East Meadow Construction Accident Attorney
Residential and commercial construction projects in East Meadow contribute to the local economy by supplying jobs, promoting economic development, contributing to the city’s tax base, and creating vital housing, retail, medical, and manufacturing space. Sadly, economic progress in East Meadow also comes at a significant human cost: severe injuries to construction workers in preventable accidents and incidents.
The experienced East Meadow construction accident lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers LLP fight to make sure injured construction workers and families of workers killed in tragic accidents receive fair compensation for their injuries and losses. If a construction accident in East Meadow has devastated your life or the life of a loved one, contact our team online or at (877) 565-2993 for a free consultation to learn about your legal rights and options.
Jacoby & Meyers LLP: Construction Accident Injury Lawyers in East Meadow
For nearly five decades, East Meadow-area residents and workers have turned to Jacoby & Meyers LLP for help when a construction-related injury disrupts their lives and livelihoods. Our lawyers represent construction workers and their families, as well as members of the public, in legal actions and workers’ compensation insurance claims connected to East Meadow construction projects.
We are a team of local lawyers focused on seeking justice and compensation for members of our community who suffer harm because of someone else’s unreasonably dangerous decisions or actions. Injured East Meadow construction workers and their families can meet with us face-to-face at our offices at 90 Merrick Avenue, or we will come to them. You can contact us online, through a webchat, by phone, or an electronic conferencing app like Zoom or Skype.
Over the years, Jacoby & Meyers LLP lawyers have recovered millions of dollars in settlements and jury awards for injured workers. In one recent case, for example, our team secured a $2 million settlement for a worker injured in a ceiling collapse after a contractor and owner failed to provide a safety device for the worker.
We cannot guarantee results, of course, but we can promise that East Meadow clients of our firm will receive personalized attention and excellent representation from lawyers who live and work in their community, and who make it their mission to see justice done through fair compensation.
Table of Contents
The Dangers of East Meadow Construction Accidents
As anyone who works construction in East Meadow knows, dangers lurk for workers and visitors in every corner of a job site.
Through a moment of inattention or carelessness on the part of a site owner, contractor, or co-worker, an East Meadow construction laborer can suffer severe injuries because of:
- Inadequate safety equipment;
- Lax job site safety practices;
- Defective machinery and tools;
- Miscommunication and poor coordination between contractors and their crews;
- Undisclosed or unmarked property hazards, such as buried utility lines, underground storage tanks, and rotted floors or ceilings;
- Work in dangerous weather conditions;
- Misuse of caustic or toxic chemicals;
- Falling materials and debris;
- Poor air quality or ventilation;
- Extreme noise and vibration; and
- Shoddy design or workmanship leading to structural collapse.
These and other dangerous features of East Meadow construction sites, big and small, commonly play a role in injuries resulting from what the Occupational Health and Safety Administration refers to as the Fatal Four accidents that cause most construction industry injuries:
- Falls (especially falls from high heights);
- Getting struck by falling or flying materials or debris;
- Getting caught under or between heavy machinery or objects; and
- Electrocution.
At Jacoby & Meyers LLP, we strongly believe that property owners, engineers, and construction employers that take reasonable steps to keep their workers and the public safe from harm can prevent virtually all injuries on construction sites. Their failure to take those steps should, and can, result in legal liability for the injuries and losses suffered by innocent workers and others.
Common East Meadow Construction Accident Injuries
An accident, incident, or exposure on a construction site in East Meadow can devastate the lives and livelihoods of construction workers and their families. The skilled construction injury lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers LLP have decades of experience helping workers and others recover compensation to help them pay for the costs associated with these injuries and for the pain and suffering they have endured.
In our years of practice, we have secured money for clients who have suffered a wide range of severe, construction-related injuries, including:
- Traumatic brain injuries, often the result of falls or falling materials, which can leave a worker in a coma or permanent vegetative state, or can inflict long-lasting neurological impairments of a worker’s ability to move, reason, or control emotions.
