Long Island Construction Accident Lawyer
Construction is one of the most vital industries in New York and around the world. It is also the most dangerous. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), one in five worker deaths happen in construction. In New York, close to half of all workplace fatalities occur in construction. New York has special laws in place that put duties on property owners, developers and contractors to provide a safe environment and holds them absolutely liable when they don’t.
If you’ve been injured in a construction accident in Nassau County, Long Island or New York City, or if you have a family member who was injured or killed working on a construction job, Long Island construction accident lawyer John Giuffré will work to see that you are taken care and will fight to get you a full and fair amount of compensation for your injuries. Call Giuffré Law Offices for a free consultation at our offices in Long Island, Brooklyn or Queens, or we’ll come to you if you can’t travel.
Help with the full range of New York construction accident dangers
The leading causes of construction accidents are falls, getting struck by an object, electrocution, and caught-in/between accidents, where a worker is stuck or crushed between equipment, objects or a collapsing structure. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), these “fatal four” accidents account for significantly more than half of all construction worker deaths.
At Giuffré Law Offices, we help construction workers and their families with the full range of construction accident injuries and fatalities, including:
- Ladder falls: Falls occur when unsafe or defective ladders are used, when the wrong ladder is used for the job, when ladders are not properly secured, or when they are built on-site in a negligent or defective manner.
- Scaffold collapses: Scaffold accidents happen when fall arrest and fall protection is missing or inadequate, if footings are uneven, when rigging is insufficient to support the load, if platforms aren’t fully planked, if counterweights are missing or inadequate, or when platforms and walkways are too narrow to navigate safely.
- Forklift accidents: Forklift dangers include overloaded forklifts that are loaded too high, driving off loading docks, disabled or nonworking backup alarms, and operating in too tight of a space.
- Crane collapses: Crane operations are complex matters. Cranes are immense structures lifting extremely heavy cargo. If the crane is not set up properly, carefully planned and supervised, it could drop its load or collapse, strike electrical power lines, tip over, or crush workers at unguarded pinch points.
- Trenching and excavation accidents: Fatalities occur in trenching and excavation at a rate of 112% greater than general construction. Workers are at risk of a sudden trench collapse or asphyxiation from the buildup of gases or lack of fresh air. Trenches should be properly shored and guarded, built with adequate exits, inspected daily, and used no longer than needed.
- Defective machinery: Power tools, heavy machinery, and other construction tools can malfunction, causing severe injury.
- Electrocution: Contact with overhead or underground wires can cause electric shock injury, as can malfunctioning construction equipment.
- Heavy lifting: Back injuries can result from lifting large or heavy objects.
- Eye and ear damage: Loud noises, welding, electric shock, and chemical exposure can all cause damage to vision, hearing, and sense of smell if the workers are not wearing proper protective gear.
Holding owners and contractors “absolutely liable” under New York’s scaffold law
New York has a unique law in place under New York Labor Law section 240(1), commonly called the scaffold law. This law requires property owners and contractors to make sure construction workers are adequately protected from falls or gravity-related accidents that might occur in construction, demolition, repairing, painting, cleaning and other specified activities. Contractors and owners must provide workers with scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, ropes and other devices to give the workers proper protection. Owners and contractors are absolutely liable to workers injured in a fall or other elevation-related accident if they didn’t provide the necessary protections.
Property owners and developers heavily litigate scaffold law cases, giving their all to get these cases dismissed before they can get to trial. We’ll work just as hard to secure a pre-trial summary judgment establishing their liability, leaving only the issue of damages left for settlement or trial.
At Giuffré Law Offices, our knowledgeable and experienced construction accident attorney takes on cases involving New York Labor Laws like section 200 (general negligence), 240(1) (scaffold law), and 241(6). We know when and how to apply OSHA safety standards and New York Industrial Code Regulations to help your case proceed and conclude successfully. Don’t take chances in this confusing and highly technical area of the law; count on a trusted resource like the construction accident practice at Giuffré Law Offices in Brooklyn, Bayside and Stewart Manor.
Injured in a Construction Accident in New York City or Long Island? Call Giuffré Law Offices for Help
If you or a loved one has been injured in a construction accident in Nassau County, Long Island or New York City, call Giuffré Law Offices at 516-802-9912 for immediate assistance. Your consultation is free, and we don’t charge a fee until after we recover for you.
