Construction Site Injury vs. Workplace Injury: What's the Difference?

Work-related injuries can happen in any setting, from office buildings to factory floors. When accidents occur, workers often don't realize that the type of workplace significantly affects their compensation options. Construction workers, in particular, may have access to substantial settlements through personal injury claims beyond standard workers' compensation, while employees in other industries might face more limited options.

As Hudson Valley construction accident lawyers at The Ahearne Law Firm, PLLC, we're dedicated to helping injured workers secure maximum compensation by identifying all available legal options.

We've created this guide to help you distinguish between standard workplace injuries and the unique situations that construction workers face.

Standard Workplace Injury Cases

A workplace injury is any injury or illness that an employee suffers while performing their job duties in their work environment.

Workplace injuries can occur in any work setting, such as offices, retail stores, restaurants, warehouses, factories, hospitals, and schools.

Common Workplace Incidents

Standard workplaces present various hazards that require medical treatment:

1. Slips, trips, and falls on poorly maintained floors or staircases that result in severe back trauma and months of therapy.
2. Accidents involving defective equipment supplied by third-party vendors.
3. Vehicle collisions during work-related travel leading to long-term disabilities.
4. Injuries from falling objects improperly stored in warehouses or stockrooms.
5. Exposure to harmful substances due to inadequate safety measures.

Compensation Options for Workplace Injuries

Workplace injuries are often mostly covered by workers' compensation insurance, which provides employees with medical treatment and partial wage replacement. Workers' comp is a no-fault system, meaning injured workers can receive benefits regardless of who was to blame for the accident, even if it was the worker’s fault.

However, workers' comp has limitations:

• It only pays a portion of lost wages (usually ⅔ of your average weekly wage).
• It doesn't compensate for pain and suffering.
• Medical coverage may be limited to approved doctors.

In New York State, you can’t file a lawsuit against your employer for pain and suffering damages, even if your employer’s negligence caused the injury. But in some cases, workers may have personal injury claims against third parties like negligent property owners, manufacturers of defective equipment, or negligent drivers. These "third-party claims" can provide additional compensation for medical bills, full lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses not covered by workers' comp.

Pursuing these additional claims requires proving negligence, so it's essential to work with an experienced workplace injury attorney who can fully investigate the accident, gather evidence, and build a strong case.

Construction Site Injuries: Special Rights and Protections

Construction injuries occur to workers on construction sites or while performing construction-related activities. Construction work is much more dangerous than most other occupations due to the hazardous nature of the work environment and the tasks involved.

Construction sites have many injury risks that aren't present in a typical workplace, such as:

• Working at heights on ladders, scaffolding, roofs, etc.
• Use of powerful machinery like jackhammers, saws, and drills.
• Presence of construction vehicles like excavators and bulldozers.
• Handling of building materials and heavy loads.
• Exposure to electrical hazards from unfinished wiring.
• Trench and excavation work.

Construction Site Dangers Leading to Accidents

Construction sites create situations rarely seen in standard workplace injury claims:

1. Falls from significant heights on scaffolding and incomplete structures, often causing catastrophic injuries.
2. Impacts from heavy construction equipment or falling materials requiring extensive medical bills.
3. Accidents involving multiple contractors working simultaneously.
4. Electrical incidents unique to construction work.
5. Trench collapses and structural failures leading to severe trauma.

Compensation After Construction Accidents

While injured construction workers are covered by workers' compensation, they also have the right to bring construction accident lawsuits against parties responsible for unsafe site conditions, such as property owners, general contractors, subcontractors, architects, and equipment manufacturers.

New York law provides special protections for construction workers:

• Labor Law 240 (the "Scaffold Law") allows workers to sue if they fall from a height or are hit by a falling object due to a lack of proper safety equipment.
• Labor Law 241(6) lets workers sue for injuries caused by safety violations.
• Labor Law 200 holds site owners and general contractors responsible for worker safety.

These laws, combined with the severity of construction injuries, mean successful construction accident lawsuits often lead to significant settlements covering full lost wages, past and future medical treatment, pain and suffering, and more.

An injured construction worker might have a claim against:

• The site owner for dangerous property conditions.
• The general contractor for failing to maintain a safe work site.
• A subcontractor who created a hazard or failed to follow safety regulations.
• An architect or engineer for a defective design.
• An equipment manufacturer for a faulty tool or machine.
• A trucking company that caused an on-site vehicle accident.

The ability to sue multiple parties, the availability of additional damages like pain and suffering, and the application of special labor laws are key distinctions in construction accident cases. An experienced construction injury attorney will identify all potential sources of liability to maximize the injured worker's recovery.

Higher Settlement Values

Construction site injury claims typically yield larger settlements because:

1. Medical expenses often reach extreme levels due to severe injuries.
2. Multiple defendants can share liability.
3. Specific laws protect construction workers.
4. Long-term disabilities affect lifetime earnings.
5. Pain and suffering compensation reflects serious trauma.

Legal Representation: How Experienced Attorneys Maximize Your Settlement

Personal injury claims demand skilled legal support, especially in construction accident cases. Legal representation proves particularly valuable when pursuing compensation beyond basic workers' compensation benefits.

Personal injury attorneys strengthen workplace and construction accident claims through:

• Immediate investigation of accident scenes, gathering critical evidence before conditions change or construction sites continue work.
• Identification of all liable parties, from property owners to contractors to equipment manufacturers.
• Documentation of safety violations and collection of witness statements from construction workers.
• Coordination with medical specialists to fully assess serious injuries and future treatment needs.
• Professional estimation of lifetime costs for medical expenses and lost wages.
• Protection from insurance company tactics aimed at minimizing settlements.
• Strategic negotiation to secure maximum compensation for personal injury claims.

The right legal representation can dramatically affect settlement amounts in both workplace injury claims and construction accidents. When attorneys get involved early, they preserve crucial evidence and build stronger cases.

A good example of what The Ahearne Law Firm is capable of is a $2.3 million case they won for a construction worker who fell on the job site. Another example is a $2.45 million case win where a worker was injured on a job site when a ceiling fan fell, striking him in the head.