Construction Accidents

Workers injured on construction sites may be able to sue the owner, it’s agents and contractors, for all damages sustained by virtue of any physical harm which has occurred to them. Such suits are permitted on behalf of injured workers in addition to workers’ compensation benefits they may have received. Unlike workers’ compensation however, where an owner, agent or contractor is negligent or liable by statute, recovery can also be made for past and future lost earnings, pain and suffering, past and future medical expenses, loss of benefits, and many other types of damages.

In the United States, the construction industry is considered a high-risk industry with thousands of workers being killed or injured each year. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2003, the largest number of fatal work injuries was in the construction sector with a total of 1,126 deaths. Likewise, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has also reported that the highest level of nonfatal worker injuries as measured on a lost-workday basis, is again in the construction industry with a rate of 5.7 days per 100 workers. This is in spite of the fact that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) has budgeted a significant portion of its resources into the publication and enforcement of safety standards on construction sites.

This should not be thought of as an isolated trend. As stated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (“NIOSH”), “during the period from 1980 through 1995, at least 17,000 construction workers died from injuries suffered on the job. Construction lost more workers to traumatic injury death than any other major industrial sector during this time period.”

Because of the pervasive nature of death and injury to those employed in this sector of the economy, many states, including New York, have enacted special statutes to protect workers involved in construction related accidents. These statutes exist because no matter how stringent the regulations concerning job safety, workers are at risk on a daily basis because of the inherently dangerous nature of their jobs.

This is exemplified by situations involving:

In many of these situations owners, their agents and contractors face absolute liability for failing to supply and operate safety equipment to prevent worker injuries. By example, workers engaged in the construction, alteration, repair or cleaning of a building or structure (other than single or two family residences) injured by falling from a ladder or scaffold, or being hit by objects falling from an elevated worksite, are given special legal rights by statute. Likewise, owners, as well as their agents and contractors, are required to provide a reasonably safe place to work, are required to inspect the work site and are required to warn of dangerous conditions.