- Spinal cord injuries, also common in falls as well as in caught under/between incidents, which frequently leave victims paralyzed, buried under a mountain of unexpected expenses, and can’t earn a living in the construction industry.
- Crushed and amputated limbs, often resulting from a worker getting crushed or pinned by heavy machinery or materials. Loss of use of a limb, or of a limb altogether, drastically impairs a worker’s ability to continue earning an income, and inflicts severe physical and emotional trauma.
- Burns from exposure to open flames, explosions, caustic chemicals, or electricity, which can cause agonizing pain, may require months of hospitalization, and frequently leave victims with disfiguring, debilitating scars.
- Loss of eyesight, an all-too-common occurrence when construction sites fail to follow and enforce safety protocols relating to eyewear and safe practices around power tools such as saws and welding equipment.
- Loss of hearing, especially for workers who use jackhammers and other loud equipment without having been given proper ear protection;
- Orthopedic and repetitive stress injuries, which afflict numerous workers, many of whom live their lives in chronic, debilitating pain, and whose conditions limit the mobility, strength, and flexibility they need to have to perform their jobs.
- Cancers and other toxic-exposure related illnesses, which can develop over time when workers suffer continued exposure to dangerous chemicals, or work for extended periods in dusty, poorly ventilated spaces without proper breathing protection.
These are just some types of injuries clients of Jacoby & Meyers LLP have suffered on and around construction sites. No matter what kind of injury you suffered on an East Meadow construction job, chances are the team at Jacoby & Meyers LLP has secured compensation for someone with a similar injury in the past, and we can put that deep knowledge and know-how to work for your benefit, too.
Your Rights After an East Meadow Construction Accident—They Don’t Stop at Workers’ Compensation
Workers who suffer injuries on an East Meadow construction site have valuable legal rights to compensation not only from workers’ compensation insurance, but also (potentially) from property owners and contractors who face liability to them under New York labor law.
East Meadow Workers’ Compensation Claims
Workers’ compensation insurance covers virtually all East Meadow construction workers against the cost of injuries, illnesses, and disabilities they suffer in connection with their construction jobs. Employers pay for workers’ compensation insurance. By law, they cannot make construction workers pay for it. In fact, even if the contractor you work for on an East Meadow construction site calls you an independent contractor, under the New York State Construction Industry Fair Play Act, chances are that the person who pays you must still purchase workers’ compensation insurance that covers you.
Unfortunately, coverage under a workers’ comp insurance policy does not necessarily translate into a worker automatically receiving benefits when an East Meadow construction accident causes an injury, illness, or disability. Insurance companies never want to pay the full value of claims, and they frequently try to limit the amount of money an injured or sick worker receives to pay for medical care and lost wages.
Workers injured on a construction job in East Meadow can protect themselves against an insurance company trying to nickel-and-dime them by hiring an experienced construction accident injury attorney to help them file and pursue their workers’ comp claim.
At Jacoby & Meyers LLP, we stand up to workers’ comp insurance companies when they try to make it difficult for workers to file a claim, or when they wrongfully deny valid claims. Talk to our team as soon as possible after getting hurt on an East Meadow construction site to learn about how we may help you secure the maximum payment you deserve under the workers’ comp insurance that covers you.
East Meadow Construction Workers’ Rights Under New York Labor Laws
East Meadow construction workers sometimes mistakenly assume that the only compensation they can receive for their injuries and losses comes from workers’ compensation. However, unlike workers in some other industry, construction workers throughout New York State enjoy extra legal protections that give them additional options for obtaining money after suffering an injury on a job site.
One of those options consists of taking legal action against property owners and their contractors (such as a construction site manager) for violations of New York Labor Law.
Section 240 of that law, for example, often referred to as the Scaffold Law, requires property owners and their contractors to provide scaffolding and safety devices on any job site other than a one- or two-family dwelling. Section 241 of that law likewise requires those owners and their contractors to follow certain safety protocols in connection with construction, demolition, and excavation activities.
