CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT LAWSUITS – BEYOND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY

If you are wondering, “Is Workers Compensation the exclusive remedy for constructions accidents,?” the answer is that sometimes there are additional ways to collect compensation.

EXCEPTIONS TO WORKERS COMPENSATION

• Grave Injuries – Applies to catastrophic injuries sustained in an accident.  This provision has been interpreted very narrowly by the New York Courts, denying a lawsuit to a worker that lost part of all the fingers of one hand, ruling that it must be the “entire finger,” to qualify as an exception to exclusive remedy.
  • death;
  • permanent and total loss of use or amputation of an arm, leg, hand or foot;
  • loss of multiple fingers;
  • loss of multiple toes;
  • paraplegia or quadriplegia;
  • total and permanent blindness;
  • total and permanent deafness;
  • loss of nose;
  • loss of ear;
  • permanent and severe facial disfigurement;
  • loss of an index finger; or
  • an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force resulting in permanent total disability.

• Intentional Conduct – The employer does something to intentionally harm the worker.  The New York courts have interpreted this exception narrowly as well.  The employer must have actually wanted the worker to be hurt and did something to hurt this particular worker.  No degree of recklessness would suffice.  There are provisions under the Labor Law that would apply to unsafe conditions.

LABOR LAW

1. The Scaffold Law, limited to construction workers, allows lawsuits against employers when injured was caused by a defect in a safety device, “at an elevation.”  This doesn’t mean that you need to be 1,000 feet up in the air.  Courts have upheld the use of a ladder for meeting the requirement of “at an elevation,” but it must be a problem with the ladder that caused the fall.  It’s not enough just to be high up, the fall must be “caused by gravity.”  The right to sue was denied to a worker who hurt is back to due to the design of a harness used at the top of a skyscraper, because the injury was not from falling.  You could sue if you were hit by debris caused by malfunctioning devices “at an elevation, but not because your co-workers dropped their water bottle on you.
2. Labor law will also allow some suits based on an unsafe work site

THIRD-PARTIES

1. If the injury was caused, at least in part, by the acts or omissions of somebody not employed by the company, such a delivery person, a lawsuit can commence against that person and/or entity.

PRODUCT LIABILITY

1. If the injury was caused, at least in part, by a defect in a product, a product liability claim would be allowable.

I doubt you’re still wondering, “Is Worker’s Compensation the Exclusive Remedy for Construction Accidents,” but you might have some follow-up questions.  Feel free to give us a call at 718-261-8114.

Despite New York’s passage of more stringent construction worker safety laws, lack of employer compliance still leads to an alarming amount of avoidable accidents.  The NYC Department of Buildings reports that last August, a worker was seriously injured when a piece of plywood was used to conceal a hole, instead of repairing it.  This happened 56 floors above the ground, and the worker is lucky to be alive. Sadly, this is happening all the time as employers fail to implement safety protocols.  Construction safety in New York City can only be improved with both laws and enforcement.

In October, 2017 Local Law 196 was passed, but the City is not doing an adequate job with enforcement.  The most important aspect of the new law was training, but the Department of Buildings keeps delaying the date requiring full compliance.  This destroys the entire intent of the bill as people are still dying because they do not know how to put on a harness correctly!

The Mayor’s “management report” states that there are two construction accidents a day in New York City – 744 a year!  This includes both small injuries and fatalities such as the worker that was killed in a building collapse accident last September.  The total number of injuries keeps increasing steadily. There were only 212 injuries reported for the entire year just five years ago.

This increase is being attributed to fraud and inadequate training.  Another ploy is the extensive use of “fake OSHA certifications,” that was reported on by the Daily News, NBC, and other media.  The 10-hour training class costs more than $100 and a day without working is a big hit from a worker, and with fake certificates widely available, the temptation is huge.  Another ruse is “online training,” as it is widely known that office workers often take the training for an entire crew.

Hopefully, the Mayor will improve construction safety in New York City with more enforcement to protect workers.