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New York City 3rd Party Construction Accident Lawyer
Find out why we are some of the best New York City construction accident lawyers
A serious construction injury doesn’t just cost you a paycheck. It can cost you the career you spent years building. In New York, you may be owed far more than workers’ comp will ever tell you about.
If you’re reading this from a hospital bed, from your couch with your leg in a brace, or on behalf of someone you love who can’t read it themselves, you’re probably worried about more than just the lawsuit. Will the bills get paid? Will your family be okay? Can you lose your job for speaking up? Does it matter if you don’t have papers? You’re not the first NYC construction worker to ask those questions, and we’ve sat with someone in your spot more times than we can count.
Here’s what we want you to know first. A “third-party” construction accident case in New York is your legal right. Under Labor Law §240 (the Scaffold Law), §241(6), and §200, you can hold the property owner and the general contractor directly responsible for what happened. That’s on top of any workers’ compensation claim you already have. In plain English: it’s the difference between scraping by on a slice of your wages and a real recovery that pays for surgery, lost work, and the future you and your family planned for.
The insurance company has had a lawyer working on this since the day of the accident. You should too. Goldberg & Loren has stood with injured construction workers across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island since 2006. We work in English and Spanish. We come to the hospital if you can’t come to us. Your immigration status is protected by New York law (Balbuena v. IDR Realty, 2006). Nothing you tell us leaves this office. There is no fee unless we win your case, and our line is open 24 hours a day so you can reach the right attorney whenever you are ready to talk.
Practice focus: Scaffold accidents (§240) · Ladder falls · Falling-object injuries · Electrocutions · Struck-by accidents · Trench & excavation collapses · Crane accidents · Construction wrongful death
Reviewed by George Z. Goldberg, Esq. · Practicing law in New York since 2006 (NYS Bar Reg. #4375507) ·
Quick Takeaways
- Labor Law §240 (the Scaffold Law) makes NYC property owners and general contractors fully responsible when a worker falls from a height or is struck by a falling object.
- You can take workers’ comp and still sue. Comp only blocks lawsuits against your direct employer. The site owner, GC, equipment maker, or another sub are all fair game.
- The deadlines are short. You have 3 years to file a personal injury claim (CPLR §214(5)), 2 years for a wrongful death claim (EPTL §5-4.1), and just 90 days to file a Notice of Claim if a city or state agency is involved (GML §50-e).
- NYC 2024 numbers (NYC DOB): 638 reported construction incidents, 482 worker injuries, and 7 worker deaths. Every single one was preventable.
- No money up front. We work on contingency, so we only get paid if we win. The first call is free. Prior results don’t guarantee a similar outcome.
What Does “3rd Party” Mean in a New York Construction Case?
When you get hurt at work, the Workers’ Compensation Law gives you medical care and a slice of your wages without making you prove anyone was at fault. That’s the deal. The trade-off is that you can’t sue your direct employer in court. The bigger problem? Comp doesn’t pay for pain and suffering, your full lost wages, or what your life will look like five years from now.
A third-party claim reaches the other people on the job. Not your employer, but the others whose mistakes caused your injury. On a typical New York City project, that almost always includes:
- The property owner who hired the construction crew.
- The general contractor running the site.
- A different subcontractor whose crew created the hazard.
- The maker of a broken ladder, scaffold, hoist, or power tool.
- An architect or engineer whose plans created an unsafe condition.
- A public agency like NYC DOB, NYCHA, or the MTA (which triggers the 90-day Notice of Claim rule).
New York’s Labor Law is what makes a third-party case possible. It holds the owner and the GC responsible for site safety, even if they hired someone else to do the actual work. That’s how a hurt worker can win a recovery that goes well beyond what workers’ comp pays.
