Your Rights After a Construction Site Injury

Get medical care first and tell every doctor that you were hurt at work. Report the accident to your foreman or supervisor as soon as you can, and make sure it is written down. If you are able, take photos of the area, the equipment, and your injuries, and write down the names and phone numbers of coworkers who saw what happened. Keep copies of medical records, pay stubs, and anything you receive from an insurance company. Avoid giving recorded statements to an insurer for the owner or contractor before you understand your rights.

Often, yes. New York Labor Law § 240(1) requires property owners and general contractors to provide proper safety devices, such as secure scaffolds, harnesses, and railings, for work done at a height. If a missing or inadequate device caused your fall, the owner and general contractor can be held fully responsible, even if they were not on site watching the work. This is separate from your workers' compensation case, which continues while the lawsuit moves forward.

It depends on which law applies. Under Labor Law § 240(1), which covers falls from heights and falling objects, your own carelessness generally does not reduce what you can recover. The main exception is when your own actions were the only cause of the accident, such as refusing safety equipment that was available and that you were told to use. Under Labor Law §§ 241(6) and 200, your share of fault can reduce your recovery, but it does not usually stop the case.

Workers' compensation pays part of your lost wages and your medical bills, but it does not pay for pain and suffering. A lawsuit against a property owner, general contractor, or other responsible company can seek full lost wages, both past and future, medical costs, and compensation for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. Every case is different, and the value depends on the injury, the facts, and the proof. The workers' compensation carrier usually has a lien, meaning it is repaid part of what it paid out of the recovery.

Yes, you may. New York's Labor Law protects workers on construction, demolition, and renovation sites whether they are union members or not, and whether they work for a large company or a small subcontractor. You generally cannot sue your own employer, but the property owner and general contractor have their own duties under the law. What matters most is how the accident happened and what safety protections were missing, not the size of your employer or your union status.