Workers injured through a violation of these laws may sue the property owner and/or its contractor for damages, and if successful, can receive payments for their injuries that go above and beyond the benefits they receive under a workers’ comp policy.
For example, Jacoby & Meyers LLP lawyers cited a violation of the Scaffold Law in securing the $2 million settlement mentioned above for an injured construction worker.
Third-Party Construction Accident Injury Lawsuits
Sometimes, an East Meadow construction worker’s injury or illness may result from the wrongdoing of a third party—that is, someone other than the worker’s direct employer or co-worker. For instance, workers may suffer injuries on a job site in East Meadow when a defective tool or piece of construction equipment fails, or when a member of some other work crew does something dangerous or careless that ends up harming the worker.
In those cases, the injured worker may have the legal right to file a lawsuit against the third party for money damages. As with violations of the New York Labor Law, a worker who files a successful third-party claim may recover compensation that goes above-and-beyond the payments the worker also receives from a workers’ comp claim.
Jacoby & Meyers LLP’s construction accident injury lawyers have years of experience evaluating the facts and circumstances of construction accidents, to determine what happened and whether any third party may have a legal liability to an injured worker. Sometimes, our team also collaborates with experts in the fields of construction engineering, site management, and safety practices, to evaluate where the blame lies for a worker’s injuries and losses.
How We Help East Meadow Construction Workers
In every case we handle for an injured East Meadow construction worker, we focus first-and-foremost on securing the maximum compensation our client deserves, and that means exploring every potential avenue for securing payment.
The steps we take on a workers’ behalf can vary from case-to-case, but they often include:
- Investigating the causes of the accident or incident that injured our client;
- Evaluating the harm our client has suffered, including our client’s current and future financial needs;
- Planning a strategy for securing as much money as possible for our client from as many sources as are available;
- Communicating with our clients about their cases in language our clients can understand;
- Preparing and filing all paperwork necessary to pursue our clients’ claims with insurance companies and in court;
- Negotiating settlements with insurance companies and defense lawyers, when possible; and
- Litigating our clients’ claims in court when necessary to achieve a fair and appropriate financial outcome.
Clients of Jacoby & Meyers LLP can count on receiving personalized attention. Any action we take on our clients’ behalf focuses on achieving an outcome that meets their unique personal and financial needs. We always put our clients’ interests first.
East Meadow Construction Accident FAQ
At the East Meadow offices of Jacoby & Meyers LLP, injured construction workers and their family members come to us with lots of important, pressing questions about their legal and financial rights after a construction accident. Here are some questions we hear most often, and our general answers to them. For answers to your specific questions about an East Meadow construction accident that left you or a loved one injured, contact us today.
As we mentioned, odds are very high that you have the right to receive workers’ compensation insurance benefits for your East Meadow construction accident injuries and disabilities.
Workers’ comp benefits primarily consist of:
- Medical benefits, which pay for the cost of treating any construction accident injury and recovering from any disability it causes. This includes the cost of receiving emergency medical care from a doctor, and the cost of treatment by a doctor authorized to provide care by the New York Workers’ Compensation Board. At Jacoby & Meyers LLP, we can help you identify whether your doctor is authorized, and we fight to make sure you get the treatment you need.
- Cash (disability) benefits, which replace a portion of your income for the time your injury keeps you out of work.
- Death benefits, similar to weekly benefits for a total disability, payable to the surviving spouse or minor child of a worker who dies in an East Meadow construction accident.
Obtaining these benefits requires filing a claim through the workers’ compensation insurance company that issued the policy that covers you. Seek the help of an experienced construction accident injury lawyer from Jacoby & Meyers LLP to give yourself the best chance of securing the maximum benefits permitted under New York workers’ compensation law.