The Three New York Laws That Protect Construction Workers
Labor Law §240(1): the Scaffold Law
Labor Law §240(1) has been on the books since 1885, a history the New York Court of Appeals traced in Blake v. Neighborhood Housing Services (2003). It says owners and GCs must provide the right safety gear any time work happens at a height: scaffolds, ladders, hoists, harnesses, ropes, slings, blocks, the works. If a worker falls or is struck by a falling object because that gear was missing, broken, or wrong for the job, the owner and GC are responsible. That’s what lawyers call absolute liability. In plain terms:
- It doesn’t matter if you made a mistake too.
- The owner can’t pass the blame to the sub they hired.
- “We didn’t know about the hazard” is not a defense.
The name is misleading. The Scaffold Law also covers ladder falls, hoist failures, holes in the floor, and getting hit by anything dropped from above. If gravity caused it, §240 probably applies.
Labor Law §241(6): the Industrial Code
§241(6) makes owners and GCs follow the New York State Industrial Code (12 NYCRR Part 23), the rulebook for construction, excavation, and demolition. To win a §241(6) case, you have to point to a specific rule that was broken. Things like an open floor hole without a cover, an unguarded power saw, or missing eye protection. One difference from §240: if you contributed to the accident, that can shrink your recovery. But the owner and GC still own the rule violation, no matter who actually broke it.
Labor Law §200: the safe-workplace law
§200 is the catch-all. Every owner and contractor has a basic duty to keep the site safe, and §200 turns that duty into law. It covers injuries that aren’t about falling: getting crushed, hit by moving equipment, electrocuted, buried in a trench cave-in, or exposed to dangerous chemicals. To win, you have to show the owner or GC knew about the danger (or should have), or that they were controlling how the work was being done.
Workers’ Compensation Law §11: the “grave injury” rule
Under WCL §11, the GC (or another third-party defendant) can’t drag your own employer into the lawsuit unless your injury counts as a “grave injury” under state law. The list is short: death, amputation, loss of several fingers or toes, paralysis (paraplegia or quadriplegia), total blindness, total deafness, severe permanent facial scarring, or a brain injury that leaves you permanently disabled. Whether your injury makes that list can change who ends up paying at the end of the case.
NYC Construction Accidents by the Numbers
The NYC Department of Buildings 2024 report called it the safest year in almost a decade. Even so, hundreds of workers still got hurt on city job sites:
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total construction incidents | 841 | 638 | −24% (10-year low) |
| Worker injuries | 692 | 482 | −30% (9-year low) |
| Worker fatalities | n/a | 7 | 10-year low |
| DOB inspections | n/a | 416,290 | Record high |
Incidents by borough (2024)
OSHA’s “Fatal Four”: Leading Causes of Construction Deaths
In 2023, the most recent year of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1,055 construction and extraction workers died on the job nationwide, about 20% of all fatal work injuries that year. In the construction industry, falls, slips, and trips were the leading cause, responsible for 39.2% (421 deaths) in 2023 (BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries).
OSHA labels four hazards the “Fatal Four” because together they cause more than half of construction worker deaths each year:
- Falls: the largest single category and the classic §240 case.
- Struck-by hazards: a worker hit by a falling, swinging, or rolling object.
- Electrocutions: contact with live wires, ungrounded tools, or buried utility lines.
- Caught-in/between: crushed, pinned, or trapped by equipment or materials.
New York’s Labor Law turns these preventable hazards into real compensation for injured workers and the families they leave behind.
NYC Construction Accidents and Injuries We Handle
A NYC construction site injury lawyer needs to know the Labor Law cold and have real trial experience. Goldberg & Loren handles every kind of accident a New York construction worker is likely to face:
Scaffold accidents
Scaffolds that collapse. Swing-stage failures. Plank breaks. Working surfaces that weren’t secured. The classic §240 case.
Ladder falls
Ladders that weren’t tied off. Broken rungs. Ladders set on uneven ground. §240 applies whether your ladder slipped, kicked out, or fell apart under you.
Falling-object injuries
Crane & hoist accidents
Cranes that tip over. Loads that drop. Hoists that fail. Tower cranes that collapse. Usually a §240 case plus a products-liability claim against the crane company.
