Don’t Settle For Less

Don’t Settle For Less
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Injured Workers can obtain New York Workers’ Compensation and also sue for their injuries

Many workers that have an on-the-job accident and are injured do not realize that along with being eligible for New York workers’ compensation benefits (medical expenses and lost wages), they also have right to bring a lawsuit against a third-party whose negligence it was that caused their on-the-job accident.

Our firm recently took in a case where an elevator mechanic had stepped off an elevator that had come to a stop approximately one foot above the floor, which resulted in an injury for which he underwent several knee operations. He initially called our office merely to find out what his rights were under the Workers’ Compensation Law. He did not suspect for a moment that he had a lawsuit against the building owner and general contractor for the construction project. His sole concern was trying to figure out a way to get his employer to cooperate so that he could obtain his workers’ compensation benefits. After speaking to us, he learned that under the New York Labor Law, he had a viable lawsuit against the building owner and general contractor for their violations of the New York Industrial Code.

Typical kinds of cases where workers sustain an on-the-job injury due to an accident and can collect workers’ compensation benefits along with bringing a lawsuit against a responsible third-party such as an building owner, general contractor or maintenance company include accidents that are due to a wet or slippery floor; torn carpeting; steps that are laden with debris and/or garbage; stairways that are either broken and/or crumbling or are missing handrails; sidewalks or stairs that have not been cleared of snow or ice; trip and fall on a defective sidewalk and automobile accidents.

An injured construction worker whether a laborer, plumber, electrician, carpenter, masonry worker, ironworker or any other kind of tradesmen, has a viable lawsuit in a construction site accident against the building owner and general contractor for a violation under the New York Labor Law and Industrial Code. There are strict guidelines for building owners and general contractors with regard to excavation, demolition and construction operations. There are rules with regard to scaffolds, ladders, material hoisting, cranes, bracing, shoring and protection from general hazards that owners and general contractors must obey. Construction site accidents include crane, scaffold or ladder failures and collapses, falls through floors, pulley systems that dislodge or building façades that fall from upper floors, unsecured debris or material that falls from an upper floor or while being hoisted. These are examples of accidents which invoke Labor Law liability against the building owner and general contractor.

The Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel has successfully represented many workers who have been injured on the job and has recovered substantial sums of money for these injured workers. It is because of our training, knowledge, experience and skill that we are able to obtain these results.

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