Each year, thousands of construction workers are injured or killed at New York and New Jersey construction sites. Although construction companies are required under New York labor laws to inspect each site with safety engineers and implement a wide variety of safety measures, construction workers still face a greater risk of work-related injury or fatality than employees in any other U.S. industry. New York labor laws were enacted to protect construction workers from work site-related accidents--and it’s for this reason that our firm believes that most work site accidents are avoidable and that those not following laws to protect workers should be held accountable.

The attorneys at Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf, Bloom & Rubinowitz have more than 40 years of experience representing plaintiffs injured in construction accidents. Some of the types of cases we have handled for our clients involve:

• Scaffolding Accidents
• Ladder Accidents
• Construction Site Falls
• Run-Over by Operating Equipment
• Electrical Accidents Trench
• Collapses Fires and Explosions
• Welding Accidents
• Unsafe/ Dangerous Equipment Accidents
• Logging Accidents
• Brazing Accidents
• Cutting Accidents
• Elevator Accidents
• Structure Failure
• Building Collapse
• Supervisor Negligence
• Punch Press Malfunctions
• Fork Lift Accidents
• Dumpster Accidents
• Nail gun Accidents
• Compressor Accidents
• Exploding Compressor
• Gas Explosions

A construction worker involved in a work-related accident will often have a claim against the general contractor and/or owner of the construction site pursuant to Sections 200, 240 and 241(6) of the New York State Labor Law. Section 200 of the New York State Labor Law codifies a common law obligation to use reasonable care in the maintenance of a work site. New York Labor Law Section 240 contains special provisions for workers injured by or on scaffolds, ladders, hoists, stays, slings, hangers, pulleys, irons, ropes, blocks, braces and other similar devices. This unique section of the New York Labor Law, commonly known as the "Scaffolding Law," allows injured workers to bring lawsuits against a property owner or general contractor who violates this section, rendering them strictly liable for workers injured as a result of inadequate or missing safety equipment at elevated work sites. Labor Law Section 240 also protects workers from "falling objects" at a work site where an object falls and injures a worker due to a violation of the safety provisions of that section of law. In addition, Section 241(6) of the New York State Labor Law imposes a duty upon the general contractor and/or owner to comply with all provisions of the New York State Industrial Code. Architects, subcontractors and manufacturers of equipment may also be held responsible for inadequate safety precautions.

The attorneys at Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf, Bloom & Rubinowitz advocate for our clients' full financial recovery through detailed, meticulous preparation for trial. If you have suffered a serious personal injury or a loved one died as a result of a construction accident, please Contact our firm to discuss your case.

CASES OF NOTE

The firm's attorneys have achieved verdicts and settlements that are among the largest in New York and New Jersey. Some of the more notable results include:

• $16,000,000 settlement in a construction accident case for an asbestos handler who fell 23 feet from a scaffold during demolition of the Pepsi plant in Long Island City. The total funds to the injured worker and his wife exceed $25 million when the annuity purchased with a portion of the settlement proceeds is considered.
• $12,500,000 verdict for the wife of a parking garage employee who fell from and was killed by a man lift while at work.
• $10,000,000 Settlement in a crane accident case in New York County for a woman who was seriously injured when a 35-ton construction crane fell on her legs at an excavation site.
• $5,800,000 settlement in a Brooklyn construction accident case for a man who suffered paraplegia as a result of a fall from a scaffold when it was struck by a hi-lo.
• $5,000,000 settlement in a construction accident case for a construction worker who fell from the roof of a building during a construction project and miraculously sustained only leg fractures.
• $4,000,000 verdict in a construction accident case in New York County on behalf of a laborer who suffered burns after falling into a pit of scalding water.
• $3,975,000 settlement in New York County for a man who fell from a truck and was impaled by a piece of Rebar.
• $3,000,000 settlement following Summations in a New York County construction accident case in which a worker suffered serious injuries to his heel while riding on a muck tram in a subway tunnel under construction.
• $2,975,000 settlement in a New York County construction accident case for a worker killed when a prefabricated wall panel fell on him.
• $2,950,000 settlement in a construction accident case for the estate of a single woman who suffered injuries and later died as a result of falling from a defective scaffold at a construction site.
• $2,700,000 settlement in New York County in a construction accident case for a worker in his sixties who was killed when he fell from a building canopy he was cleaning.
• $2,500,000 settlement for a Queens carpenter who sustained a back injury when he fell from a rolling Bakers Scaffold.
• $2,200,000 settlement in a construction accident case on behalf of a laborer killed in a construction accident.
• $2,025,000 recovery in Kings County for a construction worker who lost parts of his fingers when his hand was caught in an unguarded opening of a flatbed truck.
• $1,200,000 settlement in a Bronx County construction accident case to 50-year old brick mason who sustained a fractured heel when the scaffolding on which he was working collapsed causing him to fall approximately 15 feet to the ground.
• A verdict of $1,073,295 in the Brooklyn Supreme Court on behalf of a 38-year old construction worker who fell face-first from a defective ladder and sustained a fractured jaw and seven lost teeth.
• $1,000,000 settlement for a laborer who suffered an electric shock causing a peripheral neuropathy in both hands.

PUBLICATIONS & LECTURES

In addition to successfully representing plaintiffs in a variety of construction and labor law matters, the attorneys at Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf, Bloom & Rubinowitz are sought out by the legal community for their expertise--our lawyers have written articles in the area of construction and labor law and have lectured throughout the country. Below are a list of publications from some of the lectures and seminars in which our lawyers have been involved:

• Construction Site Accidents: The Law and the Trial, seminar, New York State Bar Association, 2007.
  • Overall Planning Chair: Howard S. Hershenhorn, Esq., New York City
  • Local Panel Uniondale (LI): Ben B. Rubinowitz, Esq. (Chair), New York City
  • Local Panel New York City: Howard S. Hershenhorn, Esq. (Chair), New York City
• "Recalcitrant Worker and Sole Proximate Cause - The Current State of Labor Law Sect. 240," "Construction Site Accidents: The Law and The Trial," New York State Bar Association, 2007. Contributing Author: Howard Hershenhorn, Anthony Gair, Christopher Sallay
• "Personal Injury Litigation-Workplace Related Injuries," New York State Bar Association, 1993. Contributing Author: Anthony Gair
• "Personal Injury Litigation Under the Safe Place to Work Statutes," New York State Bar Association, 1991. Contributing Author: Anthony Gair, Robert Conason

Disclaimer: Please be advised that the results achieved in any given case depend upon the exact facts and circumstances of that case. Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf, Bloom & Rubinowitz cannot guarantee a specific result in any legal matter. Any testimonial or case result listed on this site is based on an actual legal case and represents the results achieved in that particular case, and does not constitute a guarantee, warranty or prediction of the outcome of any other legal matter.