Electrocution
Live wires. Ungrounded tools. Arc flash. Hitting a buried utility line. Covered by the §241(6) Industrial Code (12 NYCRR §23-1.13) and §200.
Struck-by accidents
Hit by moving equipment, a vehicle, a swinging load, or a nail-gun discharge. §200 and §241(6) Industrial Code claims.
Trench & excavation collapses
Cave-ins. Shoring that failed. Trapped or suffocated in a confined space. §241(6) and federal OSHA rules apply.
Caught-in/between
Crushed by equipment. Trapped in rebar. Pinned by collapsing materials. §200 and §241(6) cases.
Catastrophic injuries we represent
The serious, life-changing injuries we see most in NYC third-party construction cases:
- Spinal cord injury and paralysis
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Crush injuries and amputation
- Severe burns and electrical injuries
- Construction wrongful death
- Back, neck, and herniated disc injuries
- Workers’ compensation (alongside your third-party claim)
Construction Accident Lawyers Serving Every NYC Borough
Our Manhattan office at 5 Columbus Circle is a quick ride from every borough. We come to you: at home, at the hospital, or over video if you can’t make it in.
Manhattan construction accident lawyer
238 of the city’s 638 construction incidents in 2024 happened in Manhattan, more than any other borough. High-rise scaffold and crane work fuel the §240 caseload here.
Brooklyn construction accident lawyer
232 incidents in 2024, second only to Manhattan. Brownstone gut renos and high-rise builds in Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn drive most of the cases.
Queens construction accident lawyer
93 incidents in 2024. LIC and Astoria towers plus heavy excavation work fuel most Queens claims.
Bronx construction accident lawyer
68 incidents in 2024. Roadway, bridge, and NYCHA repair work are common sources of Bronx §241(6) cases.
Staten Island construction accident lawyer
7 incidents in 2024. Smaller construction footprint, but residential and infrastructure work still lead to serious injuries.
Related Information
Who Can Be Held Responsible on a NYC Construction Site?
Finding everyone who could be on the hook is the heart of a third-party case. Layered contracts and aggressive insurance defense lawyers make that harder than it sounds. The parties we look at on every case:
Property owner
The person or company that owns the building or lot. Strictly liable under §240/§241(6), no matter how hands-off they were. Single-family homeowners get a pass under §240. Condo boards, REITs, and commercial owners don’t.
General contractor / construction manager
The party running the site. Strictly liable under §240/§241(6). Also liable under §200 if they controlled the work or knew about the hazard.
Other subcontractors
If a different trade caused the problem (an open floor hole, an unguarded saw, exposed wiring), that sub can be a direct defendant too.
Equipment makers
Broken ladders, scaffolds, lifts, harnesses, power tools, or material-handling gear can support a products-liability claim under New York’s strict-liability and warranty laws.
Architects, engineers, and designers
A design that creates an unsafe condition (an unsafe walkway, for instance) can support a negligence claim against the design team.
Public agencies (NYC, MTA, NYCHA, Port Authority)
When the project is on city or state property, you have to file a GML §50-e Notice of Claim within 90 days of the accident. Miss that and the case usually dies on the spot.
Damages You Can Recover
Workers’ comp covers only a slice of your wages and a limited set of medical care. A third-party Labor Law case is how you get full compensation for everything a serious injury takes from you:
- Medical bills, past and future: surgery, rehab, prosthetics, future revisions, in-home care.
- Lost wages and lost future earnings, including pension and benefits.
- Pain and suffering, past and future, including loss of enjoyment of life.
- Household services: the value of what you can no longer do for your family.
- Life-care plan costs if your injury is catastrophic.
- Loss of consortium for your spouse.
- Pecuniary loss to surviving family under EPTL §5-4.3 if a loved one died.
Prior results don’t guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts. A fair recovery depends on quick investigation, preserving the scene, and good medical records. Call us before evidence disappears.
