Construction Accident Lawyer in Jamaica, NY

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Why Jamaica Is a Construction Zone

On October 29, 2025, the City Council approved the Jamaica Neighborhood Plan, a rezoning of about 230 blocks that is projected to bring roughly 12,000 new homes. The plan allows mixed-use buildings of up to 18 stories in the downtown core along Jamaica Avenue and Archer Avenue, and it comes with city funding for new water and sewer lines, street work and parks.

That means two kinds of job sites, often within sight of each other: high-rise residential construction around the Jamaica Center and Sutphin Boulevard transit hubs, and infrastructure work in the street — excavation, utility trenches and roadwork. Both put workers at height or below grade, next to traffic and heavy equipment, in a neighborhood where the LIRR, the AirTrain and the E, J and Z trains keep the streets crowded all day.

The Laws That Protect Construction Workers

Most injury claims in New York turn on whether someone was careless. Construction cases can be different, because the state's Labor Law §240(1) — the "Scaffold Law" — places responsibility for gravity-related accidents on the property owner and general contractor. If you fell from a scaffold, ladder or roof edge, or were struck by a load that was being hoisted or not properly secured, and the safety device that should have protected you was missing or inadequate, the owner and contractor can be held liable even if they were not personally careless. Our guide to the Scaffold Law explains how it works in detail.

Two other sections often apply. Labor Law §241(6) covers injuries caused by a violation of a specific rule in the state Industrial Code — unguarded trench walls, unsafe electrical equipment, debris left on walkways. Labor Law §200 is the general duty to keep a work site reasonably safe.

Workers' Compensation and a Separate Lawsuit

If you were hurt on the job, workers' compensation pays your medical care and part of your lost wages, and in most cases you cannot sue your own employer. That is not the end of it. On a construction site, the owner, the general contractor and other subcontractors are not your employer, and the Labor Law claims above run against them. Many injured workers have both a compensation claim and a lawsuit at the same time; see our workers' compensation page for how the two fit together.

Report the injury to your employer in writing as soon as you can — the Workers' Compensation Law expects notice within 30 days, and the compensation claim itself must be filed within two years. A lawsuit against the owner or contractor generally must be filed within three years under CPLR §214. When a city agency owns the project, as with much of the street and sewer work, a notice of claim is due within 90 days.

Immigration Status and Being Paid Off the Books

People hesitate to call because they are paid in cash, work for a subcontractor whose name they do not know, or worry about their status. Immigration status does not, by itself, bar a Labor Law claim in New York, and working off the books does not remove the owner's and contractor's responsibilities. What matters is what happened on the site. Hablamos Español — you can explain it in the language you are most comfortable with.

What to Do After a Site Accident

• Get treatment and say how it happened. Jamaica Hospital Medical Center on the Van Wyck Expressway is a state-designated Level I trauma center, and Queens Hospital Center on 164th Street is nearby. Tell the doctor you were hurt at work and how; that history becomes evidence.
• Write down the site details. The address, the general contractor's name on the sidewalk shed or fence, the company that owned the scaffold or lift, and the names of coworkers who saw it.
• Photograph the conditions if you can safely. Sites change quickly after an accident — guardrails go up and debris is cleared.
• Keep your Site Safety Training card and pay records. New York City's Site Safety Training rules require a training card for workers on sites that need a construction superintendent or site safety manager, and it helps show you were on the job.

Serious accidents are reported to the NYC Department of Buildings, and federal rules require employers to report a work-related death to OSHA within eight hours and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours. Those investigation files can become important evidence. The NYPD's 103rd Precinct, which covers downtown Jamaica, may also respond if there is a death or a crime involved.

Where the Case Is Heard

A construction injury lawsuit from Jamaica is filed at Queens County Supreme Court, Civil Term at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard — in the middle of the rezoned area itself. Most of these cases involve several defendants and their insurers, which is why the early investigation matters as much as it does.

Talk to Us

The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we win. Learn more about our construction and work injury practice, or read about the people who would handle your case on our team page.

Davidov & Cohen Law, PLLC
185-22 Union Tpke, Suite 203
Fresh Meadows, NY 11366
(718) 328-8001

We also handle other cases in and around Jamaica: car accidents in Jamaica, car accidents in Hollis and car accidents in Kew Gardens.

Common questions

I fell from a ladder on a renovation job, not a big tower. Does the Scaffold Law still apply?

It can. Labor Law §240(1) covers construction, demolition, repair and alteration work, not only new buildings. There is a narrow exception for owners of one- and two-family homes who did not direct or control the work, so who owned the building matters.

My employer says I can only get workers' comp. Is that true?

Against your employer, usually yes. But on most construction sites the owner and general contractor are different companies, and a claim against them is separate from your compensation benefits. You can pursue both.

The accident happened while working in the street, on a sewer or road job. Who is responsible?

It depends on who owned the project and who controlled the work. When a city agency is the owner, the Labor Law can still apply, but a notice of claim must be served within 90 days, so these cases need prompt attention.

This page is general information about New York law for workers in Jamaica, Queens. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts. Attorney Advertising.