Are you looking for a construction accident lawyer in Suffolk County, NY?
At Polsky, Shouldice & Rosen, P.C., we serve clients in Suffolk County construction accident matters with decades of combined legal experience.
If you were injured in a construction accident in Suffolk County, an attorney can help you pursue benefits for your medical bills and lost income. For more than 30 years we have stood with injured workers, and a Suffolk County, NY construction accident lawyer at Polsky, Shouldice & Rosen, P.C. can guide your claim from the first report through the final hearing. Construction accidents often involve more than one company and more than one insurer. If you were hurt on a job site, reach out to our office for a free consultation about where your claim stands.
Construction Accident Lawyer Suffolk County, NY
Construction and extraction workers accounted for 1,032 of the fatal work injuries recorded nationwide in 2024, more than nearly any other line of work, according to federal injury data. Suffolk County's job sites carry the same dangers that drive those numbers. Suffolk is one of the most active construction markets on Long Island, and its workers face those risks year-round.
A construction accident lawyer represents the injured worker, not the contractor or the insurance company. Most construction accidents in New York are covered by workers' compensation, which pays benefits no matter who was at fault. We manage the claim from the first report to the final award, gathering evidence, meeting deadlines, and standing up to the insurer when it undervalues a serious injury. The common causes of accidents on a job site range from unguarded heights to equipment that was never made safe.
Types of Construction Accident Cases We Handle in Suffolk County
Construction accidents happen in many ways, and the cause often shapes the claim. These are the cases we handle most often for Suffolk County workers, and each one calls for a close look at the site, the equipment, and the medical records. The warm building season brings its own summer hazards as well.
- Falls from elevation. Workers fall from roofs, upper floors, and unguarded edges every day on active sites. These are the deadliest construction accidents, and the resulting injuries are often permanent. We document the height, the surface, and the fall protection that should have been in place.
- Scaffold failures. When a ladder slips or a scaffold gives way, the worker has no chance to catch themselves. We look closely at how the equipment was built, inspected, and maintained, and at who was responsible for it. These failures often trace back to missing inspections or shortcuts on setup.
- Struck-by accidents. Tools, materials, and debris fall from height and strike the workers below. A hard hat helps, but it cannot stop every serious head, neck, or shoulder injury.
- Trench collapses. Cave-ins bury workers in seconds and leave little margin for rescue. These accidents demand fast investigation, because the site often changes within hours. A cave-in can happen without warning, and the weight of the soil causes crushing injuries and suffocation.
- Machinery injuries. Saws, nail guns, forklifts, and other equipment cause crush wounds, amputations, and deep lacerations. We connect the injury to the task and the machine involved. Amputations in particular bring long recoveries and permanent limits.
- Electrical injuries. Contact with live wires, overhead lines, or damaged equipment causes burns and nerve damage that can last for years. The full extent often takes time to appear, and shock can cause internal injuries that are easy to miss at first.
- Vehicle strikes. On busy sites, backing trucks and moving equipment strike workers on foot. These accidents are common in the road and highway construction that runs throughout the county. Reflective gear and spotters reduce the risk, but they don't remove it.
Why Choose Polsky, Shouldice & Rosen, P.C. as my Construction Accident Lawyer in Suffolk County, NY?
Representing Injured Workers Across Suffolk County
We represent construction workers throughout Suffolk County, from the county's building sites to its road and highway projects. Mark Polsky has handled injured-worker claims since 1987, Donald Shouldice since 1992, and Adam Rosen since 1995. All three are members of the Injured Workers' Bar Association, a statewide group of attorneys who represent injured workers rather than insurers. A construction accident claim is a workplace-injury claim, and workplace injuries are all we handle. When you hire an on-the-job injury lawyer in Suffolk County, NY at our firm, you are hiring the same attorneys who take on these construction accident cases.
A Track Record Insurers Take Seriously
For over 30 years, our firm has represented workers hurt on Suffolk County construction sites, and injured-worker cases are all we handle. Mark Polsky has spent decades in hearings and trials, and he has lectured and written on workers' compensation. Donald Shouldice has been active in efforts to strengthen the laws that protect injured workers. Across those years, we have carried cases through hearings and appeals whenever an insurer refused to pay what an injury was worth. The way we handle these claims shows in our clients' testimonials. There is no fee to begin, since the attorney's fee is set by the Board and paid from what we recover.
Understanding Construction Accident Cases
Steps in a Construction Accident Claim
A construction accident claim moves through a familiar sequence, even though the pace varies with the injury.
- Report the accident to your employer and get medical care right away.
- File the claim with the Workers' Compensation Board within the two-year deadline the law sets, and notify your employer within 30 days.
- The insurer reviews the claim and decides whether to accept or dispute it.
- If the claim is contested, a Workers' Compensation Law Judge holds hearings to resolve it.
- The claim ends in an award, a settlement, or an appeal when a ruling is wrong.
Who Is Responsible for a Construction Site Accident?
Workers' compensation is a no-fault system, so you can receive benefits without proving anyone was careless. Still, construction sites are crowded places, and figuring out who controlled the work matters. On a busy job site, more than one company may share the blame, and each will try to point at the others. The way construction site accidents unfold often involves several parties at once. The company that hired you may not be the company that created the danger.
- The general contractor overseeing the site.
- Subcontractors performing specific work.
- The owner of equipment that failed.
- The company responsible for site safety.
Sorting this out early shapes how the claim is handled and what the insurer will contest.
What Compensation Covers After a Construction Accident
A construction accident claim can cover several kinds of loss, and pursuing accident compensation starts with solid medical proof. Workers' compensation pays for the medical treatment tied to the injury, from emergency care through surgery and rehabilitation. It also replaces part of your lost income while you can't work, generally two-thirds of your wages based on your degree of disability and subject to a state cap. When an injury leaves lasting damage, the claim can include a permanent disability or schedule loss of use award, and a fatal accident can bring death benefits for the worker's family. How long benefits continue depends on the severity of the injury and the course of recovery. Medical care under a claim is provided at no cost to you when the treatment is authorized.
What to Bring to Your Construction Accident Consultation
A few items help us understand your claim during the first meeting, and knowing the right questions to ask can guide what you gather.
- The date, place, and a description of the accident.
- The names of your employer and other contractors on the site.
- Medical records and bills for the injury.
- Any photographs of the scene or the equipment.
- Accident reports and letters from the insurer or the Board.
- The names of any witnesses to the accident.
The consultation is free and comes with no obligation. We will explain where your claim stands and what we can do to help.
Construction Safety and Workers' Compensation in Suffolk County
Suffolk County has some of the busiest construction activity on Long Island, from housing developments to major road work. Road and bridge projects, new housing, and commercial builds keep Suffolk crews busy through much of the year, and injuries on those sites are much of our work. Workers hurt here file their claims through the state's Long Island district office in Islandia, and the worker safety resources available across the region can help injured workers understand their rights. Knowing how the local process works helps us prepare your claim and anticipate the insurer's arguments.
Reach Out to Polsky, Shouldice & Rosen, P.C. to Schedule a Consultation
If you were hurt in a construction accident in Suffolk County, our firm can review your case at no charge. There is no charge for the consultation, and workplace injury claims are the whole of what we do. Should you choose to proceed, we will carry the claim through filing, hearings, and any settlement. Contact us to schedule your free consultation.