Workers’ Compensation vs. a Third-Party Labor Law Claim
| Workers’ comp | Third-party Labor Law claim | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays | Your employer’s comp insurer | Owner, GC, sub, manufacturer or their insurers |
| Need to prove fault? | No | Yes, but §240 is automatic liability |
| Medical care | Authorized providers only | Full past and future medical reimbursable |
| Lost wages | Up to 2/3 of average weekly wage, capped | Full past and future lost earnings |
| Pain and suffering | Not recoverable | Recoverable |
| Spouse’s claim | None | Loss of consortium |
| Statute of limitations | 2 years to file WC claim | 3 years (CPLR §214(5)); 2 years wrongful death (EPTL §5-4.1); 90-day Notice of Claim against public entities (GML §50-e) |
These two tracks run side by side. You can, and probably should, pursue both. Your workers’ comp insurer usually puts a lien on any third-party settlement to recover what they already paid out. Knocking that lien down is something we handle for you at the end of the case.
Undocumented Workers Are Protected
Your immigration status does not strip you of safety rights on a New York construction site. In Balbuena v. IDR Realty LLC, 6 N.Y.3d 338 (2006), the New York Court of Appeals ruled that an undocumented worker hurt by a §240 violation can recover lost wages, as long as they didn’t hand the employer fake work-authorization papers. We keep immigration information out of the case file and away from anyone except the people working on your case.
Deadlines: The Four Dates That Can End Your Case
- 90 days. Notice of Claim against NYC, NYCHA, the MTA, the Port Authority, or any public agency, under GML §50-e. This is the deadline most workers miss.
- 2 years. Wrongful death lawsuit under EPTL §5-4.1, counted from the date of death.
- 3 years. Personal injury lawsuit under CPLR §214(5), counted from the date of the accident.
- 1 year and 90 days. After filing a Notice of Claim against a public agency, you have this long to actually start the lawsuit (GML §50-i).
If a city, state, or transit agency could be on the other side of your case, treat the 90-day clock as the one that matters. Don’t wait. The “discovery rule” for hidden injuries is very narrow, and it almost never saves a missed Notice of Claim.
What to Do After a NYC Construction Accident
- Get medical care right away, and tell every doctor and nurse the injury happened at work. Those records build the timeline your case will need.
- Report the accident to your foreman or supervisor in writing. Under WCL §18, you have 30 days to give written notice to your employer.
- Take photos of the scene if you can: the scaffold, the ladder, the open hole, the broken tool. Job sites get cleaned up fast.
- Get the names of any witnesses, the foremen, and every contractor on site that day.
- File a workers’ comp Form C-3 within two years.
- Call a construction accident lawyer before you give any recorded statement to an insurance adjuster. What you say to the insurer can be used against you later.
Why Goldberg & Loren?
- 20 years. We’ve represented injured workers and accident victims since 2006.
- Manhattan office at 5 Columbus Cir Suite 1501, near Time Warner Center / Deutsche Bank Center.
- Spanish-speaking team members for Spanish-only clients.
- Contingency fee. You owe us nothing unless we win your case.
- 24/7 line for case calls.
A Representative Construction Accident Result
One representative third-party construction-accident recovery obtained by the attorneys at Goldberg & Loren. It reflects a single matter, not a prediction about any other case. Additional results, case captions, and docket numbers are available on request to qualified inquirers.
$14,000,000
Construction accident · Resolved in 289 days Construction accident recovery handled by George Goldberg.Attorney advertising. Prior results don’t guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts, and the recovery depends on the injuries, the evidence, and the insurance in place. Case captions, court, and docket information are available on request to qualified inquirers.
What Goldberg & Loren Clients Say
Testimonials reflect individual client experiences with Goldberg & Loren and are not specific to construction accident cases. Prior results don’t guarantee a similar outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Workers’ comp is the only thing you can collect from your direct employer. A third-party claim reaches everyone else on the job: the property owner, the GC, a different subcontractor, the equipment maker, or a public agency. New York Labor Law §240(1) and §241(6) make the owner and GC directly responsible. That’s what lets you sue them on top of your comp claim.
