of Construction Accident Cases in New York

Our seasoned attorneys have handled all types of construction accident cases, including:

We Represent All Types of Workers

We understand the different risks workers face in different trades on the job site. Our New York City construction accident attorneys represent:

Construction Accident FAQs

After a serious workplace accident, you likely have a lot of questions. Our NYC construction accident attorneys are here to provide answers and advocacy as you fight to get back on your feet. Below are answers to some of the questions we most frequently receive about construction accidents.

Get the Power of a Top-Tier NYC Construction Accident Lawyer on Your Side

If you or a loved one were injured you need The Perecman Firm. Our experienced New York construction accident attorneys are here to discuss how we can help you recover the money you need during this difficult time. When your health and livelihood are on the line, you need a construction accident law firm with the experience, resources, and track record of results. Contact us today for a free review of your case.