A Buffalo construction accident lawyer helps injured workers get more than workers' comp, because in New York, comp is often just the beginning. At Rosenthal, Kooshoian & Lennon, LLP, we pursue the separate claims that pay for your pain, your full lost wages, and your future, using the strong protections New York law gives construction workers. If you were hurt on a job site, you may be owed far more than you've been told.
Construction is one of the most dangerous ways to make a living, and Western New York builds year-round, in the heat and in the snow. When a fall, a collapse, or a piece of equipment leaves you hurt, the bills pile up while the paychecks stop. Our Buffalo construction accident attorneys know how to turn New York's worker-protection laws into real compensation. This is one focus of our broader Buffalo personal injury practice, so the full weight of the firm is behind your case.
Call us 24/7 at 716-854-1300 to speak with a personal injury lawyer near you, or contact us for a FREE consultation.
Often, yes, and this is the most important thing to understand about a construction injury in New York. Workers' comp covers your medical care and part of your lost wages, but it doesn't pay for pain and suffering, and you generally can't sue your own employer. What you can do is bring a separate claim, called a third-party claim, against other companies whose negligence caused your injury.
That third-party claim is where the real money usually is, because it can recover everything comp leaves out. On a construction site, more than one company is almost always involved: the property owner, the general contractor, subcontractors, equipment makers. When one of them failed to keep the site safe, you can hold them responsible for the full extent of your losses, on top of the comp benefits you're already receiving. Most injured workers are never told this, which is exactly why so many settle for far less than their case is worth.
Some of the strongest in the country. New York law holds property owners and general contractors almost automatically responsible when a worker is hurt in a fall from a height, or struck by a falling object, because the right safety equipment, scaffolding, ladders, harnesses, or hoists, wasn't provided or wasn't safe. For these gravity-related accidents, the usual argument that the worker was partly to blame often doesn't apply.
Other protections require owners and contractors to follow detailed safety rules on the job and to provide a reasonably safe place to work. Together, these laws put the responsibility for site safety squarely on the companies in charge, not on the worker doing a dangerous job. Using them well is a big part of what separates a full recovery from a comp check, and it takes a lawyer who handles these cases regularly. We do.
The full range of serious job-site injuries across Western New York. Some of these accidents have their own focused pages, because the evidence and the responsible parties differ from one to the next. Find yours below and read deeper.
Our Buffalo construction accident lawyers handle cases involving:
If your injury isn't listed here, that doesn't mean you don't have a claim. Reach out and we'll tell you where you stand.
Usually more than one company. Because you generally can't sue your employer directly, the value of your case depends on identifying every other party whose negligence played a role. Each one is a separate source of accountability and insurance coverage.
The parties our construction accident attorneys investigate include:
Sorting out who's responsible on a busy job site with a dozen companies is a big part of the work, and it's where cases are won. We investigate the whole site, not just the obvious.
A lot more than workers' comp alone. Between your comp benefits and a third-party claim, you may recover your full medical care, complete lost wages, reduced future earning power, pain and suffering, and the cost of long-term care, none of which comp fully covers on its own.
Depending on your case, compensation can include:
We evaluate every source, because the difference between a comp-only outcome and a full third-party recovery can be enormous.
Usually, yes, and often by a wide margin. Workers' comp pays only a portion of your lost wages and nothing at all for pain and suffering. A third-party claim can recover your full wage loss, your future losses, and compensation for the pain and disruption the injury caused, which frequently dwarfs the comp benefits.
The two work together rather than against each other. Comp gets you care and some income right away, no matter who was at fault, while the third-party claim goes after the companies responsible for the full value of what you lost. Coordinating the two correctly, including how any comp lien gets handled, is part of what we do so you keep as much of your recovery as possible.
Most serious construction injuries trace back to a safety failure someone should have prevented. Missing or inadequate fall protection is the big one, along with defective scaffolding, unsafe ladders, poorly maintained equipment, and failures to follow basic safety rules on the site.
Add the pressure to finish fast, gaps in training, electrical and trench hazards, and Buffalo's brutal winter conditions on scaffolds and walkways, and the risks multiply. Nearly all of these causes point back to a company's choice to cut a corner rather than to the worker who got hurt. Establishing that failure, and tying it to a responsible party, is the heart of the case.
Construction injuries tend to be severe and life-changing. Falls, collapses, and equipment accidents commonly cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and broken bones, and the worst of them cause amputations, crush injuries, and burns.