The best way to find out if you may have the legal right to seek compensation in addition to your workers’ compensation benefits is to speak with an experienced construction accident injury attorney from Jacoby & Meyers LLP’s East Meadow office.
In the meantime, you can get a sense of your rights by asking yourself this question: Did someone else’s bad decision or dangerous conduct contribute to the cause of my construction-related injury or illness? If you answer that question “yes,” “maybe,” or even “I’m not sure,” you may well have the right to seek additional compensation through legal action, and we encourage you to contact us today to learn more.
It depends on the particulars of your East Meadow construction accident and injuries.
The amount of money you may, with the help of an experienced lawyer, can recover generally depends on three factors:
- The severity of your injuries and their impact on your life. Damages in a lawsuit for injuries you suffer in an East Meadow construction accident consist of payment for economic damages not covered by workers comp (such as injury-related expenses and lost income) and non-economic damages reflecting your pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life. The more severe your injury and the greater its impact on your day-to-day life and relationships, the more money a skilled lawyer can typically seek to recover on your behalf.
- The strength of your case. In an ideal world, you could simply ask the person or company liable for your injuries to pay you what you deserve, and they would. But, we do not live in an ideal world. Securing compensation from a party at-fault for your injuries and their liability insurance company requires proving liability under New York law. The better the evidence and the more airtight the legal arguments a skilled lawyer can assemble on your behalf, the stronger your chances of obtaining a settlement or jury award for maximum compensation.
- The financial resources available to pay damages to you. In a lawsuit for damages you suffered in an East Meadow construction accident, your lawyer demands payment from one or more parties who have a legal liability to you. The amount of money you can realistically expect to recover if your case succeeds depends on the ability of those parties to pay you. The more insurance those parties carry, and the greater the assets they have at their disposal, the higher the amount you can hope to recover.
By and large, you do not have much control over the first factor above. Your injury is what it is, and you can only try to heal from it as much as possible. You do, however, have some control over the second and third factors, because you get to choose your attorney. Hiring a high-quality lawyer with years of experience fighting for compensation for construction workers like you, like a lawyer from Jacoby & Meyers LLP, will tend to increase your chances of receiving the full value of your legal claim.
That is difficult to predict in advance. Some cases settle quickly. Others take a while to resolve. Beware any lawyer who promises to get you all the money you deserve on a quick, fixed timetable. Experienced lawyers know they cannot make guarantees like that, and trying to speed a client’s case may well end up compromising the client’s legal and financial rights.
As with the amount of money you can hope to receive, most of the factors affecting the timeline for your East Meadow construction accident injury claim lie beyond your or your attorney’s ability to control.
They include:
- How long it takes to have a clear diagnosis of your injury or illness, and a clear prognosis for regaining your health;
- How many parties have a financial stake in the outcome of your case; and
- How much dispute exists over questions like who has a legal liability to you, or how much money you deserve as damages.
You can, however, control one aspect of the timetable of your claim: when you speak with an experienced lawyer about your construction accident injury for the first time. You must take that first step to get the ball rolling on the rest of the process, so do not wait.
Not without first speaking with an experienced East Meadow construction accident injury lawyer.
Parties at-fault for a worker’s injuries in an East Meadow construction accident may try to shortcut the legal process by offering the victim a quick cash settlement up-front. Workers who suddenly find themselves injured and out-of-work may feel tempted to take what seems like a lot of easy money.
But, be careful. Settlements come with strings attached. In exchange for any payment, you will have to give up your rights to sue the party who pays you for your injuries. You cannot take back a settlement once you agree to it. If it turns out, later on, that the amount of money you received falls far short of what you needed to pay medical bills and replace your lost income, then you cannot get a do-over. You are stuck with the money you received.
The skilled construction accident injury lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers LLP have years of experience in evaluating clients’ injuries and losses to determine the full value of their legal claims for damages. We use that knowledge to help our clients determine whether a settlement offer truly reflects the amount of money they need and deserve. By allowing us to negotiate on their behalf, our clients can rest assured that they will always know what makes for a settlement offer they should accept, and one they should reject.
