Determining who is at fault for an accident is a very fact-sensitive process. In any injury case, it is vital to look at what happened, who was around at the time of the accident, whether any materials can be traced back to a negligent manufacturer, and who was in charge of the people and materials at the time of the accident.
When it comes to construction accidents, many accidents are ultimately the construction firm’s fault. If they allowed their workers to be injured because of dangerous conditions on the job site or other mistakes in training or safety, the accident could be their fault. Alternatively, a number of third parties could potentially be fully at fault or share fault with the construction company. However, getting compensation from either party could be complex.
For a free case review on your construction accident, call the Westchester construction accident lawyers at The Martello Law Firm. Our phone number is (914) 685-6950.
Which Parties Are at Fault for a NY Construction Accident?
After an accident, it is important to look at the conditions leading up to the accident and the facts surrounding the accident to determine who was at fault. In many cases, there might even be multiple parties that could share fault.
For a party to be at fault in the first place, there must be some duty that they owed the victim. Without a duty that was violated, you cannot hold someone responsible for an accident. In many cases, this is a duty involving the construction site itself, be that the duty of an employer to keep their workers safe, the duty of the property owner to keep the premises reasonably safe, or the duty of other workers to act reasonably to avoid injuring others. Sometimes the duty in question involves others outside the work site, such as the duties involved with manufacturers of power tools and safety equipment to avoid selling defective or dangerous products. It could even involve something as straightforward as a driver crashing into a roadside crew.
You also have to prove that the mistakes and violations in question ultimately caused the accident and resulting injuries. If there was some intervening cause, that could cut off liability. For example, if you fell off an unsafe scaffolding because someone else pushed you, your employer would not have been liable for the unsafe scaffolding even if it truly was dangerous because the push was an intervening cause of your injuries.
At the end of the day, you also cannot typically sue others for accidents that you cause.
Can You Sue an Employer for Injuries on a Construction Site in NY?
If your employer is the one at fault for your injuries, you might not be able to sue them in every case. Our NY construction accident lawyers can help you determine what laws affect your case and whether your right to sue is limited in any way.
Sometimes NY’s Workers’ Compensation rules prevent employees from suing. Many construction workers are hired as independent contractors, but they might still be classified as “employees” for purposes of these rules. However, there are a number of ways to get around these restrictions, especially if your employer committed one of several safety regulation violations. For example, NY’s scaffolding law allows lawsuits against an at-fault employer for any injuries related to falls from heights or so-called gravity-related injuries where the employer was negligent.
If you are not able to sue an employer, our Yonkers construction accident lawyers can help you hold others responsible for your accident. As mentioned above, equipment manufacturers are often at fault for the injuries that construction workers suffer from defective tools and safety equipment.
Holding Someone Responsible for Construction Accidents in New York
When you want to hold a party responsible for an accident, you often have a few routes to compensation. Many parties will have insurance to cover them, especially companies that perform construction or manufacture tools or gear. Workers’ Compensation is also an insurance system. Filing an insurance claim can often get you damages, but they could be limited in several ways that prevent you from getting your damages fully reimbursed through an insurance claim.
Instead, a lawsuit might be available to get you full damages. When you file a construction accident lawsuit with the help of our New York construction accident attorneys, we can fight to get you full compensation for your injuries, including lost wages, pain and suffering, and medical bills.
To win your lawsuit, you will need evidence to prove fault. As discussed above, proving fault includes showing that the responsible party violated some duty and that that violation actually caused your injuries. Evidence to prove this might come from various sources, such as witness testimony, video of the accident, photos of the aftermath and the injuries involved, and more.
One potential source of information that is of particular concern with these cases might be expert witness testimony. Instead of testifying to what they saw happen like eyewitnesses, expert witnesses use their expertise in some area to explain what happened with science and other expertise. For example, you might need a power tool manufacturer to explain particular safety issues with a defective power tool or an engineer to explain the structural weaknesses in a particular scaffolding. Experts can also be used to project your future lost wages and medical expenses.
When pursuing your injury case, you should always work with experienced West Plains personal injury lawyers who can help you understand what your case is worth and how to maximize your compensation.
Call Our NY Construction Accident Attorneys Today
If you were hurt in an accident, call the New Rochelle personal injury lawyers at The Martello Law Firm at (914) 685-6950 for a free case review.
