NYC Union Accident Attorneys for Injured Union Members

Getting hurt on a union job affects more than your health: it can stop your paycheck and the benefit hours your family counts on. At Washor Kool Sosa Maiorana & Schwartz, LLP, our NYC union accident attorneys represent injured carpenters, laborers, ironworkers, electricians, operating engineers, and other union trades against the companies whose safety failures caused the harm.

Those companies are usually the property owner, the general contractor, another trade's subcontractor, or an equipment maker, not your employer. A third-party claim against them is separate from workers' compensation and your union's grievance process, and it can recover pain and suffering and full lost earnings, which comp does not pay.

Call us at 212-406-1700 for a free consultation, available 24/7.

Schedule a Free Case Evaluation

Can a Union Worker Sue After a Job Injury in New York?

Yes, but usually not your own employer. Workers' Compensation Law §11 makes comp benefits the exclusive remedy against the employer in most cases, which means the company that signed your paycheck is generally shielded from a lawsuit. The main exception is an employer that failed to carry the required comp coverage.

That rule does not protect everyone else on the project. Workers' Compensation Law §29 preserves an injured worker's right to sue other parties whose negligence caused the injury. On a typical New York City job, other companies own the building, manage the site, and employ the other trades, and each is a potential third party.

Depending on how the accident happened, a third-party claim may be brought against:

• The owner of the property where the work was being done
• The general contractor or construction manager running the site
• Another subcontractor whose crew created the hazard
• The manufacturer or supplier of a defective scaffold, hoist, lift, or power tool
• A driver whose negligence caused a crash while you were working

Two limits apply. You generally cannot sue a co-worker employed by the same company, because Section 29 extends the comp bar to fellow employees.

A company that controlled the details of your work may also be treated as a "special employer" with the same protection. In Thompson v. Grumman Aerospace Corp., the Court of Appeals treated control over the manner, details, and ultimate result of the work as a key factor, so identifying your true employer is one of the first things we do.

How New York Labor Law Protects Union Construction Workers

Three sections of the Labor Law do most of the work in a union construction accident case, and a single accident can support claims under more than one. Owners and general contractors carry most of these duties, so they are usually the main defendants.

Labor Law §240(1): Falls and Falling Objects

Labor Law §240(1), often called the Scaffold Law, requires owners and contractors to provide proper protection, such as scaffolds, ladders, hoists, and harnesses, against gravity-related risks. It covers workers who fall from a height and workers struck by improperly secured objects falling from above, and liability does not depend on whether the owner or contractor supervised the work. If you were hit by a falling object on a NYC construction site, this law may give you a strong claim against the owner or contractor.

In Blake v. Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City, the Court of Appeals confirmed that a worker's carelessness does not defeat the claim when a violation causes the injury. The claim fails only if no violation occurred and the worker's conduct was the sole cause. Owners of one- and two-family homes who do not direct or control the work are exempt.

Labor Law §241(6): Industrial Code Violations

Many union injuries have nothing to do with height, from unguarded saws to slippery floors. Labor Law §241(6) covers these unsafe work sites by requiring owners and contractors to follow the specific safety rules in the state Industrial Code, known as Rule 23. As New York Labor Law 241(6) construction accident lawyers, we make these claims a core part of our practice.

To succeed, the claim must cite a specific, concrete rule in the Industrial Code, not a general call for "adequate" safety, as the Court of Appeals held in Ross v. Curtis-Palmer Hydro-Electric Co. Owners and general contractors can be liable without supervising the work, but a worker's comparative fault can reduce a Section 241(6) recovery.

Labor Law §200: The General Duty to Keep Workers Safe

Labor Law §200 puts New York's common-law duty of care into statute: workplaces must be kept reasonably safe. A Section 200 claim usually requires proof that the defendant controlled the work that caused the injury, or created or knew about the dangerous condition.

Does Your Union Contract Affect Your Injury Claim?

Your collective bargaining agreement does not take away your right to bring a Labor Law or negligence claim against a third party. The agreement governs your wages, hours, benefits, and the grievance procedure for disputes with your employer, and a grievance and an injury lawsuit are separate processes that work very differently:

Question	Union grievance	Third-party injury lawsuit
Who it is brought against	Your employer, under the collective bargaining agreement	Companies other than your employer, such as the property owner, general contractor, or another trade's subcontractor
Where it is decided	The grievance steps in your contract, which can end in arbitration	Usually New York State Supreme Court
Who represents you	Your shop steward and union representatives	An injury lawyer you choose
What it can address	Contract issues such as pay, discipline, and working conditions	Damages for the injury itself, including pain and suffering and lost earnings and benefits

Our practice focuses on the third-party lawsuit; we do not handle union grievances or workers' compensation proceedings.

