Construction Traffic Accidents

Many injuries and deaths occur in construction zones because drivers don’t adhere to the appropriate standard of care when traveling through or by the work area. There are numerous factors that impact what happens in a construction zone. If you are a worker who has been injured in a construction traffic accident, you should consult an attorney about your situation and what remedies might be available. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, our skillful Syracuse construction accident attorneys can investigate a worksite traffic accident in Syracuse and identify anybody responsible for causing the accident through negligence or misconduct.

Construction sites are often occupied by many employers at once, and construction workers face special dangers on the site. Often lanes are narrowed rapidly on a construction site, and they may be narrowed through the use of plastic pylons or concrete barriers. There may be less of a shoulder, and less room to maneuver. Any lane markings may be covered with debris, making it harder to differentiate between lanes. Dump trucks and other equipment may move in and out of a construction zone, making it difficult to see ahead. Workers in the road who are directing traffic can be injured by a negligent driver who doesn’t initially notice a worker, but then overreacts to the worker.

If a worker is injured on the job, he will be covered by workers’ compensation. However, construction traffic accidents can result in catastrophic or even fatal injuries. Workers’ compensation benefits are not usually significant enough to fully cover the losses arising out of a construction traffic accident.

It may be possible to hold the driver of a car or other vehicle liable for injuries sustained by a worker in a construction traffic accident. Usually, you’ll need to show the driver’s negligence by a preponderance of the evidence. That means proving: (1) the driver owed you a duty to use reasonable care, (2) breach of the duty to use reasonable care, (3) causation, and (4) damages.

Sometimes a construction traffic accident is not the fault of a driver, but the fault of a contractor or subcontractor at the construction site. While your exclusive remedy against your own employer may be workers’ compensation, you may be able to sue a third party contractor for dangerous conditions that caused your injuries where the third party had control of the conditions and knew or should have known they were dangerous. As with other personal injury lawsuits, your own comparative negligence may be raised by the defendant. If you do recover damages from the third party, you will be required to reimburse workers’ compensation you received.

Less commonly, a construction traffic accident may be the result of a fall from heights or a falling object. For example, if you were working one story up on an apartment building and then fell into traffic due to a lack of safety equipment and were struck by a car, this might be considered a gravity-related injury that falls under New York Labor Law 240. New York Labor Law 240 provides that construction workers who perform work that is needed on the erection or repair of a building, and who perform the work at high elevations from a scaffold or ladder are entitled to certain safety devices. If those devices are not provided, the worker who is injured in a scaffold or gravity accident may be able to recover against the third party responsible for supervising the construction site.

Labor Law 241 provides for strict liability if a contractor or subcontractor violates safety codes and the violation causes injuries. The violation itself is an indication of fault, so you wouldn’t have to show the defendant was negligent in causing the construction traffic accident.

If you were injured or a loved one was killed in a construction traffic accident in Syracuse, you should consult an experienced personal injury lawyer about what remedies might be available. The lawyers at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represent construction accident victims and their families in Syracuse, as well as Rochester, Utica, Auburn, Lyons, Cooperstown, Elmira, Wampsville, Watertown, Oswego, Canandaigua, Lowville, Oneida, Herkimer, Norwich, Ithaca, and Binghamton. Please call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.