Short answer: Nothing, unless your lawyer gets you results.
Longer answer: lawyers like the team at Jacoby & Meyers LLP represent their construction accident injury clients on a contingent fee basis. That is an arrangement in which the lawyer’s entire legal fee consists of a percentage of any money the lawyer succeeds in recovering on the client’s behalf. The lawyer does not charge the client an upfront fee, and does not bill the client by the hour. Instead, the lawyer only gets paid if the client gets paid.
Why does Jacoby & Meyers LLP represent its clients on a contingent fee basis? Two reasons:
- First, because we know that East Meadow construction accident victims often find themselves in dire financial straits when they seek our help. They can barely afford to pay for groceries and medication, much less for a lawyer. By working on contingency, we make our services affordable for anyone.
- Second, because by working on a contingent fee basis, we give our clients the peace of mind of knowing that we want what is best for them, because it’s what is best for us, too. Our goal is their goal: to secure the maximum compensation possible, as effectively and efficiently as possible. When our clients win, we win.
Never let your money worries keep you from sitting down, in-person or virtually, with an experienced East Meadow construction accident injury lawyer. The only thing you can’t afford is to go without skilled legal advice!
Yes, and it is simple and straightforward: always seek medical care and follow your doctor’s advice. Nothing is more important to your wellbeing and your legal rights than taking good physical and emotional care of yourself.
Here’s why:
- Not all East Meadow construction accident injuries are obvious. Construction work punishes the body. You expect to head home at the end of the day with a few aches and pains. However, just because you have a physically demanding job does not mean that you should tough it out if you suffer an injury in a preventable accident or incident. For one thing, getting hurt is not in your job description. For another, you can’t always know for sure the extent or severity of an injury right away. Some life-altering or even life-threatening injuries may not show symptoms right away. Be safe, rather than sorry, by seeking medical attention after any preventable accident or incident on the job site.
- Your employer needs to know right away. You likely have rights to workers’ comp benefits, but only if you report your injury to your employer right away. Going to the doctor makes that easy, and creates records to help prove that your injury happened on-the-job.
- Your rights depend on you taking care of yourself. Any legal rights you have to compensation for an East Meadow construction accident injury—whether they consist of workers’ comp benefits, damages in a lawsuit, or both—depend in large part on your lawyer’s ability to prove that you did what you needed to do to take care of yourself, and that you did not make your injuries worse by ignoring them.
Depending on your specific situation, we may have other advice for other things you can do to protect your legal and financial rights. However, if you do nothing else, seeking care and minding your doctor’s orders will help to put you on the road to physical and financial recovery after an East Meadow construction accident.
Your East Meadow Construction Accident Injury Lawyers
East Meadow Construction Accident Injury Lawyer, Andrew Finkelstein
Working construction comes with risks. However, that does not mean workers deserve the injuries they suffer, or that they should go without fair and reasonable compensation when an accident or incident leaves them in physical, emotional, and financial pain.
As an injured or ill East Meadow construction worker, you have potentially valuable legal and financial rights.
The experienced, dedicated construction accident injury lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers LLP in East Meadow have the skill and resources to fight on your behalf for the full value of compensation you deserve, whether that means chasing down a workers’ comp insurance carrier for benefits, or filing a lawsuit for damages in New York court. Contact us online, open a chat with one of our live representatives, or dial (877) 565-2993 for a free, confidential, no-obligation case evaluation.
East Meadow Office
90 Merrick Avenue, Suite 601
East Meadow, NY 11554
(877) 565-2993
Client Testimonial
Review: 5/5
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“The team and Jacoby & Meyers are excellent. They make sure the client is well taken care of. They are great with communication and they take their time to make sure the client is satisfied. Will definitely recommend.”
Review by: Danielle H.
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