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How Does Carlos’ Law Protect New York Construction Workers?

On Behalf of | Apr 6, 2023 | Construction Accidents

New York has a proud legislative history of enacting new statutes for the protection of construction professionals beyond what federal law requires. For example, New York passed the Scaffolding Law holding building owners responsible for gravity-related injuries long before federal rules required workers’ compensation programs to protect employees from dangers on the job.

In recent years, lawmakers have had to revisit the risks related to construction work in New York, as it remains one of the local economy’s most dangerous professions. Thanks to the passage of Carlos’ Law, those who are directly affected by dangerous facilities and poor employment practices now have enhanced legal rights in New York.

What does Carlos’ law do?

The law takes its name from Carlos Moncayo, who was only 22 when he died in a preventable construction accident. Sadly, the employers who endangered him did not face any major consequences for his death, which inspired people to push for legal reform. The financial incentive to prioritize worker safety just wasn’t sufficient under existing state law.

These companies all too often view the cost involved in providing training and safety equipment as too expensive. The executives of such firms have been able to minimize their losses when a worker suffers severe injury or dies because of the state rules on criminal corporate liability. Even if the state brought charges against the company after an incident, the costs would often be low enough to allow companies to dismiss them.

At its most basic, Carlos’ Law increases the potential criminal corporate liability of businesses involved in construction projects. Affected parties can now potentially pursue claims of up to $500,000 thanks to expanded compensation rights under Carlos’ Law. The increased financial risk involved for construction firms will likely motivate many people to better manage their businesses and listen to their workers.

Workers must understand their rights to take action effectively

Many construction workers and their families don’t fully understand the laws that protect them at a federal level and also New York state laws that seek to reduce their job-related risks. Learning more about the laws that protect people from construction work injuries with the assistance of a legal professional can benefit those who have committed themselves to a career in this relatively dangerous profession.

 

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Verdicts &
Settlements

$3.75 Million

settlement for a construction worker injured by falling metal mesh

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for a 35 year old Carpenter injured when his arm became partially impaled on an improperly exposed metal support (rebar) at a construction site.

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$2 Million

for a woman who sustained multiple serious injuries after being struck by a hit and run driver in Manhattan.

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$1.825 Million

Verdict for a 29 year old construction worker injured during the building of the World Trade Center Memorial.

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$1.475 Million

for a Carpenter who was injured when the scaffold he was working upon collapsed.

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$1.2 Million

for a 35 year old Cement and Concrete worker from Queens who sustained serious injuries to his back when he slipped on debris and refuse.

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$1.2 Million

for a Construction worker and young father in the Bronx who was fatally electrocuted while on a scaffold.

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$950,000

for two sisters in high school who sustained serious injuries when struck by a vehicle that mounted the sidewalk in Brooklyn as they waited for the bus to take them to school.

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$825,000

for a woman injured as a passenger in an accident involving a bus and a car in the Bronx.

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$777,000

for an Ironworker on Long Island who sustained serious injuries when he fell from a ladder which slid out from under him due to icy footing.

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$750,000

for a surgeon who sustained a broken knee in a motor vehicle accident (January, 2017).

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$750,000

for a man severely burned in his apartment by excessively hot shower water (Sept. 2020).

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$660,000

verdict for a 35 year old Cement and Concrete laborer who was injured when the scaffold he was walking upon collapsed.

Verdicts & Settlements

$650,000

for a cement and concrete worker who slipped and fell over construction debris.

Verdicts & Settlements

$650,000

for a Cement and Concrete worker who injured his back as a result of slipping upon a discarded pipe and falling down a flight of steps.

Verdicts & Settlements

$500,000

for a Nursing Home resident injured due to lack of proper care.

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$325,000

for a woman who sustained multiple serious injuries to her shoulder as a result of a trip and fall upon a defective sidewalk at a construction project in Manhattan.

Verdicts & Settlements

$250,000

verdict in the exact amount demanded by our office for our client, but refused by the responsible defendants, was awarded by the jury to our client who sustained a fractured elbow as a result of a fall upon a badly broken sidewalk.

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$325,000

for a young woman who sustained a fractured ankle as a result of a fall on soapy steps in her apartment building in the Bronx.

Verdicts & Settlements

$495,000

for a young mother who was struck by a car while crossing the street near her home in Queens sustaining serious injuries to her leg requiring the surgical placement of a metal plate and screws.

Verdicts & Settlements

$600,000

for a woman who sustained multiple injuries as a passenger in a motor vehicle accident.

Verdicts & Settlements

$425,000

was secured by our office for a Cement and Concrete worker injured when a work area collapsed beneath him.

Verdicts & Settlements

$400,000

for a woman struck from behind by a car as she walked to a supermarket in a shopping center parking lot in Yonkers.

Verdicts & Settlements

$200,000

for a young man, 15 years of age, who sustained a partial tear of the rotator cuff of his right shoulder, which has now healed without any limitation upon his activities.

Verdicts & Settlements

$325,000

for a school principal in the Bronx who tripped and fell over a construction plate in the school parking lot.

Verdicts & Settlements

$300,000

for a young Cement and Concrete worker who was struck by falling debris dislodged from a building by a swinging crane.

Verdicts & Settlements

$250,000

for a Cement and Concrete worker injured as a result of a fall at a Manhattan construction site.

Verdicts & Settlements

$300,000

for a school teacher in the Bronx who sustained an injury to her shoulder when she tripped and fell due to negligently placed computer wiring.

Verdicts & Settlements

$275,000

to a Construction laborer doing bridge work whose arm was fractured when falling construction material caused him to fall into the East River and onto debris.

Verdicts & Settlements

$450,000

for a child injured when a table fell on him in a laundromat in Queens.

Verdicts & Settlements

$450,000

verdict for a Volunteer Firefighter in Westchester who sustained injuries in the course of fighting a fire.

Verdicts & Settlements

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