Construction workers in New York are being urged to understand their full legal rights following job-site accidents that could have been prevented. The Perecman Firm, a New York City personal injury law firm with more than 40 years of experience, emphasizes that many injured workers mistakenly believe they are limited to workers' compensation claims when they may actually have grounds for personal injury lawsuits that include compensation for pain and suffering, lost future wages, and full medical expenses.
Construction sites present some of the highest risks for serious injury in the region, with accidents ranging from falls from heights and scaffold or ladder collapses to electrocutions, struck-by-object incidents, crane collisions, and trench or hoist mishaps. Steven Dorfman, Managing Legal Officer at The Perecman Firm, explained that every time a worker is injured on a construction site, there is often a chain of responsible parties including subcontractors, general contractors, property owners, and equipment manufacturers.
The firm points to several critical steps injured workers should take to protect their legal options. Workers should immediately report accidents to supervisors and obtain accident reports, seek immediate medical attention while maintaining clear records of all treatments and bills, and preserve job site conditions by photographing equipment, scaffolding, guardrails, ladders, exposed wiring, and other hazardous setups. Workers should also contact experienced construction-accident attorneys before providing statements to insurance adjusters, as these statements can be used to deny or reduce compensation.
Time limitations are crucial in these cases. In New York, most personal injury lawsuits must be filed within three years of the accident, while workers' compensation claims follow different timelines, and claims involving government entities may have far shorter deadlines. The Perecman Firm team includes litigation attorneys, former investigators, and engineers with deep familiarity with the special protections afforded to construction workers under New York's Labor Law, including Section 240(1) (the Scaffold Law), Section 241(6), and Section 200.
These laws allow injured workers to hold property owners, contractors, and others responsible for failing to provide proper safety protections, applying in many cases even if the employer itself was not directly negligent. The firm maintains a track record of multi-million-dollar recoveries for injured workers and emphasizes that understanding these legal protections is essential for construction workers who face significant risks daily. For more information about construction accident rights, visit https://www.perecman.com.