These injuries often mean multiple surgeries, long rehabilitation, and permanent limits on the kind of work a person can do, which hits especially hard when your body is your livelihood. Because some serious harm, internal injuries and brain trauma among them, isn't obvious right away, prompt medical care after any job-site accident protects both your health and your claim.
Anywhere the region is building, and Western New York is always building. Major projects at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, along the waterfront at Canalside and the Outer Harbor, and on downtown high-rises and renovations put crews at height and around heavy equipment every day. Road and bridge work, utility digs, and suburban development across Erie County add plenty more.
The region's construction seasons also collide with its weather. Crews push hard through the warm months and keep working into Buffalo's ice and snow, which turns scaffolds, ladders, and walkways into serious fall hazards. Wherever your accident happened, from a medical campus tower to a trench in the Southtowns, our construction accident attorneys know the job sites and the conditions that lead to these injuries.
Yes. New York's protections for construction workers apply regardless of immigration status. An injured undocumented worker can generally receive workers' comp benefits and bring a third-party claim just like anyone else, and your immigration status is not a reason to avoid getting help.
Fear of raising the issue keeps many injured workers from claiming what they're owed, which is exactly what some companies count on. You have rights on a New York job site no matter where you were born, and we handle these cases with discretion and care.
The worker's family may have a wrongful death claim, in addition to workers' comp death benefits. Brought through the estate, that claim can hold the responsible companies accountable and provide for the family, and it can include a survival action for what the worker suffered before passing.
Construction site deaths are among the most preventable tragedies there are, and the same worker-protection laws that strengthen an injury case apply here too. We handle these cases with the care a grieving family deserves, while pursuing full accountability for the loss.
Generally three years from the date of injury to bring a third-party lawsuit. Workers' comp runs on a separate, shorter track: you typically must notify your employer within 30 days and file your comp claim within two years. If a public project or government entity is involved, a formal notice can be due within 90 days.
Those overlapping deadlines are easy to miss, and missing one can cost you a major part of your recovery. Job-site conditions also change fast as work continues, so the sooner a lawyer can preserve evidence and file the right claims, the stronger your case.
Report the accident to your employer and get medical care right away, then protect the evidence. Tell your supervisor so the injury is documented, see a doctor even if it seems minor, and photograph the scene, the equipment, and the conditions if you can. Be careful what you say to any insurance company before talking to a lawyer.
Reporting promptly and getting treatment protect both your health and your workers' comp rights. Beyond that, hold onto everything, get the names of coworkers who saw what happened, and don't give a recorded statement or sign anything from an insurer without advice. The early evidence on a construction site can disappear as the project moves forward, so getting a lawyer involved quickly matters.
We handle both tracks at once: your workers' comp benefits and the third-party claim that pays for everything comp leaves out. From the first days, we investigate the site, preserve the evidence, and identify every responsible party, then build the case and prepare it as if it's going to trial.
Our attorneys secure the accident reports, safety records, and any OSHA findings, work with construction safety and reconstruction experts, and apply New York's worker-protection laws to establish liability. We make sure your comp claim is filed correctly and on time, document your injuries and their long-term impact with your doctors, and press the third-party claim against every available insurer, filing suit in New York State Supreme Court when needed. Most cases settle through negotiation or mediation, but we build each one for trial, and we keep these matters in house from start to finish.
We represent injured workers and their families across Western New York, and we handle construction cases the same way we handle every case, in house, start to finish, through settlement, trial, and appeal. We know New York's worker-protection laws, the comp system, and how to make them work together for the full recovery you're owed.
These cases reward a firm that understands both the comp side and the third-party side, and knows how to hold powerful contractors and their insurers accountable. That's what we bring, along with straight answers in plain language, so you always know where things stand. You focus on healing. We'll handle the claims and the fight.
If you were hurt, or lost a loved one, on a construction site in Buffalo or Western New York, the attorneys at Rosenthal, Kooshoian & Lennon, LLP are ready to help. Contact us for a free consultation, and a Buffalo construction accident lawyer will review your case, explain how comp and a third-party claim fit together, and lay out your options, with no fee unless we recover for you.
You may be owed far more than you've been told. The sooner we start, the more we can do to preserve the evidence, protect your deadlines, and pursue your full compensation.
Call us 24/7 at 716-854-1300 to speak with a personal injury lawyer near you, or contact us for a FREE consultation.
Disclaimer: This page is for general information only and isn't legal advice. Reading it doesn't create an attorney client relationship. Laws, benefits, and deadlines can change, and the rules described reflect New York law as of 2026. Every case is different, and prior results don't guarantee a similar outcome. For advice about a specific injury, please consult a licensed New York attorney.
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