Construction accidents often leave workers injured and without income while they recover. These accidents are more likely to be mild or moderate, but many workers also face serious injuries that potentially disable them for life.
Our attorneys can help you get the compensation you need for your construction accident and take your claim to court when necessary. We can fight for fair compensation through negotiation or in the courtroom – whatever it takes.
For your free case evaluation, call our construction accident lawyers at The Martello Law Firm today at (914) 685-6950.
Can You Sue for Construction Accidents in New Rochelle?
If you are injured while at work on a construction site, you may think your claim needs to be filed as a Workers’ Compensation claim, but this is not always correct. There are three major ways your construction accident case can still be filed as a lawsuit, potentially opening access to additional damages:
Independent Contractor
First, independent contractors are not covered under this insurance and can typically sue for injuries. This does require some legal investigation and argument to determine what your work status actually is.
New York law broadly pushes many workers into the “employee” category, which would block a lawsuit against an employer. Performing a different trade or service from the construction firm or general contractor who hired you can often be enough to put you into the independent contractor category and preserve your right to sue. This is especially true if you control your own work rather than being supervised by your boss.
Subcontractors are often contractors, not employees of the general contractor, leaving them able to sue.
Third-Party Defendant
You can also sue other parties other than your employer, even if you are an employee. This would potentially allow lawsuits against tool or safety gear manufacturers if there is a defect, against drivers who crash into you, or against other vendors, suppliers, or contractors.
Certain Exceptions
Lawsuits are barred against employers for most issues, but if they committed certain regulatory and safety violations, the law does allow a lawsuit. One big exception is scaffolding injuries, which can often go to lawsuits against a negligent employer.
However, you still need to prove they were actually negligent. You cannot sue just because they were in charge if someone else was actually at fault.
What Damages Can I Claim for a Construction Accident?
Construction accidents cause a lot of harm, which can typically be divided into economic and non-economic damages. You can sue for both.
Economic Damages
These damages have monetary values and are based on expenses you face because of the accident or income you lost because of your injuries. This primarily includes things like medical bills and lost wages, but other incidental expenses can be claimed as well.
This can potentially help pay for help around the house or other services you need to cope with your injury, as well as the cost of any property damage you suffered in the accident.
Non-Economic Damages
The injuries themselves also cause harm: physical pain, mental anguish, emotional distress. These things have no monetary value, but you can still sue for them.
Calculating Damages
Economic damages can be claimed at their full value, including both expenses you already paid and expenses you can reasonably show you will face. For example, if you already had one surgery but still need two more, you can claim the costs of all three. You can also claim future lost earnings.
Non-economic damages are based on the severity of the injury and account for many harms. Calculation methods vary depending on the case, but we can often use a multiplier or per-day value to estimate these costs.
The final calculation is up to the jury.
How Are Construction Accident Cases Decided?
If you go through Workers’ Compensation, your case is decided based on whether it was work-related and caused disabilities. However, these claims leave off damages, and it is often complicated to get damages this way, if a claim is even available in your case.
In a lawsuit, cases are decided by judges and juries. The judge decides the legal questions, and the jury decides the factual questions:
- Who was at fault?
- What degree of fault do they bear?
- Does the victim bear some percentage of the fault, too?
- How much are the damages worth?
Through negotiations with the defendant, our construction accident lawyers may even be able to settle the case, meaning we can do away with any outside decisions and get the defense to agree to pay damages without needing to go to court.
Can I Settle My Construction Injury Case?
Most cases ultimately settle, meaning the parties skip a trial and determine payment among themselves. In a settlement, you agree to drop the claim in exchange for whatever payment you have agreed upon.
If you accept a settlement, your case is over. There is typically no way to reopen it.
This is why it is so important to talk to a lawyer about your case and to never sign anything or accept money from the defense before having your lawyer review it. If you take their money, it could be seen as a settlement, and your case could be over.
Not every case can or should be settled. You can sometimes get additional damages in court, such as punitive damages to punish a wrongdoer for their recklessness. These damages are not usually going to be offered in a settlement, so going to trial anyway may be worth it for some cases.
How Long Do I Have to Bring a Construction Accident Case?
Injury cases typically need to be filed within 3 years under New York law. This deadline is usually not flexible for construction accidents unless facts about the cause were hidden from you through fraud or deceit. Otherwise, there are very few excuses that could extend your filing deadline.
To get your case filed on time, it is vital to talk to a lawyer well ahead of this deadline. This also gives us time to investigate, collect evidence before it is lost or forgotten, and build a strong case.
Call Our Construction Accident Lawyers in New Rochelle Today
Call (914) 685-6950 for a free case review with The Martello Law Firm’s construction accident attorneys.