The agreement still matters to your injury case. It documents your hourly rate, scheduled raises, overtime, and the benefit contributions made for every hour you work, and with your dispatch records, it can show who employed you on the day of the accident, which affects who can be sued.

Union Benefits, Annuity Contributions, and Liens on Your Recovery

When an injury keeps you off the job, contributions to your annuity, pension, and health funds can stop along with your paycheck. Lost earnings in a third-party case can include those fringe benefits, along with the long-term loss of pension credit and annuity growth in a serious case. Pay stubs and benefit fund statements are the starting point for proving it.

Several parties may also claim a share of any recovery, and how those claims are handled can change how much you keep:

• The workers' comp lien. If comp paid your medical bills or lost wages, Section 29 gives the comp carrier a lien on the third-party recovery. The lien applies after reasonable litigation costs, including attorney's fees, are deducted, and the carrier may be entitled to a credit against future comp benefits.
• Consent to settle. Under Section 29(5), a third-party settlement generally requires the comp carrier's written consent or a court's approval. Settling without either can jeopardize future comp benefits.
• Union health fund reimbursement. Some union welfare funds claim a right to be repaid from a settlement under the plan's terms. New York General Obligations Law §5-335 bars many insurers from seeking that reimbursement, but self-funded plans governed by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act may not be bound by state law, as the U.S. Supreme Court held in FMC Corp. v. Holliday.

We review every lien and reimbursement claim so settlement numbers reflect what you will take home.

How Long Do Union Workers Have to File an Injury Claim in New York?

In New York, most union injury lawsuits against private companies must be filed within three years, but claims involving a public entity or a worker's death follow shorter deadlines:

• Three years from the accident to file most negligence and Labor Law claims against private defendants, under section 214(5) of the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
• Ninety days to serve a notice of claim when a public entity is involved, such as New York City under section 50-e of the General Municipal Law or the New York City Housing Authority under section 157 of the Public Housing Law, with the lawsuit generally due within one year and 90 days. Claims against New York State follow separate Court of Claims deadlines.
• Two years from the date of death for a wrongful death claim by the family, under section 5-4.1 of the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law.

Workers' comp adds its own timing rule: if you accept comp benefits and do not start the third-party lawsuit within the time Section 29 allows, the claim can be assigned to the comp carrier after it gives written notice. Exceptions and tolling rules can shorten or extend any of these periods, so have the deadlines reviewed soon after the accident.

Steps That Protect a Union Injury Claim

These steps protect both your health and your third-party claim:

1. Get medical treatment first, and make sure your records show you were hurt on the job.
2. Report the accident to your foreman and your shop steward or union delegate. Comp law generally requires you to give written notice to your employer within 30 days.
3. Keep your hiring hall dispatch slip, and write down the general contractor, the site safety manager, the other trades on the floor, and any witnesses.
4. Hold on to damaged gear such as a harness, boots, or a hard hat, and photograph the equipment and conditions if you can.
5. Save your pay stubs, benefit fund statements, and a copy of your collective bargaining agreement.
6. Don't sign a release or give a recorded statement to another company's insurer before you speak with a lawyer.

An insurer for the owner or general contractor may call early with a quick offer and a release, and signing it can end the claim for a fraction of its value.

How We Build a Union Worker's Third-Party Case

Investigating Every Company on the Site

A strong third-party case starts before the complaint is filed, with an investigation of every company involved in the work. For union clients, that work includes:

• Identifying who owned the site, who held the prime contract, and which trades were working in the area
• Matching the task you were doing to the Industrial Code rules that applied to it
• Pulling site safety plans, daily logs, incident reports, and inspection records
• Checking whether a public owner is involved, so early notice deadlines are not missed

Those records usually show what went wrong, and when a case calls for outside help, we work with safety consultants, physicians, and economists who can explain the injury and its cost to a jury.

Explaining What Happened in Your Own Words

Many of our clients describe their accidents in the language of the trade, from shoring and rigging to specific safety devices. Our team includes Spanish speakers who know the trades, so clients can tell us what happened in their own words.

Our attorneys have recovered over $1 billion for injured New Yorkers. Union cases are part of our wider construction accident practice, which also handles workplace injury claims for workers outside the trades.

If a job site injury has kept you out of work, call us at 212-406-1700 for a free review of your claim.

FAQs: Union Accident Attorney NYC

These answers cover questions injured union members in New York City often ask before hiring a lawyer.

Talk to a Union Accident Attorney in NYC

If you or a family member was hurt on a New York City job site, we can identify every party that may be responsible and explain your options under the Labor Law. Consultations are free, and we are available 24/7. Call Washor Kool Sosa Maiorana & Schwartz, LLP at 212-406-1700, or visit us at the Woolworth Building, 233 Broadway #2020, New York, NY 10279.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and every case depends on its specific facts and the law involved. This page provides general information and is not legal advice.

Schedule a Free Case Evaluation