Labor Law §240(1), known as the Scaffold Law, makes owners and GCs fully responsible when a worker falls from a height or is struck by a falling object because the right safety gear was missing. It’s been on the books since 1885 and covers scaffolds, ladders, hoists, harnesses, and any other gear meant to keep workers safe at heights.
Three years for personal injury (CPLR §214(5)). Two years for wrongful death (EPTL §5-4.1). And just 90 days to file a Notice of Claim if a public agency is involved (GML §50-e).
Yes. Workers’ comp only blocks lawsuits against your direct employer. A separate suit against the owner, the GC, an equipment maker, or another subcontractor can run alongside your comp claim. The third-party case can recover what comp doesn’t pay: pain and suffering, full lost wages, and future medical bills.
Yes. Labor Law §240 protects every worker, no matter their immigration status. In Balbuena v. IDR Realty LLC, 6 N.Y.3d 338 (2006), the New York Court of Appeals confirmed that an undocumented worker can recover lost wages, as long as they didn’t give the employer fake work-authorization papers.
Property owners. General contractors. Construction managers. Subs who caused the hazard. Equipment makers. Architects and engineers. And public agencies. Sorting through every layer of contracts is one of the first things we do in any third-party case.
Medical bills, past and future. Lost wages and lost future earnings. Pain and suffering. Loss of enjoyment of life. The value of household work you can no longer do. Life-care plan costs for catastrophic cases. Loss of consortium for your spouse. And in wrongful-death cases, what your family lost financially under EPTL §5-4.3.
Goldberg & Loren works on contingency. No money up front. No hourly bills. No charge unless we win. Our fee is a percentage of what we recover, taken at the end. The first call is always free and confidential.
Talk to a NYC Construction Accident Lawyer: Free, 24/7
If you or someone you love was hurt on a New York City construction site, time is the one thing you can’t get back. Evidence disappears. Witnesses move. The 90-day Notice of Claim clock never pauses.
We’ll go through what happened, identify every party who could be responsible, and lay out a path under Labor Law §240, §241(6), and §200.
Attorney advertising. Prior results don’t guarantee a similar outcome. This page is general information, not legal advice. Reading this page or contacting Goldberg & Loren through it doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship. That relationship only forms when you sign a retainer agreement.
Sources & Citations:
- N.Y. Labor Law §240: Scaffolding and other devices for use of employees (NY State Senate)
- N.Y. Labor Law §241(6): Construction, excavation and demolition work (NY State Senate)
- N.Y. Labor Law §200: General duty to protect health and safety of employees (NY State Senate)
- N.Y. Workers’ Compensation Law §11: “Grave injury” alternative remedy (NY State Senate)
- N.Y. General Municipal Law §50-e: 90-day Notice of Claim (NY State Senate)
- NY Courts Statute of Limitations Chart (NY State Unified Court System)
- Balbuena v. IDR Realty LLC, 6 N.Y.3d 338 (2006) (NY Court of Appeals)
- Blake v. Neighborhood Hous. Servs. of N.Y. City, 1 N.Y.3d 280 (2003) (NY Court of Appeals; recounts the Scaffold Law’s 1885 origin, L. 1885, ch. 314)
- NYC Mayor’s Office & DOB: 2024 Annual Construction Safety Report (safest construction year in a decade: 638 incidents and 482 injuries in 2024, down from 841 and 692 in 2023; 7 fatalities; 416,290 inspections)
- NYC Department of Buildings: Construction-Related Accident Reports (underlying incident data and borough breakdown)
- BLS: Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary (2023: 1,055 construction and extraction occupational deaths; falls, slips, and trips 39.2% (421) of construction industry fatalities)
- N.Y. Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1: Attorney advertising (NYSBA, 2025 edition)
Goldberg & Loren Personal Injury Attorneys
5 Columbus Cir Suite 1501,
New York, NY 10019
Phone: (646) 719-0444
If you have been the victim of a construction accident in New York City you may have a right to seek compensation and damages. Call us or fill out a contact form to see if you have a case!
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