You can sue if you were just a visitor or a passerby of a construction site and became a victim of an accident. There are legal limits on who workers can sue following a construction accident, but visitors or those passing by are generally allowed to pursue a case against any liable party.
If Friedman & Simon, L.L.P. represents you in your case, our team will develop a claim and seek a just financial recovery on your behalf through an insurance claim or civil lawsuit. We will investigate your accident, assign liability to all applicable parties, and file the necessary insurance claims or civil lawsuits to seek compensation for your related damages.
Premises Liability Laws in New York State
When a person visits a construction site as an invited guest or is near the site when an accident occurs, they often have a case to hold the property owner, general contractor, subcontractor, or other party liable under New York State law. New York has negligence laws that allow an injured party to hold the person or company responsible for their accident financially accountable.
Property owners and occupiers have a duty to prevent injuries to those who visit legally, and contractors must not cause a passerby to suffer injuries because of their negligent practices. These laws apply in many scenarios when a visitor or passerby suffers preventable injuries, such as those involving:
- Items dropped outside of the construction area or onsite
- Heavy machinery accidents onsite or outside the area
- Falls on the site
- Onsite forklift accidents
- Other injury accidents that occur because of onsite hazards
- Collisions with construction trucks or machines
Additional laws could apply to some cases, such as cases where the property owner is a government agency or cases where New York State’s car insurance laws restrict the victim from filing a lawsuit related to a traffic accident.
Seeking Damages in a New York State Injury Case
You can sue if you were just a visitor or a passerby, seeking a payout that covers your related expenses. One way to do this is to enlist representation from an attorney who can navigate the claims process on your behalf.
When an attorney manages this process, you only have to think about healing your injuries. The legal team will gather evidence to support your claim and present this to the liable parties and their insurers.
In many cases, it is possible to recover a payout that fairly compensates you based on your losses. The recoverable damages could include:
- Lost wages and related losses
- Medical bills related to your injury or diagnosis
- Intangible damages, such as pain and emotional suffering
Out-of-court settlements are common in these cases, so filing a civil lawsuit is not necessary in many cases. However, our decades of experience have reinforced time and again that the best way to win the best settlement is to do the best preparation possible as if the case will be going to trial. Therefore, our team is able to take your case to trial to seek a just financial recovery if needed.
How Friedman & Simon, L.L.P. Helps Injured Site Visitors
Friedman & Simon, L.L.P.’s team members are passionate advocates for the injured, whether an injury occurs in a traffic accident or while visiting a construction site. We fight to protect our clients’ rights and work to keep them up-to-date on their cases while they focus on undergoing treatment and getting better.
When we take on a case, our clients trust us to take the necessary steps to build a strong claim, including:
- Identifying the potentially liable parties
- Gathering evidence to prove negligence
- Determining a fair and just settlement value for the case
- Managing communications with all involved parties
We also determine and make certain deadlines are met in the legally correct and timely manner. including the statute of limitations set by New York Civil Practice Laws & Rules § 214. We put great care into “soft” but critically important deadlines as well, such as obtaining witness statements and seeking to obtain job site video footage. Such evidence can “disappear,” if not promptly obtained. For these various reasons, the sooner you contact us, the greater our opportunity to build the strongest case possible on your behalf. When necessary, we have a network of experts we call on to support an insurance claim or lawsuit. This includes medical care providers, vocational rehabilitation specialists, life care planners for long-term and permanent injuries, and economists.
Speak with Us About Your Construction Accident in NYC Today for Free
A team member from Friedman & Simon, L.L.P. will discuss your accident, injuries, prognosis, and other details with you today for free. We provide free consultations to those who suffered injuries while visiting or passing by a construction site in New York City, on Long Island, or elsewhere in the New York metropolitan area.
Talk to a team member now for free during your complimentary case review. Call (516) 932-0400. If you prefer to discuss your case in another language, our multilingual staff can offer assistance in Spanish, Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, and Greek.