Workers’ compensation is not always the only avenue of recovery after a workplace injury. When someone other than your employer or a co-worker caused or contributed to your injury, you may have a separate personal injury claim against that third party. This claim exists alongside your workers’ compensation benefits. You collect both. And the third-party claim provides something workers’ compensation does not: full compensation for your damages, including pain and suffering.
Third-party claims can dramatically change the total recovery available after a workplace injury. A workers’ compensation case provides partial wage replacement and medical care. A third-party lawsuit provides full lost wages — past and future — pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and in some cases punitive damages. For seriously injured workers, the third-party claim may be worth substantially more than the workers’ compensation benefits alone.
Identifying whether a third-party claim exists should happen early in every workplace injury case. Many injured workers do not realize they have one.
Construction site injuries
Construction is the most common source of third-party claims in New York. Workers on construction sites are employed by one company but often work on property owned by another and under conditions controlled by a general contractor and potentially multiple subcontractors. When a construction worker is injured, the question of who bears responsibility often extends well beyond the worker’s direct employer.
New York Labor Law provides powerful protections for construction workers through three separate provisions. Labor Law Section 240, known as the Scaffold Law, imposes absolute liability on property owners and general contractors when a worker is injured due to an elevation-related hazard — a fall from a height, a falling object, or the failure of a safety device designed to protect against gravity-related risks. Under Section 240, the property owner’s liability is absolute. Comparative negligence is not a defense. If the safety device was absent, inadequate, or malfunctioned, the owner and general contractor are liable.
Labor Law Section 241(6) requires property owners and general contractors to provide reasonable and adequate protection and safety for construction workers. Violations of specific Industrial Code regulations can give rise to claims under this section. Unlike Section 240, Section 241(6) claims may involve comparative negligence, but the duty to provide safety protections is non-delegable — meaning the owner and general contractor cannot avoid liability by claiming the subcontractor was responsible for safety.
Labor Law Section 200 codifies the common-law duty of property owners and general contractors to maintain a safe workplace. Claims under this section require proof that the owner or contractor had the authority to control the work and either created the dangerous condition or had actual or constructive notice of it.
These three provisions — 240, 241(6), and 200 — are among the most significant protections for injured workers anywhere in the country. A construction worker who is also receiving workers’ compensation benefits can pursue a Labor Law claim against the property owner and general contractor for the same injury. The two claims proceed on separate tracks, and the recovery from each is independent.
Motor vehicle accidents on the job
If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident while working — making a delivery, driving between job sites, transporting materials, or any other work-related travel — and another driver caused the collision, you have a personal injury claim against that driver. This claim is entirely separate from your workers’ compensation benefits.
In a motor vehicle accident case, the third-party claim is brought under New York’s personal injury and no-fault insurance laws. To recover damages beyond the no-fault threshold, you must demonstrate that your injuries meet the serious injury standard under Insurance Law Section 5102(d). If they do, you can pursue full damages including pain and suffering, full lost wages, and future medical expenses against the at-fault driver.
Workers injured in on-the-job vehicle accidents may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits through their employer, no-fault benefits through the vehicle’s insurance, and a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver. These three streams of recovery overlap and interact in ways that require careful coordination. The workers’ compensation carrier has a lien on the third-party recovery. The no-fault carrier may have subrogation rights. An attorney handling the case must account for all of these interests to ensure the injured worker receives the maximum net recovery.
Defective equipment and products liability
If a defective piece of equipment or machinery caused your workplace injury, the manufacturer of that equipment may be liable. A forklift with a defective braking system. A power saw with an inadequate safety guard. A crane with a structural defect. A piece of personal protective equipment that failed to perform as designed. In each of these situations, the manufacturer is not your employer and is not protected by the exclusive remedy doctrine.
Products liability claims can be brought on theories of strict liability, negligence, or breach of warranty. In a strict liability claim, you do not need to prove that the manufacturer was negligent — only that the product was defective and that the defect caused your injury. This makes products liability a powerful avenue of recovery for workers injured by malfunctioning equipment.
These cases often require expert analysis to identify the defect and establish causation. Preserving the defective equipment is critical. If the equipment is repaired, replaced, or discarded before it can be examined by an expert, the evidence needed to prove the products liability claim may be lost. If you believe a defective product caused or contributed to your injury, report it to your attorney immediately and take steps to ensure the equipment is preserved.
Toxic exposure and third-party claims
Workers who develop occupational diseases from exposure to toxic substances may have third-party claims against the manufacturer of the substance, the supplier, or the owner of the property where the exposure occurred. Asbestos litigation is the most well-known example, but third-party claims can arise from exposure to silica, industrial solvents, chemical agents, lead, and other hazardous materials.
These claims are complex and often involve lengthy litigation. But for workers with serious occupational diseases, the third-party claim may provide compensation far beyond what the workers’ compensation system offers — including full damages for pain and suffering that workers’ compensation does not provide.
The statute of limitations for third-party claims
Third-party personal injury claims in New York are subject to a three-year statute of limitations, generally running from the date of the injury. Construction accident claims under the Labor Law follow the same three-year period. If the third party is a government entity, a notice of claim must be filed within 90 days of the incident, and the lawsuit must be commenced within one year and 90 days.
These deadlines are separate from the workers’ compensation filing deadlines and run independently. Missing the statute of limitations on a third-party claim means losing the right to pursue it permanently, regardless of how strong the claim is. Identify potential third-party claims early and protect the deadlines.
How third-party claims interact with workers’ compensation
You can pursue a third-party claim and continue receiving workers’ compensation benefits simultaneously. The two proceed on separate tracks. But they are connected by the workers’ compensation lien, which is covered in detail in the next article in this series.
The essential point is this: the workers’ compensation carrier has a statutory right to be reimbursed from your third-party recovery for the benefits it paid on your behalf. This lien must be accounted for in any third-party settlement or verdict. Failing to do so can leave you with significantly less than you expected. An attorney handling both the workers’ compensation case and the third-party case together can coordinate the two to maximize the net recovery.
How Schwartzapfel Holbrook identifies and pursues third-party claims
At Schwartzapfel Holbrook, we evaluate every workplace injury for potential third-party liability from the first consultation. That evaluation includes examining the circumstances of the injury to identify responsible parties beyond the employer, reviewing construction site conditions for Labor Law 200, 240, and 241(6) violations, assessing motor vehicle accident liability when the injury occurred on the road, investigating equipment and machinery for potential products liability claims, and identifying toxic exposure sources for occupational disease cases.
We handle both the workers’ compensation case and the third-party case, which allows us to coordinate the two claims and account for the workers’ compensation lien in every settlement negotiation. For seriously injured workers across New York City and Long Island, the third-party claim is often where the most significant recovery comes from. Missing it is not an option.
Schwartzapfel Holbrook / Fighting For You