Construction Accident Lawyer in Queens Village, NY
Queens Village sits right on the Nassau County line. Many of the construction workers who live here spend their days on job sites in Elmont, Floral Park or farther out on Long Island, and many local jobs are done by Nassau-based contractors. When someone is hurt, the first questions are practical ones: which county the job was in, who owned the property, and which court will hear the case.
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Queens Job or Nassau Job?
New York's construction-safety laws apply statewide. A worker who falls from a scaffold in Elmont has the same Labor Law §240(1) rights as one who falls on Jamaica Avenue. What changes is the court. A job in Queens usually leads to Queens County Supreme Court in Jamaica; a job across the line usually leads to Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola. A claim against a town, village or Nassau County as owner requires a notice of claim within 90 days, and our Nassau County page covers how those local governments differ.
We handle both. Our office on Union Turnpike is a few miles from the line, and the same team works cases in either court.
Electrical Injuries
Electricians, helpers and other trades are often hurt by electricity on renovation jobs — a circuit that was supposed to be dead, temporary wiring run across a wet floor, a power tool with damaged insulation. Those injuries are covered by Labor Law §241(6) when they result from a violation of a specific Industrial Code rule on electrical safety, and by Labor Law §200 when an owner or contractor controlled the work or knew of the hazard. Burns and shocks often cause nerve and heart injuries that appear later, so medical follow-up matters even when the first visit seems routine.
Falls and Falling Objects
On the commercial strips along Jamaica Avenue, Hillside Avenue and Springfield Boulevard, storefront renovations and signage installations are done from ladders and scaffolds. In the residential blocks, roofing and siding work on one- and two-family houses is common. Under the Scaffold Law, owners and contractors must provide proper protection against falls and against objects falling from above; when they do not, they can be responsible even if they were not careless. Owners of one- and two-family homes who do not direct the work are generally exempt, but the contractors on those jobs are not.
Compensation and the Lawsuit
If you were hurt working, your employer's workers' compensation insurance pays medical bills and a portion of lost wages, wherever the job was in New York. Report the injury to your employer in writing within 30 days and file your claim within two years. A Labor Law lawsuit against the owner or a contractor other than your employer runs alongside it. Our workers' compensation page has the details.
If Your Employer Had No Insurance
Smaller contractors sometimes fail to carry the workers' compensation coverage New York requires. That does not leave an injured worker without benefits. The state's Uninsured Employers Fund can pay compensation benefits when an employer was uninsured, and the employer faces penalties for going without coverage. The question of who else is responsible — the property owner and the general contractor — is unaffected, and on an uninsured job it often becomes the most important part of the case. Tell us everything you know about who hired you, who paid you and who else was working on the site.
After the Accident
Long Island Jewish Medical Center, on the Queens–Nassau border, is a state-designated Level I trauma center and the closest major hospital to Queens Village. Tell the doctor the injury happened at work. Write down the job's address and county, the property owner, the general contractor and your coworkers' names. Photograph the hazard if you can do so safely. Queens Village is in the NYPD's 105th Precinct; a job in Nassau falls under the Nassau County Police or a village department.
Deadlines
A lawsuit against a private owner or contractor generally must be filed within three years under CPLR §214; these cases are heard in Queens County Supreme Court, Civil Term for a Queens job. Any public owner — city, county, town or village — requires a notice of claim within 90 days.
Talk to Us
You pay nothing to talk with us, and nothing unless we win. Learn more about our construction and work injury practice, read the guide to the Scaffold Law, or meet the attorneys and staff on our team page.
Davidov & Cohen Law, PLLC
185-22 Union Tpke, Suite 203
Fresh Meadows, NY 11366
(718) 328-8001
Nearby: car accidents in Queens Village, construction accidents in Hollis and car accidents in St. Albans.
Common questions
I live in Queens Village but was hurt on a job in Nassau. Can you still handle it?
Yes. The Labor Law applies throughout New York, and we handle cases in Nassau County Supreme Court as well as in Queens.
My employer was based in Nassau and I was hurt in Queens. Which county matters?
Generally the location of the accident and the residence of the parties decide where the case can be filed. It is usually possible to file in a county connected to the case, and we choose the right one based on the facts.
I got shocked but felt fine afterward. Should I still see a doctor?
Yes. Electrical injuries can affect the heart, nerves and muscles in ways that are not obvious right away, and a prompt medical record also documents that the injury happened at work.
This page is general information about New York law for workers in Queens Village, 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.
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