Long Island Crush Injuries Lawyer
Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP.
Crush injuries have been included in OSHA’s “Construction Fatal Four” as one of the leading causes of death in construction accidents, ranking below only falls, being struck by objects and electrocutions.
Workers suffer crush injuries when pressure from a heavy object is exerted on a body part, or when part or all of the body is squeezed between two objects. This type of injury can cause serious and even permanent injuries or death.
At the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP our experienced Long Island construction accident lawyers have been representing injured workers since 2003. We know what questions to ask and how to help our clients obtain the full compensation they are entitled to receive. If you suffered crush injuries as a worker in a construction accident, depending on the circumstances, you may be entitled to compensation in addition to workers’ compensation benefits.
For information about your specific situation, contact us now for a free consultation and claim review.
Common Causes of Construction Crush Injuries
Construction is a very dangerous profession, and crush injuries can occur on the job in a number of ways. OSHA lists the following as the most common causes of crush injuries:
- Machinery with unguarded moving parts: When machines are not de-energized (locked out) during maintenance or repairs, they may cycle or start up, and construction workers are at risk of being trapped and crushed under or in heavy equipment.
- Buried in or by equipment or structures: Workers can be crushed or suffocated when unprotected trenches and excavations cave in. When large scaffolds collapse, they can crush and bury workers underneath. Workers can also be crushed and buried when walls collapse during demolition.
- Pinned between objects: Workers can be pinned between equipment and a solid object, such as a wall; between stacked or stored materials and a solid object; and between materials and shoring in a trench.
Complications from Crush Injuries
Construction accident crush injuries are frequently very serious. They often result in death or disability. The National Institutes of Health’s Medline Plus lists symptoms of crush injuries, including:
- Bleeding (internal and external).
- Fractures.
- Lacerations.
- Nerve injury.
- Compartment syndrome (pressure in an arm or leg causing serious damage to muscles, nerves, blood vessels and tissue).
- Bruising.
- Wounds.
- Secondary infection.
Legal Help for Victims of Construction Accident Crush Injuries
Depending on the circumstances in your particular case, you may have multiple remedies for serious crush injuries suffered in a construction accident. Under New York Labor Law Section 240 (“Scaffold Law”), New York property owners and others may be held liable for falls from scaffolding and ladders. Third parties, such as subcontractors, manufacturers and other entities may also be responsible for safety hazards or defective equipment that causes the crush injuries.
Our knowledgeable Long Island injury lawyers know the right questions to ask and the right steps to take for maximum recovery after a construction accident that caused crush injuries. Our firm has been representing injured workers in New York construction accidents for more than a decade, and we understand how workers’ compensation, premises liability, the Scaffold Law and third-party liability claims work.
Our legal team is dedicated to obtaining maximum recovery for our clients. Contact us today for a free evaluation of your case where you can meet face-to-face with an attorney who understands the law in your case. If you cannot come to our offices, we will make arrangements to come to you.
Sources:
- OSHA: Commonly Used Statistics
- OSHA: Construction Focus Four: Caught-In or -Between Hazards
- NIH Medline Plus: Crush Injury
