Each year in the United States, work accidents hurt or disable over 3 million individuals and result in the death of approximately 5,500 workers. In fact, work accidents every day around the country cause about 11,500 illnesses and injuries and the hospitalization of 200 workers. The NYC workplace injury lawyers at Lipsig, Shapey, Manus & Moverman have represented many individuals and families impacted by work accidents such as:
- Highway incidents, which can involve workers who are driving at the time of the auto accident or construction workers who are hit by a car or truck while working on the highway.
- Falls from a height; for instance, a ladder, scaffolding, roof or stairway. In 2007, there were 835 fatal falls in the U.S. alone.
- Being struck by an object such as a tool or a machinery part.
- Machinery or equipment malfunction, lack of safety guards or defective products.
- Fires, explosions or gas leaks that can result in serious burn injuries.
- Roof or other building-component collapse; these accidents can be attributed to defective or old products.
- Exposure to toxins including asbestos or benzene. Toxic exposure does not usually result in immediate injuries, but rather causes the exposed worker to develop fatal disease including mesothelioma and cancer.
- Workplace homicides; in 2007, for example, 610 people were killed in workplace homicides in the U.S.
Workplace Injuries Are Not Always Immediate
Although the consequences of a work accident may be immediately apparent, in many cases the injury or illness does not become apparent until days, weeks, months or even years after the work accident or workplace exposure. An example of a later-onset injury is repetitive-motion disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Examples of very-late-onset injuries include mesothelioma from asbestos exposure, lead poisoning and cancer from other toxins.
Even when a personal injury or illness does not immediately follow the work accident, the worker may be eligible for a legal remedy. Any worker with a question about his or her health that may be related to work should consult a knowledgeable work accident attorney.
Work Accidents Cost Millions in Losses
According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), more than half of the workplace accidents in the U.S. result in significant time off the job, work restriction, or a job transfer for the injured. If you experience a work-related injury or illness, the lost wages, medical bills, possible disability and other damages can have a profoundly negative and long-term impact on your life.
A work accident attorney’s job is to recover compensation for the injured or the survivors of a family member killed in a work accident — whether through a workers compensation claim, a negotiated settlement with defendant employers and/or insurers, litigation to obtain a court award, or a combination of legal actions.
Fatal Work Accidents
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the industries that have the highest personal injury and fatality rates include the mining, agriculture, forestry, fishing, construction, transportation and public utilities industries. In 2007, approximately one-quarter of all work-accident fatalities involved workers in transportation and material-moving occupations. These occupations are central to the economies of both New York City and the state.
Work Accidents and Wrongful Death Claims
Families of individuals who have been killed in a work accident may be eligible to recover compensation for their financial and emotional losses by filing a wrongful death claim. A personal injury lawyer for work accident injuries and deaths will thoroughly evaluate the accident and will fight aggressively to recover monetary compensation for the family members left behind.
Speak to a Work Accident Lawyer at Our Firm
If you’ve been injured on the job, or if your family member was injured or killed in a work accident, discuss your circumstances with an experienced New York work accident attorney at Lipsig, Shapey, Manus & Moverman. We look forward to helping you.
Work Accident Verdicts
$1,950,000 Settlement – We obtained nearly two million dollars for our client, a 46-year-old carpenter who fell approximately three feet from a defective baker scaffold. The client was diagnosed with a disc/osteophyte complex in his neck and a torn meniscus in his knee in the weeks following his fall.
$1,800,000 Settlement – Construction Worker hurt due to fall from unsecured ladder – Case settled just before trial for $1.8 million.
$1,500,000 Settlement – Pre-trial settlement for 50 year old construction worker who fell 5-10 feet from a defective scaffold. Our client sustained injury to his back that required surgery. We overcame the defense that New York’s Labor Law was not applicable to the work site at a large mansion in Westchester County.
$1,200,000 Settlement – Our client, a 49-year-old electrician fell from a ladder at an office building in September, 2008. Our motion for summary judgment asserting that he was provided an unsecured ladder that violated New Yorks Labor Law 240(1) was pending before the Court. He suffered bilateral clavicle fractures and multiple rib fractures. He needed an arthroscopic shoulder surgery and we established that he had a mild brain injury. We retained an economist to project his future loss of earnings and future medical expenses.
$1,100,000 Settlement – At a private mediation, we obtained over a million dollars for another client, a 52-year-old jackhammer operator who fell approximately 15 feet from an elevated train platform, sustaining cervical and lumbar disc herniations that were treated with physical therapy.
