Construction work is notorious for being demanding and dangerous. Professionals have to work at an elevation or possibly below grade. They have to share space with heavy machinery and handle powerful tools. Many construction professionals work regardless of the weather and may need to take jobs at unclean or outright unsafe properties.
In scenarios where construction professionals sustain injuries on the job, they may have major expenses to address. Construction workers could sustain brain injuries, broken bones and spinal cord injuries, along with many other potentially severe injuries. They may have medical bills and could be unable to work.
Are general contractors or property owners ever liable for the injuries of construction workers?
Workers’ compensation limits liability
The workers’ compensation program in New York generally limits liability for employers. Provided that companies comply with coverage rules by carrying appropriate policies for all of their direct-hire workers, they don’t have to worry much about the risk of injured employees suing them over health care costs or lost wages.
It technically does not matter who is at fault for an on-the-job incident. Workers’ compensation can cover medical costs and replace a portion of a worker’s wages. Compliance with workers’ compensation rules largely indemnifies employers in scenarios where a power tool shorts out and shocks a worker or heavy lifting results in a back injury.
That being said, there are certain scenarios in which workers may have the right to take legal action against the general contractor hired by the property owner or the actual owner of the property. If a gravity-related incident occurs and injures a worker, New York’s unique liability laws may allow the injured professional to take action against the owner of the building or the agent that they hired to manage the project.
That rule can be particularly important for independent contractors who may not have access to standard workers’ compensation benefits. In scenarios involving clearly unsafe property conditions that owners did not disclose to contractors or their employees, there could be a degree of liability after some kind of catastrophic incident, like a roof collapse.
Who is liable and what compensation options a worker has depend on factors ranging from employment arrangements to the underlying cause of the professional’s injuries. Reviewing the circumstances surrounding a construction injury can help a professional explore their options for compensation.
Construction professionals hurt on the job may have several forms of recourse available depending on their circumstances. Holding businesses and property owners accountable for construction-related injuries can limit the hardship that professionals must endure.
