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Most injured workers are told the same half-truth: 'workers' comp is your only remedy.' Compensation pays partial wages and medical bills — nothing for pain and suffering. But New York's Labor Law gives construction workers powerful third-party claims against owners and general contractors, and equipment makers and subcontractors can be liable too. The difference is routinely six figures.
Workers' comp: notify your employer within 30 days, file within 2 years. Third-party lawsuits: generally 3 years — and Labor Law cases reward early site investigation.
How we build the case
Height-related liability — Labor Law §240 makes owners and GCs strictly liable for gravity-related injuries with proper protection missing
Site-safety violations — §241 and the Industrial Code, built from OSHA logs, site records, and witness accounts
Every liable party — owners, general contractors, subcontractors, and equipment manufacturers beyond your direct employer
Compensation
Full lost wages — not the workers'-comp fraction
Pain and suffering (unavailable in comp)
Future medical care and vocational retraining
Loss of earning capacity if you can't return to the trade
Wondering about numbers? Our settlement calculator shows how claims are valued — honestly, with the math visible.
Who leads these cases
Civil engineer turned lawyer — reads site plans and OSHA logs natively · $1.85M Labor Law §240 scaffold-fall settlement (2026) · Teaches a CLE on New York's Scaffold Law
Results in these cases
$1,850,000
Construction fall Settled 2026
A 34-year-old ironworker fell fourteen feet when an uninspected plank snapped. Labor Law §240 strict liability against the owner and GC — recovered alongside his workers'-comp claim, with the comp lien negotiated down.
$1,050,000
Forklift injury Settled 2023
A stock picker's foot was crushed by a forklift whose backup alarm had been unplugged for weeks. Third-party claim against the staffing agency's host site — beyond his comp benefits.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome; amounts are gross, before fees, expenses and liens. Fictional demo examples.
Common questions
Often, yes. Comp bars suing your direct employer, but not third parties — the site owner, the GC, another subcontractor, or an equipment manufacturer. Labor Law §240 cases proceed alongside comp claims every day, and we coordinate both so the comp lien is handled correctly at settlement.
No. New York's Labor Law and workers'-compensation protections apply to every worker on the site, regardless of status, and we never ask. Your employer cannot lawfully retaliate against you for asserting them.
Not necessarily. Under §240 the question is usually whether adequate safety devices were provided and enforced — not simply whether you used one. If harnesses were missing, broken, or nobody enforced tie-off, liability can attach anyway. Let us evaluate it before you assume.
Free case review · Available 24/7
Twenty minutes on the phone, no obligation, and an honest answer about whether you have a case and what it may be worth.