Hero
Construction Accident Lawyer in Forest Hills
My office sits at 102-11 Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills. I have watched the construction patterns in this neighborhood for two decades: pre-war elevator co-op rehabs, façade work on the older buildings along Yellowstone, and steady infill along Queens Boulevard. I represent the workers doing this work. Free consultation. Hablamos español.
Call: 718-261-0546
Where Forest Hills construction injuries happen
The pre-war elevator co-ops along Yellowstone Boulevard and 108th Street run a continuous cycle of façade work, parapet repair, and Local Law 11 mandated rehabs. Suspended scaffolds drop alongside seven- to twelve-story buildings, often above pedestrian sidewalks. Falls from suspended scaffolds, falling brick during façade cuts, and parapet failures cluster here. The boundary between Forest Hills Gardens and the dense co-op blocks adds a steady stream of single-family rehab work and roofing falls in the gated sub-neighborhood.
The Queens Boulevard corridor between 71st Avenue and Continental runs commercial and ground-floor renovation work, often in tight quarters with subway construction overlapping at the 71st Avenue station. Austin Street's commercial strip turns over interior fit-outs continuously, and the work crews on those jobs run small, often non-union, often with the cheap pipe scaffolds that fail under load. Metropolitan Avenue west of my office handles the truck and material-delivery volume for most of these projects.
Forest Hills runs a mix of union work on the bigger Forest Hills Hospital expansion projects and Northwell facility upgrades, and non-union work on the smaller residential rehabs. Both sets of workers have full Labor Law protection. The co-op boards on these older buildings often try to push liability questions onto the contractors directly. The statute looks past that.
NY Labor Law § 240(1), the Scaffold Law in 200 words
NY Labor Law § 240(1) imposes absolute liability on property owners and general contractors when an elevation-related construction injury occurs because a required safety device was absent, defective, or inadequate. Falls from scaffolds, ladders, roofs, and platforms qualify. Falling-object injuries qualify too: tools, debris, or unsecured materials that fall and strike a worker. After Wilinski v. 334 East 92nd Hous. Dev. Fund Corp., 18 N.Y.3d 1 (2011), even short-fall objects qualify when the weight and force create a meaningful elevation differential.
Absolute liability means comparative negligence is not a defense. Once the plaintiff proves the statute was violated and the violation caused the injury, the worker's own conduct does not reduce the recovery. Sole proximate cause and recalcitrant worker are the two narrow defenses, both rare.
Labor Law § 241(6) treats specific Industrial Code Part 23 violations as negligence per se and runs alongside § 240. The one-or-two-family residential exception can apply on small Forest Hills Gardens jobs if the homeowner did not direct the work, so site-control facts matter.
Immigration status does not bar a claim. Under Balbuena v. IDR Realty LLC, 6 N.Y.3d 338 (2006), undocumented workers retain full damages, including lost wages, in New York personal injury cases.
What to do after a Forest Hills construction accident
- Get medical attention. Forest Hills Hospital (Northwell) is right inside the neighborhood and is the closest ER. Tell the ER it was a work injury so the records reflect it.
- Report to your supervisor and document witnesses. Crews on small co-op rehab and façade jobs rotate fast.
- File New York Workers' Compensation within 30 days. Do this regardless of whether you plan a Labor Law third-party case.
- Call before signing anything, and stop in. My office is at 102-11 Metropolitan, three blocks from Yellowstone Boulevard. Documented and undocumented workers both have full personal injury rights, and status stays private with my office.
Cases I take
- Suspended-scaffold failures on Local Law 11 façade work
- Ladder falls on co-op interior rehab
- Falling brick, parapet collapse, and falling tools above pedestrian sidewalks
- Hoist and personnel-elevator failures on the larger residential and hospital jobs
- Trench and excavation collapses on Yellowstone and Queens Boulevard utility work
- Electrocution from temporary site wiring
- Struck-by tools on tight Austin Street fit-out staging
- Demolition injuries on commercial-strip teardowns
Talk to me
Call: 718-261-0546 Office: 102-11 Metropolitan Ave, Forest Hills, NY 11375 Hablamos español. Bilingual concierge on staff.
Free consultation. Walk in or call. I will pick up if I am at the desk. See Prior Results for verified case outcomes.
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